restarting water softener

[chedster]

I'm helping an elderly neighbor who unplugged his water softener mid-cycle during a blackout about a year ago. He never plugged it back in.

Is there any risk to just plugging it back in as is? Or should it be turned back to the start position first?

I'm not much smarter than my neighbor when it comes to such things, so please don't hesitate to talk to me like I'm a child. Thanks in advance.

 

[Bannerman]

Assuming it is not equipped with a digital display, which mode of the regeneration cycle is indicated while it remains unpowered?

Because most softeners require electrical power to advance the control valve from cycle to cycle, removing power mid-regeneration cycle, will often result in a constant flow of water to drain. As such, the water that is within the resin tank will likely remain fresh, so just plugging it back in is probably OK. If water was flowing through the softening resin media, without regeneration, the resin's capacity will be fully exhausted, so at least 2 regeneration cycles performed back to back will be needed before the water to fixtures will be fully soft, assuming the resin was not damaged.

If the softener water supply was bypassed so the water within the media tank is 1+ years old, before opening the outlet valve to supply soft water to the home, suggest first adding a few tablespoons of unscented chlorine bleach into the brine tank to sanitize the brine tank, then perform a full manual regeneration to draw the chlorine/brine solution from the brine tank into the media tank to sanitize the softener internals.

Once the sanitizing cycle has completed, wait 1-1.5 hrs to allow sufficient time for additional salt to desolve before performing a 2nd manual regeneration cycle. Once the 2nd cycle has concluded, restore soft water flow to the home.

What brand of softener?

What age of softener?

What is the water source (municipal = chlorinated) or private well?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[chedster]

Assuming it is not equipped with a digital display, which mode of the regeneration cycle is indicated while it remains unpowered?

Because most softeners require electrical power to advance the control valve from cycle to cycle, removing power mid-regeneration cycle, will often result in a constant flow of water to drain. As such, the water that is within the resin tank will likely remain fresh, so just plugging it back in is probably OK. If water was flowing through the softening resin media, without regeneration, the resin's capacity will be fully exhausted, so at least 2 regeneration cycles performed back to back will be needed before the water to fixtures will be fully soft, assuming the resin was not damaged.

If the softener water supply was bypassed so the water within the media tank is 1+ years old, before opening the outlet valve to supply soft water to the home, suggest first adding a few tablespoons of unscented chlorine bleach into the brine tank to sanitize the brine tank, then perform a full manual regeneration to draw the chlorine/brine solution from the brine tank into the media tank to sanitize the softener internals.

Once the sanitizing cycle has completed, wait 1-1.5 hrs to allow sufficient time for additional salt to resolve before performing a 2nd manual regeneration cycle. Once the 2nd cycle has concluded, restore soft water flow to the home.

What brand of softener?

What age of softener?

What is the water source (municipal = chlorinated) or private well?

Thanks very much. I'm not at his house and he's away right now, so I can't answer your questions above. But I have attached a picture of the head. He believes the cycle had just begun when the power went out and he unplugged it.

The brine tank was cleaned out with some vinegar and refilled about a month ago, so that should be okay.

How would we know if the resin has been damaged?

 

[Bannerman]

That control valve is a Fleck 5600 Mechanical.

That type of controller is not the most efficient since regeneration frequency is programmed by the activation of toggle switches on the control dial on the right. Unlike a demand initiated controller that will initiate each regeneration whenever the specific amount of capacity that is programmed has been consumed, that toggle initiated controller will only regenerate on the specific day(s) of the 12-days where the toggle switch(s) is activated, regardless of the amount of capacity that was consumed since the previous regeneration cycle.

Your photo is too dark so I can't see what regeneration mode is indicated in the left dial's window.

Attached is a photo showing my Fleck 5600 mechanical with demand (meter) initiated regeneration. My photo shows the mode window displaying 'In Service' which is the normal mode for the softener to supply softened water to the home.

Constant chlorine exposure over an extended period, will negatively impact the lifespan of any softening resin, which is why I asked the age of the softener, and whether the water supply is municipal or private well.

Chlorine damaged resin will typically be identified by a high amount of flow reduction through the softener, which most people refer to as a loss of pressure, particularly while attempting to run multiple fixtures at the same time. The flow rate will be immediately restored to normal by bypassing the softener.