Is the Water Softener Working Correctly?

[mschwennes]

I just replaced my old Kenmore water softener that I had for many years and that I replaced the resin in 5 years ago. It was working fine, but I came across an inexpensive Home Depot "return" for a good price and it has wifi, which is something I wanted. It didn't look used, but there was some rust on the screw holding on a plastic gear on the assembly above the resin tank, and the power adapter was dead. It's a Rheem RHW42 and it's in and it is working with a new adapter. It seems to be softening, based on the lathering capability of our water before versus after installation. We have about 18-grain hardness and I set the softener at that "softening" level. But when I wanted the water to be a little more "slippery" and at the same time ensure the new softener was working correctly, I changed the setting to 40, then 60, and finally to 110 grains (it goes up to 140). And the water hasn't gotten more slippery. Is there a way to troubleshoot for a mechanical problem of some sort causing the issue, if it is indeed an issue?
The softener seems to operate normally otherwise; it goes through Regen when it's supposed to, and the salt in the tank isn't overly wet. Any advice appreciated!

 

[Reach4]

I suggest that you get a Hach 5-B hardness test to test the residual hardness.

Make sure the softener bypass valve is fully not-bypassed.

Changing the hardness setting is not going to affect hardness immediately. The hardness setting goes into the calculation as to when to regenerate.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[mschwennes]

Good advice, thanks! Will be interesting to see the pre-post hardness results. I have been waiting a few weeks between hardness adjustments.