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Is there any way to tell a water softeners capacity by tank size?
Hello group,
I have a twin tank softener which was made by "pure-tel" and I have no original paperwork on it. It has two tall chrome tanks with a Fleck 9000 valve on the top. This was in a rental house I had in Las Vegas and removed it when I sold the house and brought it to Texas where it's now installed in my home. It has been running here for five years but it occurred to me that it's probably set way higher than what I need as the water in Vegas is much harder than out here. I have the manual for the valve which I downloaded but the procedure is pretty complicated (at least the part with the pins in the back but maybe that doesn't need setting?), but it appears the first thing I need to know is the unit's capacity. I seem to think I read somewhere this has to do with how much media is installed? The only label on the thing is the manufacture label, with no part number, specs or anything. Is there any way to find out, or figure out what the capacity of this thing is? I have no idea even how old it is. I am using potassium instead of salt and two adults. Also is it possible to upgrade my existing Fleck 9000 mechanical timer to one of the electronic timers? If so what would I need, do they make a kit?
Thanks for any pointers,
John
PS this is my water quality according to my water coop:
(this is ground water supplied from several wells, not reclaimed or surface water if that even matters)
Total Hardness = 39.5 milligrams/liter (mg/L) or 2.3 grains per gallon
Calcium = 8.15 mg/L
Iron = 0.025 mg/L
Magnesium = 4.65 mg/L
Sodium = 222 mg/L
pH = 7.9 Standard Units
Total Alkalinity = 357 mg/L
Chloride = 66mg/L
Sulfate = 83 mg/L
Total Dissolved Solids = 620 mg/L
Aqua maintains an approximately 1.5 to 3.0 mg/L free chlorine residual in the distribution system for disinfection purposes.
On a side note, my parents have an older Kinetico water softener they might give me, it's been out of service for about ten years so don't know what it would take to put it back. I know they paid a huge amount of money for it when they bought it new in Florida. Not sure what model it is but the tanks are tan, not black. Would it being stored for that long destroy it?
Capacity of a softener is determined by the amount of resin and the salt dose used for regeneration. You can usually determine the amount of resin by the size of the resin tank--a 9 x 48 tank is typically used for 1 cubic foot of resin.
So what size tanks are used--there should be a model number on the tank that includes the size.
A twin,,,,
Bob999 is right, size of the tanks are needed.. if there are no covers on the media tanks some place on the tanks there is a label of the size of the tank or take out a tape and messure the tank across and height of tank.
It is possible to change from the timer that you have to the SXT that Fleck has changed to.
I have changed 2510 from the type of control that you have to the sxt control, so YES it can be done, not that hard.
I am pretty sure mine have covers as the media tanks look chrome, or more likely stainless steel. I will look it over more closely when I get home for any markings, and if not post the measures.Originally Posted by Akpsdvan
On the timer, where might one find these parts? Looking at the parts list it appears the valves and power head are the same, just the timer and harness, mounts, and of course the water meter are different. Was hoping they might sell a "timer upgrade kit" or something like that.
I will post my finding a bit later,
Thanks for the help guys,
John
That cover that is around your tanks is right up on the tank, there is little to NO room between it an the tank.. maybe a 1/4" between the two.
There are a number of items that are the same on the 9000,9100 and 9500 ..
9000 and 9100 are the same save for the valve bodies one is metal and the other is plastic..
Then there is the Elect.. 120v or 24v...
The SE or SXT comes in handy when the gallons that the unit could treat is more than the meter that is on your unit right now... the SE or SXT does not have really an upper limit like your current timer...of 2100 gallons.
While it may be possible to upgrade the timer it may not be cost effective. I suspect that buying an electronic timer as a separate item plus what ever parts are needed for the change over will cost about as much as a complete new head. If the old timer is working then it is relatively easy to change the programming on it--it is a matter of moving pins on the timer wheel that is exposed when the cable is unplugged fromthe meter and the timer is swung out.
There are some who prefer the electromechanical timers as being more reliable than electronic timers.
I suspect you are correct, not worth the expense or the trouble once I get it set up right. Okay, the tanks. No labels on them other than the manufactures label, the tanks are both 10"X48". Given this and my water info above, any pointers of what I should set this thing at? I really appreciate the help, I am pretty handy but for some reason these calculations and pins, and such just mystify me! :-)
PS, would my water be pretty good, medium or what would you give it as a rating? Those numbers don't mean much to me. Also is the chlorine number a lot, or a little? I did just buy a Kenmore self cleaning whole house filter which I am going to install in front of the softener.
Thanks a bunch for all your help guys,
John
Most likely 1 cubic foot in each of the tanks under that Fleck 9000 for starts..
You are going to need to look at the base of the drain line and see if you can find a white lable ,, on it will be drain and brine injector.
Thouse numbers and going to be needed helping to set the meter and the pins that are in place right now.
What the Kenmore self cleaning filter?
Okay, will look on the valve. Are you trying to obtain the GPM of the brine fill? Will check when I get home. If there is no label is the a manual test I can do?
Yes, the Kenmore Elite central whole home filtration system. It looks really nice, has ten pounds of carbon and supposed to last for ten years. Was on sale for 349.99. Regens like a water softener. If it can pull the chlorine smell out of my water I will be happy. Don't have too much sediment.
John
Bastrop is known for having natural soft water I spend 13 yrs in water treatment in Austin. You don't really need a softener. But, if you want to use the softener, set it up for 2100 gallons at 6 lbs salt. The wheel with the pins is like a timer. Each hole or pin is 2 min and should say that on the wheel if it's 1 min per pin or 2. It turns counter clockwise. From the notch, count the first set of pins. Should be about 5 which is 10 min. The next set is empty (about 30 holes) or 60 mins. Then a set of (about) 5 pins or 10 mins. Another gap of holes and the last set of 2 pins. The amount of holes between the last 2 sets of pins is the salt dosage. Each hole is about (depending on the brine flow control) 1 gallon of water. So for 6 lbs salt usage, you need 2 holes. If you need someone to set it up and check out the entire system, lets me know. I have some good friends in Austin that are in the water treatment business.
On the fitting that has the brine line and drain line there should be a lable, one number for the backwash number like 3 or 4 gpm and then there should be a white, or 0 , 00 injector then there should be a black one that says .5gpm on it for the brine...
In the front of the manual for the 9000 is a formula on figuring the numbers..
Say the unit with 9 lbs gives 22000 grains.. with your hardness of say 3grains...that would give 7000 gallons.. but then the number of gallons from cleaning would be subtracked from the 7000 gallons...
Large carbon filter.... ok.. How big is the tank on that carbon unit? How many bathrooms in the home?
It could last out to 10 years, but water usage , amount of chlorine in the water... any thing else that the carbon might take out will change the 10 year time frame... you could get 3 years, or 7 years... but yes carbon Will Take Out the Chlorine .
Thanks Skip,
I will check that out. I think there are several vacant holes in the brine fill section. I suspect with our water not being very hard, even the max 2100 setting might be too much. I have had a couple of neighbors tell me numbers between 3-4, I think because Aqua water pulls from so many different wells it might change depending on which ones I am getting water from so best to set for the highest but at 2100 sounds like that will be no problem. I think it's currently set around 14-1500, for the hard Vegas water. Probably why I am using so much potassium and seems like it regens a lot for two people.
Will check and repost what I find.
Thanks!
John
60 gallons per person per day would be 120 for you, if the meter is for 1400 gallons that would be about 11 days between cleanings, or three times a month..
Make sure that the out side hoses are not getting treated, that will run the gallons up real fast..
On the brine refill , for 9 lbs 3 holes, 6 lbs 2 holes..
Okay will look at that fitting, hopefully it has the labels, seems like everything else is missing on this darn thing! Looks like given the numbers you mentioned, even at the lowest setting, it will be more than I need for my hardness.
On the filter, the tank looks to be about 26" tall, but I can't tell the circumference. The entire filter is about 36" tall. The tank is encased in a plastic outer tank sort of like a kenmore water softener. The parts list says:
Activated Carbon, 10lbs
Gravel, 6lbs
Filter sand, 5lbs.
Aqua lists our chlorine at 1.5 to 3.0 mg/l, is that a lot?
hmmm. 11 days. is it okay for it not to regen for that long? I keep reading they should regen at least once a week else the resin gets damaged, and this valve doesn't seem to have a clock on it so it must be completely water use..Yes outside bibs are separate, had the house built with a loop..
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