Resin tank dimensions

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Teve

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Do water softener resin tank diameters specify inside or outside diameters? How thick is the wall typically? Is height measured to the very top?
 

Akpsdvan

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I have a tank that I have cut down because of a freeze, what is the reason for the question?
 

Teve

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I was just trying to do a freeboard calculation. My 10x40 tank with a cubic foot of resin has a loose fitting silver wrap so I can't measure the outside circumference exactly. Looking at another web page it looks like tank diameter refers to the inside. I'm not sure what should be used for the height in the calculation since the top is not flat like a cylinder.
 

Akpsdvan

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Do you have a standard distributor or a turbulator?
Standard distributor has 17" of free board from the resin to the bottom of the threads of the tank, while one can to to with in 10" of the bottom of the threads if the turbulator is in use.
 

Teve

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I don't know, but I am guessing probably no turbulator. Remember, I can't see the resin level with a light because of the wrap, but a cubic foot is 22" high in a 5" radius cylinder, 18" away from 40". That suggests no turbulator. By the way, what exactly does a turbulator do?
 

Akpsdvan

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The standard distributor has the water come out at the bottom and up through the resin pushing it to the top of the tank in the backwash part of the cycle, the turbulator as an extra tube and when the water goes to the bottom it crosses over to the side tube and then up bringing the resin with it.
The resin at the bottom of the tank goes to the top and the resin at the top goes to the bottom.
 

Teve

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I just read up-flow softeners (like mine) don't use turbulators so I guess mine doesn't have one. I'm not sure why they wouldn't use one.

I think my freeboard is quite OK but I'm still curious if tank diameters specify inside diameters (which I think is the case).
 

Akpsdvan

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Out side.

Up flow with freeboard... I know that it is done .. but even after all the years I still don't like it.
Resin works best in recharging when the brine is forced through the resin and that is either down or if the resin is held in place by upper and lower grids that keep it from moving.
 

Teve

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It seems some people have a preference for up-flow or down-flow but neither seems clearly better over the other from what I've read. What difference does it make as long as resin beads are exposed to flowing brine either way? I've read up-flow restores more capacity for the same salt dose.
 

Akpsdvan

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Part of that is true, more of the brine reaches the resin.. but if the resin is aloud to move even a little out of the way of the flow then it may not get the charge when it should.

Think of it this way.
When the water heats up the water that water is going to expand both to the facet and back down the feed line or the incoming line to the water heater, if there is a softener or other water treatment in line before the water heater there is going to be an Unpacking of the media bed and let untreated water slip through and into the rest of the house and the water heater, now if that can happen,... it can also happen when trying recharge the resin. The resin needs to be packed for the up brining to work best, if that bed is aloud to unpack even a little the effect of brining is lowered.
 

Teve

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I don't mean to defend up-flow. I bought a softener recently for the Clack valve and later found out it was up-flow. Now I'm just curious to know the difference.

I don't quite follow your explanation. I can understand some hardness slipping through loosened resin but I can't see loosened resin slipping past brine it's immersed in. I assume the brine engulfs all the resin as it flows upward.
 

Gary Slusser

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Except for some dealers and Kinetico that hype upflow (counter-current) regeneration is used in commercial/industrial applications where hardness leakage is critical and kept to X ppm or mg/l instead of gpg. Upflow regenerates the bottom of the resin column fully while co-current (downflow) does the top of the column better. Most of the equipment used in commercial prevents any resin bed expansion and without that, IMO upflow in residential or without packed bed construction is useless.

Tank sizes are internal measurements.
 
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