Need Setting Confirmation for new FleckSXT Installed

[Charles Stork]

My old 13 yr old Fleck 5600 Econominder went out recently per my service provider and he recommended a newer upgrade different replacement softener system for small fortune. I went online and purchased a new Fleck 5600 SXT 80K system instead for much less. I installed it myself yesterday per the Fleck installation instructions with no apparent problems or leaks. I have the following system info and parameters set on the new system.:

System info (not programmed)
salt lb/cuft = ???; prefer salt efficiency
BLFC = 0.5 ; Brine Refill rate GPM
DLFC = 5
Injector size = 3
cubic ft resin = 2.5
Raw hardness = 68
Iron = I believe 0.00 or very low since a couple of tests I took did not indicate any so far.
Manganese = ??? Will try to have test done soon.
People = 2 (occassionally our 2 college kids come home on weekends and we wash cars with softened water)
Estimated gal/day = 120
Estimated days/regen =

Current Fleck 5600SXT Settings:
DF = Gal ; Units
VT = dF1b ; Downflw/Upflw, Single Backwash
CT = Fd ; Meter Delayed regen trigger
NT = 1 ; Number of tanks
C = 50.0 ; capacity in 1000 grains
H = 68; Hardness-- compensate higher if needed
RS = SF
SF = 10 %
DO = 7 ; Day Override
RT = 2:00 a.m. ; Regen time (default 2 AM)
BW = 10; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 10 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 10 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = t0.7 ; flow meter

Since I am a novice on softener programming, I am wondering what if any adjustments I may need to make. Your help is appreciated.

 

[Bannerman]

You didn't mention if the water source is municipal or a private well. If municipal, the water will be chlorinated which will oxidize any ferrous iron and manganese so those elements can be filtered or will precipitate out prior to the softener so the softener will not be removing them.

Although your 2.5 cuft system is larger than specified for a Fleck 5600, your salt and capacity settings are correct for 2.5 cuft of resin programmed to regenerate with 6 lbs salt per cuft of resin. The specified maximum tank size for the 5600 is 12" (2 cuft) when used for a softener or 10" when used for filter applications. https://www.h2odistributors.com/pages/products/whole-house-fleck5600sxt.asp

With 2 people and 68 gpg hardness, a 10% reserve setting on 50K grains programmed capacity, does not provide 1 full day of reserve. Your expected daily softening requirements are 8,160 grains (2 ppl X 60 gals/pp X 68 gpg) so the reserve should at least equal 1 day of usage.

I expect your service provider recommended a twin tank softener for your high hardness water as a twin system would not require a reserve allowance thereby permitting the entire regenerated capacity always to be utilized resulting in higher efficiency.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Charles Stork]

Thanks for your help. Yes. I did forget to mention that I have well water. I did suspect that I should at least set the reserve capacity at 120 gals so I will do that. My new resin tank is actually 13 x 54 where as the old tank was 12 x 52. The dealer didn't mention a twin tank softener but maybe that's what he had in mind?

Other than the reserve capacity, do you think the other settings are sufficient? Do you think 10 minutes for the brine fill setting is ok, I was wondering about that as well.

I appreciate your help very much. Thanks.

 

[Bannerman]

Since your water source is a private well, you will need to obtain a comprehensive lab analysis of your water. Not only will that provide a report on hardness, iron and manganese, it will also report bacterial, chemical & metal contamination. Here is one highly recommended lab: http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/me...NTL&Product_Code=9003&Category_Code=Homeowner

As 1 cuft of resin will provide 20K grains capacity when regenerated with 6 lbs of salt, then a 50K 'C' setting is correct for your 2.5 cuft system. 6 lbs salt X 2.5 cuft = 15 lbs. You indicated your BLFC is 0.5 gpg so 10 minutes X 0.5 = 5 gals. As each gallon will dissolve 3 lbs of salt, your 10 minute setting is correct for a 15 lb salt dose. As iron and manganese will also consume softening capacity, the hardness setting cannot be verified until after the quantity of those elements is established.

I'm not certain of the maximum backwash flow rate the 5600 will support. Just because a 5 gpm DLFC button will fit, does not mean that the valve will support that rate. As you are located in a southern state where your water is likely warmer than a northern state, the backwash flow rate is expected to be higher than when using colder water as the density of warmer water is lower. Perhaps you can determine the temperature of your ground water which will help to establish if a 5 gpm backwash rate is appropriate for a 13" diameter tank.