dyeager535
New Member
Hi!
First things first, I want to say that I tried searching the forum before posting, but search isn't working for me. So if this has been posted, apologies. This is going to be a long one.
I bought a Kinetico system about 6 months ago. Longer story short, the house was vacated for a few days, entire system froze (don't ask). All piping and the Kinetico components (short of the brine tank and fiberglass tanks) cracked. The bypass valve housing and the "timing" (backflush?) mechanism housing atop the fiberglass tank are both cracked, which I assume are the expensive parts of the whole system.
Kinetico came out and told my wife the whole system is junk (I wasn't home), replacing the whole thing is the only option.
Are there likely more problems that I can't see? Would freezing have hurt the media? I think not, but I'm not a pro and know to ask.
The tanks are still holding the water that was in them, so I am reasonably certain they are good. I plan to take the bypass valve housing and the "timing mechanism" apart, to see if there is anything internally broken. I realize that the housings would need replaced even if nothing else internally is wrong. I am confident I can do the work, I'm unsure if I'd be able to source the parts though, from the posts I've seen elsewhere, getting Kinetico to sell you parts is hit or miss, and I've seen no pricing information.
This being my first system, I'd like to have some pro's tell me whether repairing this system may be possible, or if I'm just wasting my time. I've got a friend of a friend (who I trust, he is a professional plumber) who said he can install a system that will do everything I need it to, for about $900. If I can repair the Kinetico for that much, I would like to just get it back up and running. From what I've read, while expensive, the Kinetico *is* good. His statement to me was that the stuff seems to be good, the problem tends to be the installers. So I don't think he is biased against it necessarily.
I also have a question regarding the installation. As it was setup, the well water was first pumped through an installed sediment filter, into the fiberglass tanks, then through two separate carbon filters. Based on the insides of the pipes that I can now see, it would appear the carbon filters would work better being BEFORE the fiberglass tanks, as there was still obviously smaller sediment making it's way past the screen sediment filter. Or is there a reason that it has to be set up this way?
I will say though, that I was pleased with the systems operation up until it froze, and obviously that wasn't their fault.
Thanks for reading all of this, and I hope I didn't leave out any critical information. I appreciate any words of wisdom that can be imparted to me.
First things first, I want to say that I tried searching the forum before posting, but search isn't working for me. So if this has been posted, apologies. This is going to be a long one.
I bought a Kinetico system about 6 months ago. Longer story short, the house was vacated for a few days, entire system froze (don't ask). All piping and the Kinetico components (short of the brine tank and fiberglass tanks) cracked. The bypass valve housing and the "timing" (backflush?) mechanism housing atop the fiberglass tank are both cracked, which I assume are the expensive parts of the whole system.
Kinetico came out and told my wife the whole system is junk (I wasn't home), replacing the whole thing is the only option.
Are there likely more problems that I can't see? Would freezing have hurt the media? I think not, but I'm not a pro and know to ask.
The tanks are still holding the water that was in them, so I am reasonably certain they are good. I plan to take the bypass valve housing and the "timing mechanism" apart, to see if there is anything internally broken. I realize that the housings would need replaced even if nothing else internally is wrong. I am confident I can do the work, I'm unsure if I'd be able to source the parts though, from the posts I've seen elsewhere, getting Kinetico to sell you parts is hit or miss, and I've seen no pricing information.
This being my first system, I'd like to have some pro's tell me whether repairing this system may be possible, or if I'm just wasting my time. I've got a friend of a friend (who I trust, he is a professional plumber) who said he can install a system that will do everything I need it to, for about $900. If I can repair the Kinetico for that much, I would like to just get it back up and running. From what I've read, while expensive, the Kinetico *is* good. His statement to me was that the stuff seems to be good, the problem tends to be the installers. So I don't think he is biased against it necessarily.
I also have a question regarding the installation. As it was setup, the well water was first pumped through an installed sediment filter, into the fiberglass tanks, then through two separate carbon filters. Based on the insides of the pipes that I can now see, it would appear the carbon filters would work better being BEFORE the fiberglass tanks, as there was still obviously smaller sediment making it's way past the screen sediment filter. Or is there a reason that it has to be set up this way?
I will say though, that I was pleased with the systems operation up until it froze, and obviously that wasn't their fault.
Thanks for reading all of this, and I hope I didn't leave out any critical information. I appreciate any words of wisdom that can be imparted to me.