Low water pressure

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jreed

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i have a culligan super s and a culligan softener. Lately we have experienced a big drop in pressure. If one faucet is on its fine. More than one and there is almost no pressure. Is that a symptom of the resin needing changed in the super s?
 

ditttohead

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Very likely, put the system in bypass, this should alleviate the low pressure problem and will be a good indicator of the media failing.
 

jreed

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I bypassed both at the same time and the pressure was good with every faucet open. I then took the super s off bypass and pressure dropped a little bit was still good. When I took the culligan medalist off bypass it dropped a lot! It seems the medalist is the problem. Any idea what would cause such a drop with a medalist?
 

ditttohead

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I assume it is the medalist softener. Softeners use a media that is susceptible to fracturing and once this occurs, pressure drops/flow problems are common. Often times it is not noticed until the water flow drops to almost nothing. Sounds like you need to rebed the softener with new resin.
 

Bannerman

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Is your 'Super S' utilizing chlorine as a regenerant? If it is, perhaps the filtration media was long overdue for replacement and so has been permitting chlorine to be passed through to the softener.

Softener resin with long term chlorine exposure can eventually become mushy, pack too tightly and cause flow problems.
 

jreed

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The Super S has the wand and they suggested I run bleach through it. I do very sparingly because it makes the water taste like bleach. Could the lack of bleach be causing my problems? The water still seems perfect.

Concerning the medallist....is there anything I can check before doing a rebed? What kind of media do these units get?
 

Reach4

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The Super S has the wand and they suggested I run bleach through it.
What is a wand in this case?

I was thinking that the S used something like Centaur Carbon, but I am not sure. I have never touched a Culligan softener, nor many softeners for that matter.

Regarding the softener, it seems likely the media is standard or 10% cross-linked resin.
 

jreed

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I recieved a quote on the media for the medallist and it was just shy of $200.

The guy asked if I have cleaned the mineral tank....im assuming he's talking about the actual softener talk and not the brine tank. I pulled the head off, cleaned the inlets, outlets, and the peice under the top silver plate. Im not sure what else there is. The distributor tube is inserted through the media so I assume it can't be pulled out?
 

Reach4

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I recieved a quote on the media for the medallist and it was just shy of $200.

The guy asked if I have cleaned the mineral tank....im assuming he's talking about the actual softener talk and not the brine tank. I pulled the head off, cleaned the inlets, outlets, and the peice under the top silver plate. Im not sure what else there is. The distributor tube is inserted through the media so I assume it can't be pulled out?
What is the size of the tank? I am guessing 1 cuft of softener resin. http://www.softenerparts.com/kb_results.asp?ID=5

Even if you pull the tube, you won't get it back in without dumping the resin.

Actually, he might have been talking about the brine tank. If you are going to do that, you let the salt level drop until the salt is under water. It is heavy when it has much salt in it, plus you will discard the remaining salt normally. The brine tank would not cause your pressure drop. Every 10 or 15 years seems about right to me, but others will like a shorter interval. I am not a pro. I have only cleaned one brine tank. And I think I should have let it get almost empty first.
 

Bannerman

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I recieved a quote on the media for the medallist and it was just shy of $200.

Are you planning to perform the work or are you hiring someone to attend to replace the resin? As you didn't indicate the quantity of resin you require and only indicate a "quote on the media", we don't know if you plan on completing the task yourself.

The mineral tank is the tank which contains the resin. I would not expect a servicing company to be asking if you had cleaned it if they will be attending to complete the task.

If you are planing to do the job yourself, you will require gravel under bedding in addition to resin. The quantity required is proportionate to the size of the mineral tank (quantity of media).
 

jreed

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I was told it is an 8X44" tank and takes .7 cubic feet of resin plus under bedding. I plan on replacing it myself.
 

Bannerman

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Suggest online sources such as http://www.softenerparts.com/High_Capacity_Cation_Softening_Resins_p/23hcresin.htm

They may possibly be of assistance with other parts if needed including those for your Super S.

Since I'm in Canada, I don't know how shipping will work for you or if you'd be better to find a more local supplier.

Although you didn't request it, you may wish to indicate your water conditions as well as your family water requirements (number of people, high volume fixtures) as a small softener such as you have, can have its capacity exceeded with little demand. In the least, you may receive feedback on how to obtain the greatest efficiency from your unit.
 

jreed

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Changed the resin in my conditioner and everything was working great. But, my ice called me tonight (I'm out of town) and it seems that our water is now rusty and there is a lot of air in the lines. Not sure what could be causing that
 

ditttohead

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New resin requires a thorough cleaning. Run the system through a few regeneration cycles. Also, if the media was not functioning properly the new media may cause the buildup past the softener to come off the pipes. Air in the water, always normal after plumbing work of this type, give it a couple of days to see if it clears, if not, let us know. Could be a jammed air check in the brine tank etc.
 

Reach4

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If you identify your controller, somebody could tell you what to tell your "ice" (Freudian slip?:rolleyes:) to trigger a reg. If it is a Fleck 5600SXT or 7000 SXT, you can trigger an immediate regen by holding down the Extra Cycle button for 5 seconds.
index.php
Just poking the button will schedule a regen tonight. A regen takes around 2 hours. During regen, any water used will bypass the softener.

More complex would be to explain how to put the softener into a long backwash without actually consuming salt.
 

jreed

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I'm seems I've developed a major issue. Now the resin is washing back through my faucets. I guess it's time to call the culligan man.
 

Bannerman

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Resin in faucets is often either the softener's inlet and out connected in reverse or, a broken bottom distributor or center tube.

Bypass immediately to reduce the potential of resin in your water heater.
 

Reach4

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You just changed your own resin. What steps did you take to not pour resin down the distributor tube? http://www.softenerparts.com/Resin_Replacement_s/54.htm Note the "How Much Resins To Use" table.

Did you use regular resin or fine mesh resin?

Despite these questions, I think it probably makes sense for you, a road warrior, to call your Culligan man.
 
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jreed

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I'm home now and ch died it...there's a pretty substantial amount coming out.

I used softenerparts for the resin and advice. They told me gravel wasn't needed and sold me the correct amount. I taped over the distributor tube to ensure no resin got it.

Talking about the inlet and outlet.....do you mean when I put the head back on? I can't remember if it was possible to reverse those or not.
 

jreed

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I took the head off. In comparison to the the in/out on the bypass valve, the head was on backwards. I can't believe they don't key the somehow to make it impossible. But then again, I guess they assume a trained tech is working on it.

I guess now the question becomes how much resin did I wash away and do I need to redo it? That is assuming this fixes my issue. I'll know when it's done regeneration.
 
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