Fleck 5600 Econominder

[brew24]

My 15 year old softener control valve just quit. I know I can order a new control valve from the US but does anyone know where I could get a Fleck 5600 control valve in Ontario Canada particularly in south west Ontario?

[Akpsdvan]

There might be one on a sale list .. some one might be selling a used one.. I know that I have seen some listed on an auction site.

If you are handy and have the book, then just buy a rebuild kit for the valve body half.. there is little to go in the power head part.. there is only one motor and the gears hardly ever need to be replaced.

[Gary Slusser]

What did the valve do it isn't supposed to do or what doesn't it do that it should?

It could be as simple as cleaning a part or two and it will be as good as it was Thursday.

[brew24]

It started to leak but very minor. Not sure exactly where from but I assume a seal or O ring. This has been going on for over a year.

But now the timer has stopped working. Is it possible to do a regen manually without the timer working?

[Akpsdvan]

The timer motor is a 1/30 motor.. it is possible to do a manual regen with out the timer by simpley stoping at each of the points along the way for a time, rapid rinse for 10 minutes, backwash 10 minutes, brine draw and rinse 60 minutes and rapid rinse 10 minutes and brine refill for say 6 minutes then back to the service spot.

There are rebuild kits for sale for under 75.00 and motors for under 50.00.

[mialynette2003]

There is a window on the back of the motor. If you see movement in the window, the motor is working. If the unit will not complete a regen on it's own and the motor shows it's working, then the post that holds the motor gear is broken.

[brew24]

There is a window on the back of the motor. If you see movement in the window, the motor is working. If the unit will not complete a regen on it's own and the motor shows it's working, then the post that holds the motor gear is broken.

There is no movement when looking through the window. The motor is quite warm. I guess it's toast.

[brew24]

The timer motor is a 1/30 motor.. it is possible to do a manual regen with out the timer by simpley stoping at each of the points along the way for a time, rapid rinse for 10 minutes, backwash 10 minutes, brine draw and rinse 60 minutes and rapid rinse 10 minutes and brine refill for say 6 minutes then back to the service spot.

There are rebuild kits for sale for under 75.00 and motors for under 50.00.

OK I just tried a manual regen but it was very difficult to determine when to stop and for how long. I wrote down what I saw on the dial.

This is what I did. And what I saw.

Rinse - did this for 10 mins
Turned to
Backwash - did this for 10 mins
Then a large space - what should be happening here? Backwashing or nothing?
Thurned to
Brine + Rinse - what happens here and how long
Large space here but near the end of it the brine draw started -water constantly trickling out
Turned to rapid rinse - huge flow here. How long for though?
Small space
Turned to Settle Rinse - how long here?
Turned to Brine Refill - I filled it to where it was before.

Thanks for your help.

I realize it needs to be fixed but I thought if I could get some soft water while I was deciding whether to fix or buy new the wife would be happy.

[Akpsdvan]

The rapid rinse and or settle rinse are for the most part one in the same, so 5-10 minutes there would do the trick.

You can either get the parts and rebuild it or find some one that has a rebuilt one already and trade it out with the one that is on yours right now.

It might work like the core charge for a part on the car.

[bradrulz]

I am going to be looking at a used Fleck 5600 Econominder unit and the seller does not know the grain capacity. Where will I find this information on the unit?

[Akpsdvan]

What size is the media tank?
That will give an idea as to the amount of media that the valve is working with.