Water Softener with RO and Ph (acid) Neutralizer Install Help

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Akpsdvan

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PVC glue and cleaner... AIR FLOW.... AIR FLOW..... or you will get Higher than a kite in high winds..... :D
The neutralizer should have came with a back wash flow control... say 5 gpm, if that is the case then there should be no problem about the media going out the back wash line as long as there is 17" of space between the media and the bottom of the threads at the top of the tank.

Softener unit is much like the AN or neutralizer... head space or clear room between media and bottom of threads at the top of the tank and a flow control of say 3 gpm... and all should be good.

No need to change the piston on the 5600, just have it clean or cycle every 2 or 3 days and that should be great... you have little to no iron that is going to challenge the media .... just low ph and Hardness...

If you no longer need the Rusco spin down,, Sell it to some one that does...
 

Gary Slusser

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Gary, this is where I believe you don't understand. In this case, the 5600 has a 5 gpm drain flow control and you say it will not backwash the AN "as well" as the 1" valve. Wouldn't the 1" valve have the same drain flow control, 5 gpm? If you are not flowing anymore water, how could you get a better backwash? You can not! It will be the same flow of water whether you use a 3/4" valve or a 2' valve. It's like telling me I can fill a pool up faster using a firehose vs a garden hose both of which have a flow controller in it.
I think Thinkup has a 1 cuft AN filter and a 1.5 cuft softener. I suggest the filter has a larger than a 5 gpm DLFC but, less pressure will take longer to raise the bed to get to 5 gpm than higher pressure would and until the bed is lifted sufficiently you may not be getting to full flow because of the pressure loss in the compacted bed. And then you can't increase the length of time the backwash runs for so the backwash won't be at full bed expansion for very long before the valve stops the backwash cycle. When I said 1" valve I was referring to the Clack WS-1 I suggested would have been a better choice than the 5600.

Also, I do not believe any dealer would use any piston other than the standard backwash only filter piston for the 5600 on an AN filter.

Bob999, I have not called you any names or commented about where you live or what you do for a living or how you say whatever. I commented on what you said in the context that you said it and with only one exception, I quoted your statement that I commented on. If that upsets you that's on you.
 

Bob999

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Also, I do not believe any dealer would use any piston other than the standard backwash only filter piston for the 5600 on an AN filter.

I can't speak for what "any dealer" would or may do. It is pure speculation.

What I can speak to is the capabilities of the Fleck 5600 when used in a filter application. If the "filter piston" is used then there is a total of 30 minutes of backwash. If the "low water piston" is installed then there is a total of 15 minutes backwash. I think the name "low water piston" is used because it reduces the water used for backwash by half. If the DLFC button is 5 gpm then 75 gallons of water is used for backwash with the low water piston and 150 gallons of water is used for backwash with the filter piston. There is further water use reduction with the low water piston because the preliminary and settling rinse are eliminated.

Now just because I am pointing out the capabilities/options available for the valve it does not mean I am advocating use of those capabilities/options.
 

Skip Wolverton

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I think Thinkup has a 1 cuft AN filter and a 1.5 cuft softener. I suggest the filter has a larger than a 5 gpm DLFC but, less pressure will take longer to raise the bed to get to 5 gpm than higher pressure would and until the bed is lifted sufficiently you may not be getting to full flow because of the pressure loss in the compacted bed. And then you can't increase the length of time the backwash runs for so the backwash won't be at full bed expansion for very long before the valve stops the backwash cycle. When I said 1" valve I was referring to the Clack WS-1 I suggested would have been a better choice than the 5600.
Now please explain to me how you increase the pressure of the water by using a 1" valve.
 

NHmaster3015

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I'm not a water filter expert though I do occasionally install them. Anhway, increasing the size of the valve, pipe or whatever does not increase pressure, only flow. After having slogged through this whole mess I am left wondering just how much useful advice has been left for the OP.

Comments on the installation: Nice job, looks good. The only thing that is really wrong would be the unvented trap your drain is running into. Not only is it unvented, it's also an S trap and the 3 x 1 1/2 san tee should not be installed horizontally. However I note that it is not the only wrong fitting installed there.
 
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Gary Slusser

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I can't speak for what "any dealer" would or may do. It is pure speculation.

What I can speak to is the capabilities of the Fleck 5600 when used in a filter application. If the "filter piston" is used then there is a total of 30 minutes of backwash. If the "low water piston" is installed then there is a total of 15 minutes backwash. I think the name "low water piston" is used because it reduces the water used for backwash by half. If the DLFC button is 5 gpm then 75 gallons of water is used for backwash with the low water piston and 150 gallons of water is used for backwash with the filter piston. There is further water use reduction with the low water piston because the preliminary and settling rinse are eliminated.

Now just because I am pointing out the capabilities/options available for the valve it does not mean I am advocating use of those capabilities/options.
Yeah you're right, you can't say what dealers would do because you are not a dealer. And your last sentence there contradicts what you've actually done in this thread.

Since you aren't advocating anything, I see most of your posts in this thread as simply wanting to be confrontational.

I say all that because I see that yesterday you went back to edit post #65 where you first made the incorrect statement that got us into this discussion where all you've been doing is playing denial word games since.

Here is an exact copy of that statement from my post containing a quote of it; The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing and how long the backwash and settling rinse are.

Here is the edited copy, the ____________ shows the corrected part.

******************
The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing. The Fleck 5600 does not have adjustable backwash but with the standard piston the backwash time of 30 minutes combined for the first and second backwash should be adequate. See my comments in red above.
Last edited by Bob999; Yesterday at 10:23 AM. Reason: Correction
*******************

That correction hacked up the thread Bob because no one will see your error or understand anything said about it later except your denial word games posts. It tells me a lot about your character too.
 

Akpsdvan

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Yeah you're right, you can't say what dealers would do because you are not a dealer. And your last sentence there contradicts what you've actually done in this thread.

Since you aren't advocating anything, I see most of your posts in this thread as simply wanting to be confrontational.

I say all that because I see that yesterday you went back to edit post #65 where you first made the incorrect statement that got us into this discussion where all you've been doing is playing denial word games since.

Here is an exact copy of that statement from my post containing a quote of it; The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing and how long the backwash and settling rinse are.

Here is the edited copy, the ____________ shows the corrected part.

******************
The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing. The Fleck 5600 does not have adjustable backwash but with the standard piston the backwash time of 30 minutes combined for the first and second backwash should be adequate. See my comments in red above.
Last edited by Bob999; Yesterday at 10:23 AM. Reason: Correction
*******************

That correction hacked up the thread Bob because no one will see your error or understand anything said about it later except your denial word games posts. It tells me a lot about your character too.

And this helps the starter of this thread HOW????
 

Gary Slusser

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Now please explain to me how you increase the pressure of the water by using a 1" valve.
A 1" valve has less pressure loss than a 3/4" valve. If there is say 3-4 psi loss in a 3/4" valve and say 1-2 psi loss in a 1" valve, there is more psi available with the 1" valve. And 1-2 psi more will lift the bed higher in less time than 1-2 psi less will and that relates to a more successful backwash of the mineral. And that was the reason for the comment.

Wally Hays, see the above.
 

Gary Slusser

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And this helps the starter of this thread HOW????
My thinking is that he gets to see who and what is meant to help him and those that he wants to help learn from this now and in the future.

My questions to you, why do you have a problem with it when it doesn't concern you in anyway and, how does your question help the OP and/or others that read this now or in the future?
 

Skip Wolverton

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A 1" valve has less pressure loss than a 3/4" valve. If there is say 3-4 psi loss in a 3/4" valve and say 1-2 psi loss in a 1" valve, there is more psi available with the 1" valve. And 1-2 psi more will lift the bed higher in less time than 1-2 psi less will and that relates to a more successful backwash of the mineral. And that was the reason for the comment.

Wally Hays, see the above.
Wouldn't the pressure loss be due to exceeding the flow rate of the valve? With a 5 GPM DLFC, you are not exceeding the flow rate of a valve which means the same pressure with both valves.
 

NHmaster3015

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Water%20Project%2&#4.jpgWater%20Project%2&#4.jpgI know with everything else you are considering that you probably don't want to consider these things but I felt compelled to point them out for yours and anyone else'es benefit.
 

Bob999

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Yeah you're right, you can't say what dealers would do because you are not a dealer. And your last sentence there contradicts what you've actually done in this thread.

Since you aren't advocating anything, I see most of your posts in this thread as simply wanting to be confrontational.

I say all that because I see that yesterday you went back to edit post #65 where you first made the incorrect statement that got us into this discussion where all you've been doing is playing denial word games since.

Here is an exact copy of that statement from my post containing a quote of it; The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing and how long the backwash and settling rinse are.

Here is the edited copy, the ____________ shows the corrected part.

******************
The Fleck head has settings to determine how many days between backwashing. The Fleck 5600 does not have adjustable backwash but with the standard piston the backwash time of 30 minutes combined for the first and second backwash should be adequate. See my comments in red above.
Last edited by Bob999; Yesterday at 10:23 AM. Reason: Correction
*******************

That correction hacked up the thread Bob because no one will see your error or understand anything said about it later except your denial word games posts. It tells me a lot about your character too.

The post above says a lot about the character and motives of the poster in my opinion. He is more interested in bashing other posters than seeing correct information posted on this board.

He is now bashing me because I corrected an incorrect post. So be it--it further reveals who/what he is.

I think the real reason for the post is to divert attention from all the misleading information he posted in this same thread after I pointed out that the backwash time of the Fleck 5600 varies with different pistons. Of course he hasn't admitted this and hasn't clarified his misleading statements.
 
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thinkup

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My House is a Mess

I'm way backed up on DIY projects now because of the day job. I work in IT and the past two weeks have been disasters!

Anyway, I just skimmed that last few post and things are looking lively like normal. I love it!! I love all the help. Even though the house has been a problem since day one!

Long story short. This is my first home. We had it "inspected" before we bought but in hind sight the inspector and the lady who helped us buy it were probably working together. Fireplace, boiler, roof, septic, electric, radon, baseboards, insulation and on and on have been problems that were missed during the inspection. So now it seems I may have plumbing issues!! Great. Ok, I'm going to fix em. I'm going to just crank it all out while I'm down there working on this stuff. I'm running electric for the gear this weekend and doing the drain line again. I"ll post more photos as well and we can get back to talking about pistons and rods and whozel nozzles and mineral lifting and all that too.

When this post is done and after everyone helps me get all this gear together, I'm going to write up a nice long list to cover it all for future DIYers. Hopefully I'll get some editing help on that too. That should be interesting ROFL. Thanks guys for all the help.
 

Gary Slusser

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A 1 to 2 lb difference in pressure will not make a difference in lifting the bed. We are nitpicking here for no reason.
You sound as if you know nothing about heavy mineral filters and mistakenly believe you get the gpm flow rate of the DLFC immediately; in this example 5 gpm. DLFCs are usually rated in tenths of a gpm and a higher psi will lift the bed faster than a lower psi and the length of time that the bed is completely lifted is critical to successful backwashing of AN or any other heavy mineral. The faster that happens teh better and every psi counts.

And your mark up of all the things 'wrong' with the basement plumbing is overlooking the fact that that plumbing, or at least the sewer stack is grandfathered to the codes in effect when the house was built or the plumbing was added/changed years ago. Thinkup may not have done all the PVC plumbing. IMO he did the stand pipe and trap for the drain line from his filter and softener and ran the 3/4" PVC to it only.
 
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Gary Slusser

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He is now bashing me because I corrected an incorrect post. So be it--it further reveals who/what he is.
I'm pointing out that you sneaked back to page 5 (was it?) in post #65 and corrected the error you made but until now when I point it out, you had not admitted making any error, actually you continued to deny you made any error over the next 3 pages of an 8 page thread.

I pointed out that the backwash time of the Fleck 5600 varies with different pistons.
Which has nothing to do with this AN filter because no dealer that knows what they are doing would use any piston other than the filter piston in a heavy mineral filter because the other pistons are normally used in a water softener version of the 5600.
 

NHmaster3015

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Thank you for the criticism, I will keep it in my special file.

Actually, no, bad plumbing is never "grandfathered" and as soon as he cut into the lateral he is obliged to bring those other things up to code. Had he pulled a permit to pipe the drain, the inspector would have clarified that issue for him. furthermore I only point thow things out because they are common mistakes made by people that are not familiar with the code and I feel it would be a good thing if others can profit from the lesson. Again, thanks for your concern.
 

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Which has nothing to do with this AN filter because no dealer that knows what they are doing would use any piston other than the filter piston in a heavy mineral filter because the other pistons are normally used in a water softener version of the 5600.


Perhaps you can explain why Fleck sells the low flow piston and lists it on Page 8 of the manual that is describing the use of the valve in a filter application. I very much doubt that Fleck would offer the piston if someone is not buying it. Now I can't prove that statement any more than you can prove your statements about any dealers.

Lets just agree that we disagree and move on.


STOP THE BASHING!!!
 

Gary Slusser

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Thank you for the criticism, I will keep it in my special file.

Actually, no, bad plumbing is never "grandfathered" and as soon as he cut into the lateral he is obliged to bring those other things up to code. Had he pulled a permit to pipe the drain, the inspector would have clarified that issue for him. furthermore I only point thow things out because they are common mistakes made by people that are not familiar with the code and I feel it would be a good thing if others can profit from the lesson. Again, thanks for your concern.
He is in NY, what code is he under and what did it say when that plumbing in question was done and more than likely inspected?

I assume we are in agreement that more psi lifts the mineral to total bed expansion sooner than a lower psi can.
 

Bob999

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I'm pointing out that you sneaked back to page 5 (was it?) in post #65 and corrected the error you made but until now when I point it out, you had not admitted making any error, actually you continued to deny you made any error over the next 3 pages of an 8 page thread.

There was nothing sneaky about what I did. The post was labeled as being edited with the date and time the change was made as well as notation that the reason for the change was a correction.

STOP THE BASHING!!!
 
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