Time to replace my Kenmore resin??

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jbsloop

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Hi guys,

My Kenmore Deluxe Demand softner has worked great and lasted nearly ten years without problem. Now, however, it is really not doing its softening job and is also leaving unpopular signs of light rust in the bathroom fixtures and laundry.

The Kemore manual is quite decent and I've checked & cleaned all the obvious things and run system diagnostics on it with no problems detected. I was surprised to find that it used only about 3-5 gallons of brine each regen (I had expected more), but I really don't have a feel for what is typical only that it IS sucking brine.

I've always used iron-out type salt pellets and have recently tried a couple regens after adding some RES-UP, but I still can't seem to solve my progressing water softening problem. Sears does sell some over-priced powder they claim should be used if softening problems arise (and I may still try it), but thought the RES-UP would be a comparable effort.

After reading thru some related posts I'm wondering whether I should be considering replacing the resin yet and also whether this Kenmore unit (Model 625.348591) has a tank & valve configuration a DIY'er should attempt or not.

Your thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated...thx! Stephen ;-)
 

Akpsdvan

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Hi guys,

My Kenmore Deluxe Demand softner has worked great and lasted nearly ten years without problem. Now, however, it is really not doing its softening job and is also leaving unpopular signs of light rust in the bathroom fixtures and laundry.

The Kemore manual is quite decent and I've checked & cleaned all the obvious things and run system diagnostics on it with no problems detected. I was surprised to find that it used only about 3-5 gallons of brine each regen (I had expected more), but I really don't have a feel for what is typical only that it IS sucking brine.

I've always used iron-out type salt pellets and have recently tried a couple regens after adding some RES-UP, but I still can't seem to solve my progressing water softening problem. Sears does sell some over-priced powder they claim should be used if softening problems arise (and I may still try it), but thought the RES-UP would be a comparable effort.

After reading thru some related posts I'm wondering whether I should be considering replacing the resin yet and also whether this Kenmore unit (Model 625.348591) has a tank & valve configuration a DIY'er should attempt or not.

Your thoughts on this matter would be greatly appreciated...thx! Stephen ;-)

Replacing the resin in your unit should not be a real challenge.. undoing the bypass careful not to brake the plastic rings, then undoing the ring that holds the valve to the tank, empty out the resin and then pluging the hole in the distribitor and refilling it with resin and putting things back together.
 

jbsloop

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Does the 3 to 5 gallons of brine per regen seem reasonable?

Also, is there a better type resin you would recommend I buy or should I just reorder from Sears Kenmore??

Thx, Stephen
 

Akpsdvan

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Does the 3 to 5 gallons of brine per regen seem reasonable?

Also, is there a better type resin you would recommend I buy or should I just reorder from Sears Kenmore??

Thx, Stephen

Most likely you are doing about 7 gallons of water into the brine tank at the start of a cleaning cycle.
If you would like to pay more , other wise there is an auction site that often has some resin or there are any number of on line dealers ...

Keep in mind that when you start having challenges with the valve on that system it will be cheaper to replace the whole unit than repairing the system.
 

Royerm

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Just my input for what it's worth.
My softener could take something like 1PPM of Iron and 6 months after my condition changed somehow
and my iron went up to 4.8PPM and I ended up in the same condition as yours...brownish colour in the toilet.

My softener was not strong enough for my new condition so I had to install an Iron remover that could take up
to 10PPM...

a suggestion....I would re-test the water directly from the well, maybe your conditon has changed beyond the capacity
or your softener?????
 

Skip Wolverton

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Before you decide to replace the resin, check your old resin. Get a sample and squeeze it between your fingers, if it bad, it will smash. If not, it will stay a hard bead. Also, check the amount of space between the top of the tank and the top of the resin. Over time you will lose resin and when it gets low you will have problems such as yours.
 
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jbsloop

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I have also heard of water chemistry changing over time so I did retest the water before and after the softener - I found the 'before' water results to be almost identical to the original test results 10 years ago when I originally installed this unit, and found the 'after' results to be about 80% conditioned. So, at least my softener appears to be partially working, however, the lack of that last 20% does make a big difference in perceived performance. Thx for your input! Stephen
 

jbsloop

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Thanks for the input on the resin. I've read alot regarding water softener performance and diagnostics thus far and have come across no other references to the described change in physical resin condition nor to volume change. Both good things to check out and I could see how either could easily affect conditioner performance.

The last thing I did was to lower the salt tank's brine water level by a significant amount (from 30" to 8") as it had apparently been creeping up over the years and adversely causing 'excess dilution' of the resin cleaner I've attempted to use. We'll see what a new regen with a proper strength of resin cleaner will do for my conditioner's performance.

As another potential option I did evaluate the cost of replacing the old resin with new (aprox $180 per 1 cuft) and when coupled with the labor of R&R'ing the integral resin tank and the fact that this unit is nearly 10 years old, a pragmatic approach would likely be to replace the complete water softner with a new one if these last few ideas do not resolve my softener's problem satisfactorily.

Thx all, Stephen ;-)
 

Akpsdvan

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But if it is a Sears unit there should be very little water in the brine tank between cleaning cycles, sears fills the brine tank at the start of the cleaning cycle.
 
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