Water pressure low and water not clear after water softener regenerates

[c789]

Hi. I have a PureGen water softener with a meter valve. The mineral tank is 10" x 54". The softener is set to regenerate after every 2,075 gallons used. Usually it will regenerate once every 14 days. My problem is that day 1 and day 2 after regenerating at 2 a.m., the water pressure is low and the water is not clear. Days 3-14, the water pressure is normal and the water is clear. What is causing the low water pressure and the unclear water for the first 2 days after regenerating? The problem goes away by itself by the third day after regenerating. I have had this water softener for many years without any problems. This problem started last month. If the unit regenerates at 2 am on Sunday morning, then I will have low water pressure and unclear water in my house for Sunday and Monday, but things get back to normal on its own by Tuesday all the way until the unit regenerates again. I use water from the city, not a well. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mialynette2003]

Low water pressure is a sign that the resin is going bad. This normally will stay low pressure and not regain as yours is doing. Have you tried a manual regen to see if the same thing happens? If you mannually regen the system a couple days after it clears up and it does not do the same thing, I would say cause the unit to regen more often. Maybe every 10 days instead of 14.

 

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[ditttohead]

That system uses a very poor brine tank safety float design, the same one that is used by many of the online companies. They are very low cost and low quality. They have a tendency to allow a lot of air into the system giving you cloudy water. I would recommend re-bedding the resin with a higher grade resin and replace the safety float assembly.

 

[c789]

Thanks mialynette2003 and dittohead for your help.

I have not tried a manual regen yet. I will likely give it a try.

I find it really odd how it just "fixes" itself after around 48 hours. I have wondered what is in water the first 2 days that makes the water not clear. I can see hundreds or thousands of very small particles swirling around when I put it in a clear glass bottle.

My household goes through about 300 gallons in the two days (150 per day) after regeneration and then the water pressure goes back to normal and the water becomes crystal clear all by itself by the third day.

There is some sort of link between the low water pressure and the unclear water. Both are present the first 2 days after regeneration, then both magically go away by the third day.

It is also odd that regeneration is causing problems instead of making things better.

 

[Reach4]

I find it really odd how it just "fixes" itself after around 48 hours. I have wondered what is in water the first 2 days that makes the water not clear. I can see hundreds or thousands of very small particles swirling around when I put it in a clear glass bottle.

This model would explain the behavior if the softener was not softening well:

Suppose the resin had disintegrated to little bitty particles. After a backwash, this settles down and forms a semi-solid that restricts water flow. What water does make it through carries tiny particles with it. Then with flow, channels develop. Then the water flows through the channels. The softening becomes ineffective.

Now suppose only half of the resin had this problem? Then the other resin might provide some softening, which may have been sufficient.

This is just a thought, and is not based on experience.

 

[Bannerman]

Resin over time can swell and become mushy. Easily established by squeezing a small sample between your fingers. The swelled resin can impair water flow through the softener but as mentioned, channels can develop through the resin bed, allowing a less restricted path for water to flow. Water will always take the path of least resistance. Regeneration would eliminate the channeling each time it occurs.

Resin can often breakdown more rapidly with constant exposure to chlorine, just as would be contained in your city water supply. Resin with 10% cross linking is more tolerant to chlorine than standard 8% cross link resin, but will cost more. Depending on the number of years service you obtained from your standard resin, should help you to decide if 10% will be worth the added cost.

 

[ditttohead]

Regeneration will reclassify the bed and flow problems are usually most prevelant after regeneration. The smallest broke beads are pushed to the top creating a mud like layer. After the water tries to run through this mud for a day or two, it will usually create a channel thus relieving the problem temporarily until the next regeneration occurs.

Time to re-bed the unit. While you are doing that replace the brine tank float assembly with either a Pentair/Fleck or Clack unit. Not the poorly designed Chinese version.

 

[Old]

That system uses a very poor brine tank safety float design, the same one that is used by many of the online companies. They are very low cost and low quality. They have a tendency to allow a lot of air into the system giving you cloudy water. I would recommend re-bedding the resin with a higher grade resin and replace the safety float assembly.

Are you referring to this type of float/check?

These things are junk. Sometimes they leak so bad the softener gets a big pressurized air bubble and when it goes into refill the air pressure instantly pops the safety float up preventing the brine tank fill.

 

[ditttohead]

That's the POS. It is made by a large company in China and many of the online reseller use it in their systems due to its very low cost. Gotta love the race to the bottom!

 

[c789]

Thanks to everyone for helping me understand the problem. I still have not decided if I should buy new resin or a new water softener since this unit is over 10 years old and might soon have other problems besides needing new resin.

I read that during the backwash stage of the regeneration cycle, backwashing fluffs up (or loosens) the resin bed so that the resin bed isn't compacted. After an entire regeneration cycle is complete, can I manually do a "backwash only" to loosen the resin bed so the water can flow freely and to avoid having low water pressure for the first two days after regenerating? I have a meter valve that looks like the Flek 5600 mechanical model that has a knob that turns.

Regarding the water not being clear during the two days after regenerating when there is also low water pressure, is the water maybe not clear because it is full of sodium from the brine not being fully rinsed from the mineral tank during regeneration?

When the low water pressure goes away, the water also clears up.

I will soon decide on whether to buy new resin or a new water softener but I'm still wondering about the water not being clear at the same time that the water pressure is low. I guess that the mineral tank is not being thoroughly rinsed and drained during regeneration which is also why I think I might should just get a new water softener.

 

[Bannerman]

If the control valve is a Fleck 5600, then you have a good valve that can last for decades. If a rebuild is necessary, it would probably be ~$50 for the parts and an easy DIY project.

Ditttohead gave a good and experienced recommendation. If you obtain 1.5 cuft of resin, gravel and a new brine pickup/float assembly, you can complete the entire task yourself.

The cloudy water is most likely (none of us are there to confirm), air that was drawn-in through the brine pickup during brine draw.

Normally, the resin bed would be compacted to ensure the flow to the home has the highest contact with the resin which is why the bed is compacted again during the rapid rinse phase of the regeneration cycle. The resin is further compacted while water is flowing. As your resin requires replacement, it is not going to perform its intended function well and back washing alone will only loosen the bed temporarily.

The defective resin is restricting flow both during regular service and regeneration. The resin requires replacement ASAP. You can bypass the softener temporarily to restore full water flow to your home until the softener is repaired.

 

[c789]

Replaced the resin 2 weeks ago and that fixed the problems. Thanks Bannerman and everyone else for your helpful information.