New Fleck 5600sxt install; settings recommendations

[Slamking18]

Hello all,

I just installed a Fleck 5600SXT 48,000 grain, .50GPM / 1.5 salt min. on city water with 17 grains of hardness and no Iron. Can someone advise me as to proper settings as I've discovered the supplier I purchased from had default settings that are not salt efficient?

Home stats: 5 bed, 3.5 bath. Two adults and one child in the home so I'm guessing about 180-225 gal. water usage daily depending on how you calculate it out. I have modified my settings for now to what was recommended by the AquaTell website (https://www.aquatell.ca/blogs/aquat...eck-5600sxt-softener-valve-for-max-efficiency) but I think it can be set for even more efficiency or longer Regen times. Current settings are as follows:
(DF) = GAL
(VT) = dF2b
(CT) = Fd
(NT) = 1
(C) = 30.0
(H) = 17
(RS) = SF, 5
(DO) = 14
(RT) = 2:30AM
(B1) = 10
(BD) = 60
(B2) = 5
(RR) = 10
(BF) = 6
(FM) PO.7

All suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Reach4]

For good efficiency, you would want 6 to 8 pounds of salt per cubic ft of resin. Your settings are already set up for 6, which is nicely salt efficient.

I stuck in 7 for the settings below. That is slightly less salt-efficent, but gives water just a tad more silkiness. Keep your current BF and C for better salt efficiency. I added a bit of compensation into the H setting.

I see you have double backwash programmed in. That takes a special cam, which you presumably have. I don't know if it warrants checking. I don't know what the symptom would be if you used VT = dF2b with a much more common single backwash cam. But then you have a paddlewheel, which I think costs more.

System info (not programmed)
salt lb/cuft = 7 ; A choice ( efficiency vs capacity)
BLFC = 0.5 ; Brine Refill rate GPM
cubic ft resin = 1.5 ; ft3 resin = (nominal grains)/32,000
Raw hardness = 19 ; including any compensation
People = 3 ; gallons affects reserve calc
Estimated gal/day = 180 ; 60 gal per person typical calc
Estimated days/regen = 9.7 ; Computed days ignoring reserve

Fleck 5600SXT Settings:
DF = Gal ; Units
VT = dF2b ; Downflw/Upflw, Double Backwash ****???
(dF1b ; Downflw/Upflw, Single Backwash ????)
CT = Fd ; Meter Delayed regen trigger
NT = 1 ; Number of tanks
C = 33.1 ; capacity in 1000 grains
H = 19 ; Hardness-- compensate if needed
RS = rc ; rc says use gallons vs percent
RC = 180 ; Reserve capacity gallons
DO = 28 ; Day Override (28 if no iron)
RT = 2:00 ; Regen time (default 2 AM)
BW = 5 ; Backwash (minutes)
Bd = 60 ; Brine draw minutes
RR = 5 ; Rapid Rinse minutes
BF = 7 ; Brine fill minutes
FM = P0.7 ; flow meter, You have paddlewheel setting, but I suggest you confirm with the illustrations at http://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?attachments/img_fleck5600sxt_flow-png.31592/

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Slamking18]

Thanks Reach. I will call my supplier and confirm on the piston. I do know I have the paddle wheel meter as it is the domed housing. If i do confirm i have the piston that supports double backwash, what are the pros/cons of single vs. double? Do you recommend one over the other? One other thing I noticed is that my C setting doesn't go at the decimal level. Is there something I need to change to allow for that? Also, just curious but why do you recommend setting H to 19? To allow for variations?

 

[Reach4]

Variations and/or high hardness compensation.
https://terrylove.com/forums/index....0-sxt-programming-settings.60651/#post-450189

You could put in 17, and if you don't detect hardness leakage before regenerations, 17 is fine.

Double backwash is a little better because it redistributes the regenerated resin equally in the column. Before the second backwash, the top resin would have been a little more regenerated. They did well for the other settings, so they are probably right on the VT setting too.

 

[Bannerman]

why do you recommend setting H to 19?

Municipal water is often sourced from multiple sources which usually have differing hardness levels. While the municipality may report an average hardness level, water hardness should rightly be tested at your home to identify the hardness level specifically at your location. It is then recommended to add 2 or 3 additional grains to the amount tested to anticipate some hardness variance due to water system maintenance as well as fluctuating water use throughout the town.

 

[Slamking18]

So I found out that I do not have the piston to support dual backwash so I will need to change that. Should I follow the BW, BD, RR, and BF settings? Also, as my system is now, I can't enter a 33.1 on C so what should I do there? Just 33?

 

[Reach4]

So I found out that I do not have the piston to support dual backwash so I will need to change that. Should I follow the BW, BD, RR, and BF settings? Also, as my system is now, I can't enter a 33.1 on C so what should I do there? Just 33?

Yes. I am glad we had this discussion.

Yes. BF=7 and C=33. Alternatively, keep the BF=6 and C=30.

I just looked at the service manual. It seems to imply you can do C in 0.1 increments.

 

[Slamking18]

Thank you guys for the information and direction. This was very helpful. I don't think I could change to the decimal level on my system for some reason, but will check again. What home test would you recommend I use?

 

[Reach4]

Thank you guys for the information and direction. This was very helpful. I don't think I could change to the decimal level on my system for some reason, but will check again.

My 5600SXT is a filter, so I could not try it. However the difference between 33 and 33.1 is insignificant. 33.1 is what I got by curve fitting to the commonly accepted values. Those values are very rounded off. So by saying 33.1 I am like the natural history museum guide who said that the dinosaur skeleton on display is 70,000,006 years old. He said "I was told the dinosaur was 70 million years old when I started, and I have been working here for 6 years."

So why do I say 33.1? Because it does not introduce any additional rounding error.

What home test would you recommend I use?

Hach 5B. Everybody loves it.

 

[ditttohead]

For double backwash it is not the piston, it is the microswitch cam. Double backwash is important if you are trying to achieve ultra high efficiencies and slightly higher quality water, otherwise at 6 or more pounds per ft3, their is little difference.
Totally agree on the rounding... capacities are estimates with considerable leeway usually set in such a way as to prevent hard water. By setting a softener with a tiny bit of extra reserve, this may cause an extra regeneration or two per year. In real world terms we are talking about $2 extra in salt per year.

 

[Slamking18]

Hach 5B. Everybody loves it.

I just bought the kit and decided to try it and it doesn't seem right... I started with the unsoftened side through a water spicket. I rinsed the bottles as recommended and when I put the powder in, it turned pink which was expected. I then started using the dropper and it only took 3 drops to turn blue. Based on my water supplier that's not even right. Next I tried the softened side. It started purple and took 1 drop to go blue so I guess that's fine. Thoughts?

 

[Reach4]

I just bought the kit and decided to try it and it doesn't seem right... I started with the unsoftened side through a water spicket. I rinsed the bottles as recommended and when I put the powder in, it turned pink which was expected. I then started using the dropper and it only took 3 drops to turn blue. Based on my water supplier that's not even right. Next I tried the softened side. It started purple and took 1 drop to go blue so I guess that's fine. Thoughts?

I expect your water supplier gets water from more than one source. When there is plenty of rain, you may receive softer water. If the surface supply is less, then more harder deep well water in the mix.

 

[ditttohead]

I see water ranging from 1 GPG to over 150 GPG. About 5 miles from our warehouse is a friends house. He is on a well and his water ranges seasonally from 20 GPG to over 90 GPG.

This is an application where a sensor might actually make sense, unfortunately the sensors have been troublesome and expensive. We are working on a new design that should make sensors a truly viable option. We have been testing them for over 5 years... still got a few bugs to work out.

 

[Slamking18]

How do you all handle these variences? Should I test on a scheduled timeframe and adjust the meter settings?

 

[Slamking18]

Anyone?

 

[Reach4]

How do you all handle these variences? Should I test on a scheduled timeframe and adjust the meter settings?

See what you are up against by testing the raw water hardness maybe every week for a while.

One solution is to to presume the worst case hardness is the hardness. That is easiest.

Another is to learn to recognize hardness leakage in your softened water, and cause the softener to either regenerate immediately or to regenerate that night as you deem best. In that case you would set the softener hardness setting to some average for the softener, and you would only have to intervene on occasions. If you are expecting guests, maybe accelerate your regenerations just in case.

You could also get a cheap tds meter. I would expect the number to increase on both the softened and raw water when the raw water became harder. You could check your cold water occationally to see if an early regen will be called for.

 

[Slamking18]

Hi all. My system is continuing to run great so I wanted to see if I could possibly get some guidance on another system for my parents. They are getting the exact same system as me however there is just the two of them. They could probably go a bit smaller than the 48k size, but it's literally only about $35 different so they are figuring to get the same. My question is considering my settings above, should anything be changed being there is just two of them or just keep it same as me for simplicity? They're hardness came out to be 17 when tested today. Thanks in advance!

 

[Bannerman]

Add 2 gpg to the hardness amount tested so program 19 gpg as you had for your own system.

The only setting difference for 2-people would be Reserve Capacity. Your 180 gallon setting was based on 3 people estimated to each use 60 gallons per day. Assuming your parents also use 60 gallons/day/pp, their RC setting would then be 120.

 

[Reach4]

Hi all. My system is continuing to run great so I wanted to see if I could possibly get some guidance on another system for my parents. They are getting the exact same system as me however there is just the two of them. They could probably go a bit smaller than the 48k size, but it's literally only about $35 different so they are figuring to get the same. My question is considering my settings above, should anything be changed being there is just two of them or just keep it same as me for simplicity? They're hardness came out to be 17 when tested today. Thanks in advance!

If they go with 1 cuft softener, C and BF will be reduced, of course.

Check the meter (FM setting), because they may get a turbine instead of a paddlewheel.