Putting a water softener back into service

[R Clark]

We bought our home nearly two years ago. It's rural and we have well water. The water is fairly laden with calcium and other minerals.

There is a Kenmore water softener in the basement. It's not in service; it's unplugged and the inlet valve is set to the bypass position. There does not appear to be water in the unit, but there is salt in the barrel, though it doesn't look "overly" used. There was no exception on the seller's disclosure that said the unit was inoperative.

We've never used a water softener before, but with the mineral buildup on kitchen and bath surfaces, we're willing to give this thing a try. If it helps, we might opt to install a higher-end unit in the future.

Is there anything I should know, other than just plugging it in and seeing if it will work?

[fredhargis]

If the resin tank is dry, you can blow the resin out unless you allow it to fill very slowly, at least that;s the case with a new one. It might be worth trying it to see f t works, but there must be a reason it's out of service.

[blackhat]

Get a manual so you can make sure it is correctly programmed and set up. Add 10 or 12 gallons of water to the salt tank. Watch it through it's first cycle to ensure it is drawing brine, etc when it is supposed to be.

[Woodenfish]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGgehAbE...axb9ujqCa_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ_U8Pcm...axb9ujqCa_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MagmFckz...mp;index=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn8OAtgJ...mp;index=4

[CLETUS]

I put salt in mine, turned off the bypass, set the timer, held the recharge button.

[David G]

Sometimes the resin becomes loaded with iron and deactivated. It is not difficult to change the resin in the tank. The giant funnel is helpful.

[R Clark]

Thanks all. We rummaged through a pile o' paper docs tonight and rooted out the manual. I'll look through that thing and figure out what we're going to do next.

One thing the manual is saying to do is to set the water hardness number. Is this something that has to be done through lab testing? I'm finding all sorts of kits on the net; hard to tell what they do, though.

[blackhat]

I would get a sample tested. If there is much iron or manganese, you may need to either overcompensate on the regen frequency or use an added resin cleaner. County may do testing or steer you to someone.

[Snipe Hunter]

Agree with blackhat. Get the water tested. A water softener alone usually isn't all that's needed for a well. While your at it, you should do a flow test. You can get a test kit at the hardware store which will test for iron, hardness, bacteria and PH. If the PH and Iron content is out of wack, everything else is a pain to deal with. Once you get all that information together, you can make educated decisions on treatment. Salt won't get iron deposits out of the media in the resin tank. The softener is usually the last in line in a well water treatment system after inverting else is cleaned up.

The valves also go bad in these things. Some folks will tell you to replace them every 5 years. I've replaced them at five and some have lasted more than 8 years.

I use Fleck equipment because parts are easy to get and the valves are easy to replace. I'm also a big fan of OhioPureWater.Com. They are an online supplier who sells you what you need, not always what you think you need or what the local plumber "always put in". Everybody's water is different. Their prices are extremely reasonable. But, they won't sell you anything without submitting the results of your water test

Not sure how plumbing savvy you are but they aren't too difficult to put in, especially using SharkBite connectors. They are also very good at walking you through the set-up over the phone if you have issues.

We just bought this house and the system wasn't maintained. The inside of the tanks were so filthy, we couldn't get water to run clear. we replaced everything and started fresh. Happy wife, happy life.

[R Clark]

Snipe Hunter said:

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...You can get a test kit at the hardware store which will test for iron, hardness, bacteria and PH...

The valves also go bad in these things.

I use Fleck equipment because parts are easy to get and the valves are easy to replace. I'm also a big fan of OhioPureWater.Com. They are an online supplier who sells you what you need, not always what you think you need or what the local plumber "always put in".

Not sure how plumbing savvy you are but they aren't too difficult to put in, especially using SharkBite connectors.

Happy wife, happy life.

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Surprisingly, the county extension website (run by Iowa State U.) was not helpful at all in describing any testing that was available. Was also surprised that I couldn't easily find a retail outlet with test kits.

Valves...are you talking about valves inside the units? Of course, the valve I know about and can easily see is the bypass valve.

Thanks for the link.

Shark bites are a blessing. I've used them before and I'm using them in my ongoing project.

LOML is the one who asked about putting the unit back into service. I'll see what I can do easily and then move from there.