Salty Water after Regen?

[Al Garrido]

Hoping I can get some help again on this wonder forum .
In a previous reply to a post about 3 weeks ago I mentioned I was replacing my seals but I can't seem to find that post so starting a new thread....apologies.

So...here is the deal.....
I have a 5600SXT valve for my softener.
I've had it for about 5 years....(don't remember exact date).
I used this forum to get my setting correct. Since then I've had no problems at all....great water....no more stains in glasses...great tasting water...etc.

About 3-4 months ago, I woke up to salty tasting water......I didn't think much other then perhaps some sort of quirk in the system. I ran the water in all the faucets for about a minute and was back to great tasting water. Then it happened again about a week later...give or take a couple of days.

I checked the softener and everything was in order. Then I realized the softener had regened that night and I suspected that that the salty water taste was happening every time it regenerated. So I ran faucets again.....and waited for next time it regen and sure enough next time it regened I had salty water.

In reading through this forum I looked at the 2 possible culprits:
1. A blocked/clogged drain.
2. Worn seals.

So I made 100% sure it was not clogged. I did a manual regen to confirm water was draining, and it was draining fine.

I also went ahead ordered seals and replaced them. Thinking for sure it was that....I felt satisfied...until it regened this week....and I still have salty tasted after regen.

Can any one provide other options ?

I haven't bothered to post my setting because they have not changed in years since I had my water tested and used those numbers on this forum to get the correct settings from this forum.. I have not touched the softener nor has anything else in the plumbing system been changed. This just started happening our of the blue.

The one thing I am wondering is...when I replaced the seals, I did not use silicone to lube them......could that really make a difference? I wouldn't think so.

Hopefully someone can help with this annoying issue!

Thanks!
Al G.

 

[Reach4]

1. What is your BF and BD settings?
2. What color is your injector
3. Did you clean your injector and injector screen? If not, do that.

OR, if you want the quick thing to try, increase BD from 60 to 90.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Gary Bowling]

I had this same issue before on my Clack WS1 and it was a clogged injector.

G

 

[Al Garrido]

Maybe I didn't do it right, but I cleaned the screen....didn't look dirty but I ran it on clean water and put it back in and made no difference....still had the issue. Is there more to "cleaning the injector"?

 

[LLigetfa]

The softener goes into bypass during the regen. If the bypass seals leak, salty water can move downstream is there is a pressure change or water consumed while it is brining.

 

[Reach4]

Maybe I didn't do it right, but I cleaned the screen....didn't look dirty but I ran it on clean water and put it back in and made no difference....still had the issue. Is there more to "cleaning the injector"?

injector on the 5600SXT is the same as on 5600. From about time 0:50 to 2:10 this video shows the injector and screen:

 

[Al Garrido]

So...I think I figured out what the problem is....the drain hose was a bit backed up further up the line.....cleared that and and did a manual wash, and afterwards did not taste salt. Lets see if when it regenerates automatically if it holds. (not sure why a manual vs auto would matter!)

With that said....can someone double check to see if the numbers I have currently seem right?

So here is my system....perhaps someone can tell me what my numbers should be because I looked at them and they don't seem to be what I wrote on a paper but that was a while ago, so wondering if somehow they changed (power outage??).

Fleck 560SXT
Tank size = 1054
Inject 1 Drain Flow 2.4
Water Hardness (after the neutralizer) = 11

The numbers currently programmed:
DF = Gal
VT = df1b
CT = FD
NT = 1
C = 24
H = 12 (although my hardness is 11 I remember I made it 12 as a precaution
RS = rc
RC = 0 (shouldn't this be much higher as partof my reserve capacity?
DO = 30
RT = 12am
BW = 5
BD = 60
RR = 5
BF = 7
FM = 0.7

The one in question for me is the C = 24....i know there is a reason this isn't set to 48k ....but I could swear when I set them last time per this board, I set it to 33. Moreover, now after regen, by available water shows as 2000 gal.....this always have been 2700 gals.....up until the other day when I did a manual....I'm wondering if I accidently changed.

 

[Bannerman]

The most common recommendation for a softener containing 1.5 ft3 resin is 8 lbs salt per ft3 or 12 lbs salt total for your system. This will regenerate 36,000 grains capacity each cycle while providing up to 3,000 grains/lb hardness reduction efficiency. (36,000 gr / 12 lbs)

You Capacity setting would then be 36 and assuming the installed BLFC (brine line flow control) is 0.5 GPM, then the Brine Fill setting should be 8-minutes to cause 4 gallons water to enter the brine tank each cycle. Each 1 gallon entering the brine tank will dissolve 3 lbs salt.

Regarding RC, what is your estimated soft water consumption? If unknown, how many reside in your home so as to estimate consumption?

FM should specify whether the flow meter is a Paddle Wheel (p07) or Turbine (t07). If uncertain, include a photo of the device with the cable protruding on the left most water connection. (Left when facing the softener from the front)

 

[Al Garrido]

Where do i see the BLFC?
The drain flow on my injector shows says 2.4Gpm

 

[Bannerman]

There should be another label located close to the brine connection. 0.5 GPM BLFC will also typically state 1.5 lbs/minute. If BLFC is 0.25 GPM, then 0.75 lbs/minute.

The 2.4 GPM DLFC (drain line flow control) rating is the drain flow rate during Backwash and Rapid Rinse. 2.4 GPM is appropriate for your 10" diameter resin tank.

The injector that is installed will be typically indicated as a number such as 00, 0, 1, 2 etc. The injector determines the flow rate for slow rinse and the flow rate for drawing brine from the brine tank.

 

[Al Garrido]

looked again...yep...sure enough...there it was...as you said..... .5 GPM

Thanks!

 

[Reach4]

I am glad you found the obstruction.

RC is often set to number of people *60.

Revised based on number from https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/help-for-programming-fleck-5810.82673/#post-595983
BLFC = 0.5
cubic ft resin = 1.5
Alternative C and BF pairs:
lb/cuft ; C= ; BF=
5.000 ; 28.7 ; 5
6.000 ; 31.5 ; 6 # use 31, using a little less salt.
7.000 ; 33.9 ; 7 # use C=33, same BF that you have now
8.000 ; 36.0 ; 8 # softer
9.000 ; 37.7 ; 9
10.000 ; 39.3 ; 10