Hello knowledgeable members...
5 years ago we replaced our old Fleck 5600 (20 yrs old; resin tank inside brine reservoir) with Aquasana's whole house filter and salt-free water softener. The resin had worn out and I was tired of replacing pistons, rings and/or valves every other year. BUT, more importantly, the regeneration discharged so much water at such a speed that it could cause the drain to overflow into the rooms surrounding the small utility room under the stairs (of the finished lower level). This happened 4-5 times during our first 10 years in this house. The last time was just after replacing the carpet of the rooms surrounding the utility room, with a nice laminate. Fortunately the new flooring was not damaged.
A big contributing factor is there was a small piece of concrete stuck in the waste line between the utility room drain and the Multiflo septic tank outside. Several times we had the line professionally routed after one of these incidents; 3rd or 4th time with a camera. That's when the small bit of concrete was seen stuck to the bottom side of the pipe. Probably there since the house was built, it would catch TP and waste, which most of the time would pass on its own. But occasionally at just the right time, b4 the buildup would naturally pass, the softener regenerated and the drain would overflow. From the beginning, they tried and tried to get past the concrete bit even b4 they knew what it was. They finally did get past that stuck point thru to the septic tank and were 90% sure the concrete was finally dislodged and went to the tank. After replacing the flooring, I didn't want to take the chance and decided to replace the water softener anyway. We've not had any problems with buildup/backup since... so we also think the concrete bit must be gone.
There's obvious evidence the Aquasana system is not enough to handle our water hardness of ~23-25 (# provided by our rural water provider). Visible scale buildup and not soft or scented laundry, not to mention what's happening inside the pipes. But as much as I'd love to have soft and good smelling laundry again and less work removing the scale, I can't have water overflowing the drain.
So my question is whether there is a new model that does not put out so much water at such a fast rate that it will overflow the drain? Or maybe all new models have some control? I'm looking at Home Depot's "Pelican Water 48,000 Grain Heavy Duty Water Softener" or the 24,000 grain if appropriate for a family of 4-5 at our hardness level. There have always been only 2 people in this house which may account for the long life of the Fleck setup, but we're hoping to sell in the next year or two and would prefer to have a softener sized to accommodate a larger family, just in case.
Thanks for any help or advice... and patience with my long explanation,
SBerg
5 years ago we replaced our old Fleck 5600 (20 yrs old; resin tank inside brine reservoir) with Aquasana's whole house filter and salt-free water softener. The resin had worn out and I was tired of replacing pistons, rings and/or valves every other year. BUT, more importantly, the regeneration discharged so much water at such a speed that it could cause the drain to overflow into the rooms surrounding the small utility room under the stairs (of the finished lower level). This happened 4-5 times during our first 10 years in this house. The last time was just after replacing the carpet of the rooms surrounding the utility room, with a nice laminate. Fortunately the new flooring was not damaged.
A big contributing factor is there was a small piece of concrete stuck in the waste line between the utility room drain and the Multiflo septic tank outside. Several times we had the line professionally routed after one of these incidents; 3rd or 4th time with a camera. That's when the small bit of concrete was seen stuck to the bottom side of the pipe. Probably there since the house was built, it would catch TP and waste, which most of the time would pass on its own. But occasionally at just the right time, b4 the buildup would naturally pass, the softener regenerated and the drain would overflow. From the beginning, they tried and tried to get past the concrete bit even b4 they knew what it was. They finally did get past that stuck point thru to the septic tank and were 90% sure the concrete was finally dislodged and went to the tank. After replacing the flooring, I didn't want to take the chance and decided to replace the water softener anyway. We've not had any problems with buildup/backup since... so we also think the concrete bit must be gone.
There's obvious evidence the Aquasana system is not enough to handle our water hardness of ~23-25 (# provided by our rural water provider). Visible scale buildup and not soft or scented laundry, not to mention what's happening inside the pipes. But as much as I'd love to have soft and good smelling laundry again and less work removing the scale, I can't have water overflowing the drain.
So my question is whether there is a new model that does not put out so much water at such a fast rate that it will overflow the drain? Or maybe all new models have some control? I'm looking at Home Depot's "Pelican Water 48,000 Grain Heavy Duty Water Softener" or the 24,000 grain if appropriate for a family of 4-5 at our hardness level. There have always been only 2 people in this house which may account for the long life of the Fleck setup, but we're hoping to sell in the next year or two and would prefer to have a softener sized to accommodate a larger family, just in case.
Thanks for any help or advice... and patience with my long explanation,
SBerg
