Rebuild or Replace Kinetico Model 60?

[t3hn4t3]

I’ve read all of the posts I can find about the Kinetico Model 60 (age is from early 2000’s).

One of the posts in particular (https://terrylove.com/forums/index....el-60-or-buy-new-fleck-opinions-wanted.46155/) mentions not being able to read the disc and mentions that it may not be working correctly if it’s difficult to read. My disc looks like someone painted it with iron and is hard to read. I believe that it is not working to its full performance. I am wondering if I should try to rebuild it (potentially replace seals, gears, and resin) or replace with another system, like a dual tank Fleck 9100 SXT or a newer model Kinetico (unless there are other dual tank models out there that you might recommend). I haven’t rebuilt any of these in the past but I consider myself pretty handy and capable if the parts and some kind of manual/parts diagram is available.

I should note - I installed an AIO (w/ Katalox Light) before my Model 60 softener last year to reduce hydrogen sulfide. This works great, but I still need a softener to reduce the hardness of the water. The model 60 still triggers a backwash on regular use as it should. Water testing shows that it is reducing hardness but not as well as it should. I need to run another test as the most recent was 6 months ago. I would appreciate any advice/insight you can share, especially if it is something that won’t cost me a ton of money, something I do not have right now.

Thanks! Nate

 

[241comp]

Nate, I'm curious what you chose to do here. I am purchasing a home with a 21yo Kinetico Model 60 and I'm about to make the same decision - rebuild or replace. Did you do a rebuild? Were you satisfied with the outcome? Thanks!

 

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[t3hn4t3]

Nate, I'm curious what you chose to do here. I am purchasing a home with a 21yo Kinetico Model 60 and I'm about to make the same decision - rebuild or replace. Did you do a rebuild? Were you satisfied with the outcome? Thanks!

Sorry about the incredibly late reply, I didn't receive a notification.

I was torn between replacing and rebuilding for quite a while. I discussed a rebuild with our local Kinetico dealer (who tried to scare me into a new unit), but then I found a retired technician online who talked me through the entire rebuild process. I emptied the tanks and flushed them. Cleaned up the pipes and screens, repacked with new resin, and put it back together. I purchased the resin from a small business in my town that services and installs softeners - the resin they stock deals with the most common water quality issues in our area. The resin is not made in China, so I am hopeful it'll last longer. The system has been working great since mid-September and our water quality has been near perfect.

Side note - I had no idea my softener brine tank had a screen at the bottom of it. I always thought that was the bottom. Below the screen, it was packed with 20+ years of stuff that never dissolved into the brine water. I sucked up 4-5 gallons of "junk" in my shop vac. I can't imagine this helped degrade the quality of the system more quickly.

 

[Zenon2cubed]

Side note - I had no idea my softener brine tank had a screen at the bottom of it. I always thought that was the bottom. Below the screen, it was packed with 20+ years of stuff that never dissolved into the brine water. I sucked up 4-5 gallons of "junk" in my shop vac. I can't imagine this helped degrade the quality of the system more quickly.

I found exactly the same in the bottom of my circa 1990 kinetico, from what I know the softener is on the original resin and had the control head rebuilt 20 yrs ago. I'm on un-chlorinated well water.

My water remains soft throughout the cycle, but if I run the calculations it's regenerating much sooner than it theoretically should, so my resin is probably overdue for replacement and the disc is set to short-cycle the regeneration.

 

[Dcooper136]

Sorry about the incredibly late reply, I didn't receive a notification.

I was torn between replacing and rebuilding for quite a while. I discussed a rebuild with our local Kinetico dealer (who tried to scare me into a new unit), but then I found a retired technician online who talked me through the entire rebuild process. I emptied the tanks and flushed them. Cleaned up the pipes and screens, repacked with new resin, and put it back together. I purchased the resin from a small business in my town that services and installs softeners - the resin they stock deals with the most common water quality issues in our area. The resin is not made in China, so I am hopeful it'll last longer. The system has been working great since mid-September and our water quality has been near perfect.

Side note - I had no idea my softener brine tank had a screen at the bottom of it. I always thought that was the bottom. Below the screen, it was packed with 20+ years of stuff that never dissolved into the brine water. I sucked up 4-5 gallons of "junk" in my shop vac. I can't imagine this helped degrade the quality of the system more quickly.

Were you able to find any manuals for your system? We recently purchased a home that has a Kinetico Model 60, and I’ve been searching the internet and can’t find anything other than a few videos on how to manually regenerate the system