Continually draining

**gloch** · 09-16-2011, 09:09 AM

I have a Fleck 5600se system in my household of 7 people. We just installed the system over 6 months ago but recently it started continually running water into the drain. After looking at the manual, it sounds like there is a broken piston(?) or something in the timer. I had a guy come look at it and he indicated 2 things (1 the system would cost more to fix than it's worth and (2 the system is not big enough for my family size.

So my question is if the system is not capable of handling our usage needs and whether or not it should be fixed(I will do the repair myself) or replaced given the symptoms?

-gl

**Akpsdvan** · 09-16-2011, 09:36 AM

I would say that there is a seal that has a challenge..
If you go through the book, you will find a page that shows the spacers, seals, piston and the body along with other parts.
By putting it in bypass and starting a cycle to releave the pressure, the powerhead will come off and the plate under it and then the piston and seals and spacers come out... now for now you might try changing the line up of the seals ... ie taking the middle ones and moving them to the top and bottom .. Look them over at the same time to see if there are any breaks... or cuts...
If the piston or seals and spacers need to be replaced there are is few spots on the web that the rebuild kits can be had and most likely under 60.00 and then your time to put it back together.

What kind of water quality do you have?
Almost sounds like some one trying to make a sale of equipment...but that is just me.

**gloch** · 09-16-2011, 09:54 AM

Thanks for the reply. I thought the same thing. It felt liek we were being sold a bridge

With this system, do you think he was off-base in telling me it couldn't handle the usage?

-gl

**Akpsdvan** · 09-16-2011, 03:31 PM

Maybe....
Depending on the water quality and the flow rate needed and the capacity needed.. it is possible.. but the questions would have to be answered first.
Hardness of the water, Iron if any in the water..
Bathrooms in the home.
You said 7 people, any Teenagers?

**gloch** · 09-16-2011, 03:38 PM

Teenagers, yes. 3 of them. There are 3 full baths. The water without the softener is leaving a think coating on our dishes but, I still need to actually measure the hardness. I believe it is bad however.

-gl

**mialynette2003** · 09-16-2011, 04:47 PM

Debri can get caught in the spacer & seal which will cause a constant drain flow or one of the seals is pinched. Either way, it is a quick fix with little cost.

**Akpsdvan** · 09-16-2011, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by gloch

Teenagers, yes. 3 of them. There are 3 full baths. The water without the softener is leaving a think coating on our dishes but, I still need to actually measure the hardness. I believe it is bad however.

-gl

With out the hardness number and the size of the system in question it is hard too say undersized, or oversized...
Working with only 2 parts of the math problem is hard when there are other parts that need filling in.

**gloch** · 09-22-2011, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by mialynette2003

Debri can get caught in the spacer & seal which will cause a constant drain flow or one of the seals is pinched. Either way, it is a quick fix with little cost.

When you say "spacer and seal" what part of the softener are you referring to? Control valve?

-gl

**mialynette2003** · 09-22-2011, 10:24 AM

Yes. The base of the control valve houses the piston and spacer & seals. If debri gets caught in them, the seal no longer seals and you get a constant flow to the drain. I found what looked like a piece of wood caught in the spacer about 2 weeks ago. Damn if I could figure out how wood got in there.

**Akpsdvan** · 09-22-2011, 10:24 AM

There are spacers and seals in the valve body and they work with the piston to channel the water to go to the media or to different parts of the cleaning cycle.
Power head comes off and then the cover plate comes off and the piston and seals and spacers come out of the valve.
There are 4 spacers and 5 seals, I would say that possibly one of the middle three seals has a challenge and or the piston ..

**gloch** · 09-22-2011, 11:52 AM

Thanks folks. I think this is beyond my abilities. I just need to find a local expert I can trust.

-gl

**gloch** · 10-04-2011, 07:08 AM

Ok, I tested the hardness with one of the cheap Home Depot kits. The hardness came up around 250 parts/million. Again, I have 7 people - 3 of them are teens. My current system is a Fleck 5600se. Do you think it is a good match?

-gl

**Gary Slusser** · 10-04-2011, 07:28 AM

What size resin tank? That will tell you the size of the softener.

**LLigetfa** · 10-04-2011, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by Gary Slusser

What size resin tank? That will tell you the size of the softener.

I was told you cannot go simply by the size of the tank, that some manufacturers may use the same size tank and use less media and different control valves.