Fleck 7000SXT fine tuning

[AlexF]

#3? Too big, not sure why they would use that large of an injector. It will work fine, but the brine draw will be very fast. A #3 injector has a draw rate of approximately .65 GPM, this would drain your salt tank of brine in about 8 minutes, this should be closer to 15 minutes. You can confirm this easily by putting the system into a regeneration and timing it. Same for the flow control, you can put the system into refill and time how long the brine fills a gallon, 4 minutes if the flow control matches the valve label.

I am confused I guess - why set BD to 60? Should there be a fixed table dependent on injector and tank size?

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Reach4]

Is not this a DLFC drawing and we are looking for BLFC size?

Right you are! I remove the wrong picture above.

minute 2:12 shows access to the BLFC. I don't know where the marking is. If you find that, you might post a picture of that-- which would help others in the future.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

I am confused I guess - why set BD to 60?

During the brine cycle, the calcium & magnesium ions (hardness) are released from the resin which are exchanged with the sodium ions from the brine. This exchange requires the brine to have adequate contact time with the resin. If the process is rushed, not all of the hardness maybe released and some of the sodium maybe wasted.

A long brine cycle with a small injector provides the most efficient exchange of ions as the brine has extended contact with the resin, helping to ensure virtually all of the hardness ions are removed and exchanged with the available sodium ions (regeneration).

Even after the brine is consumed from the brine tank (usually 15 minutes), brine continues to flow slowly through the resin bed where it is eventually rinsed away towards the end of the usual 60 minute BD setting.

Since regeneration of a residential softener normally occurs during the night while the house occupants are sleeping, there usually is no reason to rush the process. Dittohead extends his brine cycle to 2 hours which is likely overkill but as it comes at little expense, why not?

A final fast rinse ensures any remaining sodium is rinsed away and also repacks the resin bed.

As the ion exchange process occurs in reverse while supplying water, packed resin helps to ensure the flow of hard water through the resin before finally exiting the softener as softened water to the home's fixtures.

Unpacked resin would provide too many spaces for water to flow around since water takes the path of least resistance. Without adequate contact with the resin, not all of the hardness would be removed.

 

[AlexF]

Thank you! So #3 injector is not a concern as long as the "soak" lasts 60 minutes or more?

 

[Bannerman]

As dittohead stated, a #3 injector is too large for a home softener. Although it will work, it will not be as efficient as the contact time will be shorter since the brine flow will be faster through the resin.

 

[AlexF]

What size would you install for a 2 cubic foot tank?

 

[ditttohead]

That would depend on many factors including regeneration efficiency (salt settings, etc,) but the common injector for the 12"x52" is a #o or even a #1. The draw rate of #0 is approximately .275 gpm
The draw rate of #1 is approximately .35 gpm.

The general guideline is to have the brine/rinse cycle 4X the time it takes to clear the brine tank.

16# of salt = 5.33 gallons. 5.33/.275= 19 minutes, so the brine/rinse cycle would be closer to 80 minutes, but most people leave it at 60 minutes and rarely have any problems with salty water. I would recommend the 80 minutes, this would only be a 10 gallon difference.

With a #1 injector, the time to remove the water from the brine tank is 15 minutes, so a 60 minute cycle would be ideal.

Your #3 injector should have about a 30 minute brine/rinse cycle, since anything beyond that is just wasting water, and since your injector is so large, that would be an estimated waste of 25 gallons.


The higher efficiency systems typically use a smaller injector with draw rates as low as .1 gpm, but the extended brine and rinse times can be an annoyance as the cycles often go well beyond 2 hours.

Hope this helps,

 

[AlexF]

That would depend on many factors including regeneration efficiency (salt settings, etc,) but the common injector for the 12"x52" is a #o or even a #1. The draw rate of #0 is approximately .275 gpm
The draw rate of #1 is approximately .35 gpm.

The general guideline is to have the brine/rinse cycle 4X the time it takes to clear the brine tank.

16# of salt = 5.33 gallons. 5.33/.275= 19 minutes, so the brine/rinse cycle would be closer to 80 minutes, but most people leave it at 60 minutes and rarely have any problems with salty water. I would recommend the 80 minutes, this would only be a 10 gallon difference.

With a #1 injector, the time to remove the water from the brine tank is 15 minutes, so a 60 minute cycle would be ideal.

Your #3 injector should have about a 30 minute brine/rinse cycle, since anything beyond that is just wasting water, and since your injector is so large, that would be an estimated waste of 25 gallons.


The higher efficiency systems typically use a smaller injector with draw rates as low as .1 gpm, but the extended brine and rinse times can be an annoyance as the cycles often go well beyond 2 hours.

Hope this helps,

Yes, it does a lot, thank you!

 

[AlexF]

That would depend on many factors including regeneration efficiency (salt settings, etc,) but the common injector for the 12"x52" is a #o or even a #1. The draw rate of #0 is approximately .275 gpm
The draw rate of #1 is approximately .35 gpm.

The general guideline is to have the brine/rinse cycle 4X the time it takes to clear the brine tank.

16# of salt = 5.33 gallons. 5.33/.275= 19 minutes, so the brine/rinse cycle would be closer to 80 minutes, but most people leave it at 60 minutes and rarely have any problems with salty water. I would recommend the 80 minutes, this would only be a 10 gallon difference.

With a #1 injector, the time to remove the water from the brine tank is 15 minutes, so a 60 minute cycle would be ideal.

Your #3 injector should have about a 30 minute brine/rinse cycle, since anything beyond that is just wasting water, and since your injector is so large, that would be an estimated waste of 25 gallons.


The higher efficiency systems typically use a smaller injector with draw rates as low as .1 gpm, but the extended brine and rinse times can be an annoyance as the cycles often go well beyond 2 hours.

Hope this helps,

I do notice that when water dries on the counter top, it has whitish/brownish residue that easily cleans up with water - is that excess salt? So if I change BD to 30, it might fix that issue? I will still order #1 injector.

 

[ditttohead]

That is not excess salt. Reducing the Brine/rinse will not affect this. It will only waste less water, it will have no affect on water quality. You should run the softener for a couple months, the clean water will remove old build-up off the pipes and this is likely the cause of your staining.

 

[AlexF]

That is not excess salt. Reducing the Brine/rinse will not affect this. It will only waste less water, it will have no affect on water quality. You should run the softener for a couple months, the clean water will remove old build-up off the pipes and this is likely the cause of your staining.

Hmm, it is a new construction with PEX plumbing - moved in 12/2014. PEX pipes - should be no build up to speak of.

 

[Bannerman]

Hmm, it is a new construction with PEX plumbing - moved in 12/2014. PEX pipes - should be no build up to speak of.

You installed a water softener because of hard water. Hard water minerals are the primary cause of mineral deposits (scaling) in pipes and water heaters. Although you've only occupied a new house for only 6 months, scaling will have begun, particularly within the water heater as heating will accelerate the scaling process.

Since your house is new and you've occupied it a short time, the mineral deposits should be relatively minor and I expect will dissolve and be eliminated in a short period of time.

As you didn't mention your water test results, you may wish to post them here as there could be other reasons for the residue which a softener may not necessarily a able to eliminate.

 

[AlexF]

You installed a water softener because of hard water. Hard water minerals are the primary cause of mineral deposits (scaling) in pipes and water heaters. Although you've only occupied a new house for only 6 months, scaling will have begun, particularly within the water heater as heating will accelerate the scaling process.

Since your house is new and you've occupied it a short time, the mineral deposits should be relatively minor and I expect will dissolve and be eliminated in a short period of time.

As you didn't mention your water test results, you may wish to post them here as there could be other reasons for the residue which a softener may not necessarily a able to eliminate.

Water softener was installed prior to our move in and the water heater is of instant variety, no tank. Hardness is 22-23 grains. TDS post softener is 570. I have not done actual chemical analysis as we are on city water and no iron to speak off. Would you recommend sending water to the lab?

 

[Bannerman]

Your city will be required to thoroughly test on a regular basis. Most municipalities now post their water results on-line but if not, they should supply the results to any resident asking for them.

 

[ditttohead]

Could be anything, but... softeners lessen scale and help to lower the affects of spotting, as you said, they wipe off easily even after they are dry, sounds good to me.