Moved in a house with 7000SXT know nothing about water softeners.

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Teqnap

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As the oldest son of a family of 4 I was tasked to fix our hard water issue in our house. We moved into this building a year ago and neglected to maintain the water softener system. The previous owner has passed away and the house was empty for about a year. The water always left stains on around the faucet but since I knew nothing about water softeners I only poured salt to the tank next to the softener every 2 months. (We have a well system with 2 filters and a water tank before the water comes to the softener)
As far as I know we have a Fleck 7000SXT 64k grain system.
The previous owner was pretty organized so he had the manual and few notes attached to the wall next to the softener and I put the settings he has noted on the wall next to the manual in the system but nothing really changed.
I have attached a photo of the current settings.The hardness level was 12 so I left it at that all the time.
IMG_2911.jpeg

I don't know if I am maintaining this wrong or there is something wrong with my settings but we still get stains all of the place.
Hope you guys can help me with this.
 

WorthFlorida

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Any indication when the softener was installed?

First you need to check the salt level (brine). Is there water in it. Is salt pellets visible? When it goes through a regeneration cycle, does the level in the salt tank change? If there is no change in water level during regent and you do not hear water running, there are other issues.

If the water level changes that is a good sign. What probably needs to be performed is a cleaning of the salt tank. Remove it, bring it outdoors and completely rinse the tank. Reinstall it and add IRON OUT, RUST OUT or any other iron remover chemical, then manual start a regeneration. After the regen run the cold water, best at the bath tub to flush iron (rust) from the softener.
 

Teqnap

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So there was always water above the salt level. I usually add 40lbs every 2 months and it melts. I never checked water level while regeneration should I manually regenerate it and watch it? "Btw I mistakenly manually regenerated the system once and skipped all the parts and learned that the drain works as expexted" (Some steps are an hour long should I reduce those to few minutes and regenerate)?
 

Reach4

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Some salt should always be above the water. That way you insure saturated brine.

Staining, like rust staining? If so, you probably want to treat the resin to remove some of the collected iron.
 

Teqnap

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Some salt should always be above the water. That way you insure saturated brine.

Staining, like rust staining? If so, you probably want to treat the resin to remove some of the collected iron.
No only water stains. I also did a little home test kit and everything was within spec except water hardness which was on the hard side.
Some salt you mean make it like a mountain so the center stays on top but rest sink underneath the water?
 

Bannerman

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Closeby to where the Brine tube is connected to the control valve on top of the media tank, there should be a label that indicates your unit's BLFC (brine line flow control) flow rate. This is the flow rate for water to enter the Brine Tank during Brine Fill. Common BLFC flow rates are 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 or 1 GPM. What flow rate is specified?

If the settings are programmed as indicated in the photo you posted, with 16-minutes currently programmed for Brine Fill, if the BLFC flow rate is 0.5 Gallons Per Minute (most common), then 8-gallons water will be entering the brine tank at the end of each regeneration cycle. 8-gallons will dissolve 24 lbs salt, but 24 lbs is insufficient to regenerate 64,000 grains Capacity each regeneration cycle. To regenerate 64K capacity, would require about 40 lbs salt each cycle.

Your unit may be programmed to operate much more efficiently by reducing the Capacity setting to 48,000 grains, as only 16 lbs salt will then be required each cycle. (48,000 / 16 = 3,000 grains per lb Hardness Reduction Efficiency)

Before making any changes to programming, specify the BLFC flow rate, and also confirm the number of residents (to estimate water consumption), and also clarify the actual total hardness amount (Hach 5B Total Hardness test kit is recommended), and advise on the amount of iron and manganese that is present in your raw well water.

A softener will not eliminate spotting, but spot removal will be much easier compared to spotting resulting from hard water.
 
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WorthFlorida

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Is there a bypass valve? If there is, be sure it is not in bypass mode. The Fleck has a built in bypass but sometimes an additional one was added before the water softener connection.
 
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WorthFlorida

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As the oldest son of a family of 4........

I don't know if I am maintaining this wrong or there is something wrong with my settings but we still get stains all of the place.
When a water softener works, the water will feel slippery on the skin. You only need about quarter to half the amount of soap or detergent to make suds.
 

Reach4

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No only water stains. I also did a little home test kit and everything was within spec except water hardness which was on the hard side.
Some salt you mean make it like a mountain so the center stays on top but rest sink underneath the water?
What color is a water stain?
 

Teqnap

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Closeby to where the Brine tube is connected to the control valve on top of the media tank, there should be a label that indicates your unit's BLFC (brine line flow control) flow rate. This is the flow rate for water to enter the Brine Tank during Brine Fill. Common BLFC flow rates are 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 or 1 GPM. What flow rate is specified?

If the settings are programmed as indicated in the photo you posted, with 16-minutes currently programmed for Brine Fill, if the BLFC flow rate is 0.5 Gallons Per Minute (most common), then 8-gallons water will be entering the brine tank at the end of each regeneration cycle. 8-gallons will dissolve 24 lbs salt, but 24 lbs is insufficient to regenerate 64,000 grains Capacity each regeneration cycle. To regenerate 64K capacity, would require about 40 lbs salt each cycle.

Your unit may be programmed to operate much more efficiently by reducing the Capacity setting to 48,000 grains, as only 16 lbs salt will then be required each cycle. (48,000 / 16 = 3,000 grains per lb Hardness Reduction Efficiency)

Before making any changes to programming, specify the BLFC flow rate, and also confirm the number of residents (to estimate water consumption), and also clarify the actual total hardness amount (Hach 5B Total Hardness test kit is recommended), and advise on the amount of iron and manganese that is present in your raw well water.

A softener will not eliminate spotting, but spot removal will be much easier compared to spotting resulting from hard water.
I will specify the BLFC flow rate when I get home.
There are 4 people living in the house. I will also order the Hach 5B kit.
 

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When a water softener works, the water will feel slippery on the skin. You only need about quarter to half the amount of soap or detergent to make suds.
Exactly my mom also mentioned that the soap doesn't really make bubbles as it was in this house compared to the previous one we lived at.
 

Reach4

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So what you see would more often be called water spots. This could be the salt in the softened, which is what Bannerman was referring to when he talked about easy-to-remove deposits.

The results that you get from your Hach 5-B kit will be informative. You will measure the hardness of the incoming well water, and the residual hardness.

Also, during the BD cycle (normally the second cycle, after backwash), the brine should be sucked out to the middle of the air check valve that is in the brine tube. If your water in the brine tank is high and stays high, that would have some potential causes. If the brine gets sucked out, and refilled during BF, then there are other potential causes.

But do start putting more salt into the brine tank. While there is somebody who does not buy into brine stratification, I think it is a real thing.
 

Teqnap

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Is there a bypass valve? If there is, be sure it is not in bypass mode. The Fleck has a built in bypass but sometimes an additional one was added before the water softener connection.
It does have the bypass built in but it is not active.
 

Reach4

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Does your softener have a 12*52 inch media tank? I expect so.

Once we get your raw hardness number, I will suggest some settings, which will not match what is posted on your wall.

(stupid statement redacted). :)

If your raw hardness is between 30 and 60 GPG, then you test 50% raw water and 50% distilled. Then double the number of drops. 30 GPG would be very hard.
 
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Teqnap

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Closeby to where the Brine tube is connected to the control valve on top of the media tank, there should be a label that indicates your unit's BLFC (brine line flow control) flow rate. This is the flow rate for water to enter the Brine Tank during Brine Fill. Common BLFC flow rates are 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 or 1 GPM. What flow rate is specified?

If the settings are programmed as indicated in the photo you posted, with 16-minutes currently programmed for Brine Fill, if the BLFC flow rate is 0.5 Gallons Per Minute (most common), then 8-gallons water will be entering the brine tank at the end of each regeneration cycle. 8-gallons will dissolve 24 lbs salt, but 24 lbs is insufficient to regenerate 64,000 grains Capacity each regeneration cycle. To regenerate 64K capacity, would require about 40 lbs salt each cycle.

Your unit may be programmed to operate much more efficiently by reducing the Capacity setting to 48,000 grains, as only 16 lbs salt will then be required each cycle. (48,000 / 16 = 3,000 grains per lb Hardness Reduction Efficiency)

Before making any changes to programming, specify the BLFC flow rate, and also confirm the number of residents (to estimate water consumption), and also clarify the actual total hardness amount (Hach 5B Total Hardness test kit is recommended), and advise on the amount of iron and manganese that is present in your raw well water.

A softener will not eliminate spotting, but spot removal will be much easier compared to spotting resulting from hard water.
Ok so BLFC IS 0.5 GPM as per the sticker on the head unit says.
Also did a quick water test that was lying around and attached the photo.
 

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Teqnap

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Does your softener have a 12*52 inch media tank? I expect so.

Once we get your raw hardness number, I will suggest some settings, which will not match what is posted on your wall.

We still want the BLFC value. I predict 0.125.

If your raw hardness is between 30 and 60 GPG, then you test 50% raw water and 50% distilled. Then double the number of drops. 30 GPG would be very hard.
My media tank is 12*52 inch.
This is what the brine tank looks like inside with 40lbs of salt. (3 inches of water level over the salt)
 

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Reach4

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With 16 minutes of BF, that should use 24 lbs of salt for each regen.

I will suggest dropping that to maybe 16 lbs, but you are not getting good softening as it is. Pick up some more salt when you get a chance.

Test strips are not as good as the H 5-B.
 

Teqnap

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With 16 minutes of BF, that should use 24 lbs of salt for each regen.

I will suggest dropping that to maybe 16 lbs, but you are not getting good softening as it is. Pick up some more salt when you get a chance.

Test strips are not as good as the H 5-B.
I have another 40lbs of salt for backup. How much more should I add? Btw I haven't manually regenerated should I add the salt then manually regenerate? Also do I have to activate bypass when regenerating?
Sorry lots of questions:(
 

Reach4

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1. I would add the second bag now. I would pour it into a corner, which will let some salt be above water for the next few regens.

2. Do not manually bypass the softener during regen. If you did that, the softener would not get water needed to regen. The softener itself will bypass water around itself during the regen, in case you want to flush a toilet.

If you have not done a recent regen, that is good from a troubleshooting point of view. Yea, I would expect that resin to be long depleted of softening ability. So no salt for months could explain hardness all on its own.
 
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