Water softener is sending salt water to cold lines, new needed

[K. Bau]

We currently have a water softener in our home that is around 20 years old. Prior to this week the only issue we have had with it is regular (heavy) water hammer when the unit starts the regen cycle, but it still softened well so we have dealt with the hammer.

2 nights ago our COLD water lines started pumping out very salty water which makes absolutely no sense to me. But when I bypass the water softener the water returns to normal so there is no doubt that the softener is at fault.

For reference it is a Culligan brand but has no sticker on it. Tall resin tank, Erie Mfg Co head with a mechanical timer (part number 541-9**F**, the manual says 541-009 valve).

I've been reading up and some of the sites say that Fleck and Clack valves don't have an adequate warranty (US Water systems), and I also contacted a local dealer who only sells Kinetico and the price he gave nearly gave me a heart attack.

I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to walk us through what we should buy, and if possible some reputable dealers to contact? These forums have never led me wrong (as evidenced by the 3 Toto toilets and numerous other advice I've read here).

Our water is pretty hard at 180 -186 CaCO3 and our current water report is listed here:

https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/8446b83d-55e8-408d-ae93-a3b22472ea82

We have 2 adults and 2 young kids in the house and much heavier users now than we were prior to March before we started working from home. Daily baths and showers for the kids, and a lot of laundry for them and a dog.

Thank you for any advice or guidance you are willing to give.

 

[DIYMissus]

Hi Welcome.' Are you on city water or well? If well a water test is a necessity I think they run a couple hundred. Maybe someone will chime in with a test that they recommend. If you have city water a water test would be a good idea to see where your water is with in the ranges given in that repost.
A 5 year warranty of Fleck and Clack seems good enough why do think its inadequate? FWIW Most of the experts here have one of those 2 .

 

[Sponsor]

 

[ditttohead]

Your municipal water looks very good. I will PM you with some recommendations.

 

[K. Bau]

Thank you both for your replies! We are on city water, and the city water report is here:

https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/8446b83d-55e8-408d-ae93-a3b22472ea82

Our water should be chlorine only, and not chloramine if that makes a difference. I have gotten a few Ward Labs tests in the past and the hardness seem to always agree with the city reports, but I can certainly do another if needed.

Dittohead, looking forward to your PM.

 

[DIYMissus]

A good test to have is the Hach 5B , for a about 30 dollars you can perform dozens of hardness tests. It will be helpful when you set up your system to fine tune the settings if you know the gpg of softened water and to check it occasionally to be sure everything is working correctly.

I borrowed this from Bannerman ( hope that he doesn't mind) "The city report maybe an average hardness of all the wells tested. As some wells maybe much harder than others, it is always recommended to test where the softener is to be installed as hardness can vary throughout the distribution system depending on where the wells are located throughout the city."