In installed the kenmore softener new a couple years ago. It replaced an older Kenmore softener. I stuck with Kenmore since the shutoff/connections are the same from the old to the new for an easy install. It's been working great until recently. I noticed the salt tank full of water.
Yes, I've looked online for solutions and checked the venturi parts (clean, no obstructions). I took the draw thingy in the tube in the salt tank out and checked it - didn't find any gunk.
When in brine/drain mode, the water level does go down very slowly. A slow stream of water comes out of the drain line.
In backwash mode, a strong stream comes out of the drain line.
Fast rinse mode there also a strong flow out of the drain hose.
The drain hose is longer than suggested in the manual but has worked for years for 2 softeners that were/are installed. The drain is vinyl hose about 25 -30 feet long. When the softener is finished cycling, there is still water in the drain hose, and I wondered if this was a problem. But after reading that the hose can go up to 8' higher than the softener, overhead in a ceiling, thought that it must be OK if there's still water in the hose when it's finished....and assumed then, that the softener can push that water out when the next regeneration cycle starts up again.
I'm not sure what else to check on this. Left on it's own, the water level will get up past the #7 line on the salt level sticker. Even the overflow line can get plugged up and the water level is higher than the overflow. So....maybe the drain and overflow lines are the problem? But how can that be if I see water coming out during operation of the softener in manual mode?
I was thinking about switching to PVC drain and overflow lines, though that will be hard to install (blind, under stairs on the way to the drain). And if that's not the problem, why even bother.
Suggestions?
Yes, I've looked online for solutions and checked the venturi parts (clean, no obstructions). I took the draw thingy in the tube in the salt tank out and checked it - didn't find any gunk.
When in brine/drain mode, the water level does go down very slowly. A slow stream of water comes out of the drain line.
In backwash mode, a strong stream comes out of the drain line.
Fast rinse mode there also a strong flow out of the drain hose.
The drain hose is longer than suggested in the manual but has worked for years for 2 softeners that were/are installed. The drain is vinyl hose about 25 -30 feet long. When the softener is finished cycling, there is still water in the drain hose, and I wondered if this was a problem. But after reading that the hose can go up to 8' higher than the softener, overhead in a ceiling, thought that it must be OK if there's still water in the hose when it's finished....and assumed then, that the softener can push that water out when the next regeneration cycle starts up again.
I'm not sure what else to check on this. Left on it's own, the water level will get up past the #7 line on the salt level sticker. Even the overflow line can get plugged up and the water level is higher than the overflow. So....maybe the drain and overflow lines are the problem? But how can that be if I see water coming out during operation of the softener in manual mode?
I was thinking about switching to PVC drain and overflow lines, though that will be hard to install (blind, under stairs on the way to the drain). And if that's not the problem, why even bother.
Suggestions?
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