Kinetico Water Softener Issue

[M1687]

I'm having an issue with my Kinetico water softener where a rubber orfice in the head unit gets plugged with debris and causes the softener to not work. I've had Kinetico out a few times and wasn't given a concrete reason why other than I should use their salt.
It seems to be happening more frequently now (almost everytime I fill the hopper with salt). Any thoughts?

 

[Ryan Symons]

Imo it has nothing to do with salt/brine tank. The brine flow control has a screen on it. I can't tell what type of debris it is but it is probably coming from the water supply. I assume that you don't have a prefilter.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ditttohead]

That looks like a flow control button. Agree with something coming from the inlet water supply. Hydra or similar filter should be installed. Even a simple Y Strainer would eliminate this as a possibility.

 

[M1687]

I have a pre and post filter installed within 5 ft. of the softener. Could it be possible I have some type of build up in the copper pipes in that short run?

 

[M1687]

I have a simple inline pre filter with a 2 or 10 micron filter installed. What does this Y strainer look like? What micron filter would you recommend for pre filtering?

 

[Reach4]

What does this Y strainer look like?

Also known as wye strainers. I don't know what the appropriate mesh number would be.

 

[Treeman]

You state that it seems to clog every time you refill the brine tank.

Have you emptied and cleaned out your brine tank? At least give that a try.

 

[M1687]

I haven't cleaned the brine tank. I'll add this to my list. Thanks.

 

[M1687]

Does this take the place of an inline filter?

 

[Reach4]

It would be a courser inline filter. It would take out rocks and maybe sand.

 

[Jdpboom]

Just looking at the photo, it appears to be a piece of PVC glue/debris. You can easily have something like this break loose YEARS after installation.
When you say it stops working, can you be specific about the symptoms? Does it run continuously at the drain? Do you notice hard water which promotes you to call?
The symptoms point the way to the cause.