Kinetico, Thoughts on what I was told from service tech

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NavySuit

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I have a Kinetico system. It was installed in 1997. I still get soap suds although it does seem a little different. It used to feel like the soap would never come off my skin like a film. Now, I am able to completely remove the soap. This is the same as other houses and hotels. It doesn't bother me. I just wanted to add that little bit of information.

Reason I called for service:
Iron smell or foul smell
excessive regeneration (I thought)

Tech said it was set a 6, so it will generate quite often. I just seem to go through a lot of salt. He tested the iron pre softener and it was 2.8ppm. Hardness was at 20.

The iron was not detectable after the softener and the water is soft. We use iron out salt to remove the salt.

He recommended a resin change or a new unit, but he couldn't guarantee it would solve the issue.

It seems like by his tests that the system is doing what it is supposed to. I don't want to spend the money for a resin change if it isn't going to do anything.

What are your thoughts? Should I start testing the water myself? Any recommendations on test kits???

Is there another way to get rid of the iron? I have a prefilter that wasn't changed for a while (I changed it prior to the tech coming out). I wonder if that was causing the iron smell to increase.
 

Bannerman

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With your 20 grains actual hardness plus 2.8 ppm iron, that is equal to 35 grains compensated hardness load on the softener. While the mild acid added to the iron removal salt has likely delayed iron fouling of the resin, depending on the pH of your water, it would likely be beneficial to clean the resin and softener internals with a heavy dose of resin cleaner such as Iron Out, Super Iron Out or similar added to the brine tank. As Kinetico softeners are typically twin tank units, cleaning will need to be performed at least 2X so as to clean both resin tanks.

While a softener may be used to remove some iron, 2.8 ppm iron is significant. A softener is not efficient for that high amount so you may wish to consider adding a dedicated iron removal filter or other treatment prior to the softener. Once the iron load is removed from the softener, the salt dose may then be reduced and the softener should regenerate less often.

There are various methods for removing iron including oxidant injection such as chlorine or hydrogen peroxide followed by a contact tank to allow adequate time for the iron to oxidize and precipitate out as a solid. That may then be followed by a carbon filter to remove any remaining oxidant and other contaminants.

Iron removal filters utilize media such as Katalox Light which has been proven effective, often on its own. Depending on water chemistry, an oxidant such as hydrogen peroxide is sometimes also required.

A current lab test report for your specific water is imperative when choosing appropriate water treatment methods.
 
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ditttohead

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Considering you probably haven't had a real water test done in a long time.... it might be a good time to get one done.

http://watercheck.myshopify.com?aff=5

NTL Labs is awesome, here is their link.

Considering the guy cant be sure if he can fix his own unit... I would not buy from them again if this is what they consider service. Iron reduction system and a softener but without a good water test, hard to say which would make the most sense to you. As to the smell, can you describe it? Sulfur, metallic, sweet, organic??? This is by no means scientific but it can guide us a little bit.
 

NavySuit

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Thanks for the replies

I noticed that the unit was stuck in the flush mode for hours. I got it out of flush by turning the screw, but it got stuck in flush again. It wasn't doing this prior to the tech coming out.

The iron filter systems seem to be around 600 to 1000 online. I'm not sure how much they charge locally. Is there a particular system/brand you recommend. Is air injection a good system?

They are sending someone else out next week. Should I just get them to test the water? The test kits from the website linked above states the price is between 119 to 230.
 

ditttohead

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Most online dealers are not recommended. Too many seek out the lowest priced components and stick a name brand valve on top. What part of Florida are you in? Skip is in Florida, I have had many end users reply back to me to thank me for recommending him. He has decades of experience and his pricing is fair an I have never seen him offer low quality components.
http://www.swssystem.com/

I would recommend the well test basic. You are your own municipality so you have the ultimate responsibility for the quality of your water. Since you are in Florida, tannins are a common issue as is iron in some areas. You may want to consider something like the EcoMix system. https://view.publitas.com/impact-water-products/2018-catalog-final/page/34-35

These are not the most efficient design possible but they handle a wide variety of water problems with ease. Be aware, some companies wrongly assume this has an anion type of resin so they have tried to use it for other anion problems ie:nitrate... this is not what it was designed for.
Hardness, iron, tannin, not nitrates or h2s.
What was the smell? Can you describe it?

As to air systems, they can work good but... we have a lot of complaints of air in the water, it is just the nature of the design, they can make the water very airy in the house. They also precipitate the iron so the valve will require some cleaning and maintenance. This is not difficult, but it needs to be considered.
 

NavySuit

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The smell was a metallic type smell.

A different tech (same company) came out. He said it was an O-ring that was causing it to catch. He ended up replacing that. He said their company does not do water chemistry tests. I think they are the only certified kinetico dealer in the area. The house is in the Orlando area, so it is probably too for from Skip's location.
 

ditttohead

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Hopefully this works. If you decide to go the DIY route, please consider getting a proper water test. This is where we need to start to get a good idea of what equipment is best for your application.

http://watercheck.myshopify.com?aff=5
Metallic smell is good, better than sulfur or organics. Typically it is iron.
 
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