Culligan water softener part # 01016351 leaking

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jpdiy64

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Hi, guys

Im new to the forum, so sorry if the subject of this post has been addressed before.

our Culligan Water Softener seems to be leaking from the Brine tank (salt tank)......or it could be coming from the softener tank itself......I have not been able to dry the floor sufficiently yet to determine the offender...but I think its the brine tank.

there are no leaks in the plumbing or valve body or purge lines and the float in the brine tank seems to be operational and moves freely.

The whole house filter is not leaking....


I have put the softener on bypass for now until I can figure it out...if I cant, I have to call Culligan...the thing is only 3-4 years old.

any help would be appreciated.

problem: I have not been able to locate the paperwork yet..usually Im really good with that stuff, but must have filed it somewhere where it would be "safe".......:mad:


thanks in advance!

JP
 

ditttohead

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Hi, guys

Im new to the forum, so sorry if the subject of this post has been addressed before.

our Culligan Water Softener seems to be leaking from the Brine tank (salt tank)......or it could be coming from the softener tank itself......I have not been able to dry the floor sufficiently yet to determine the offender...but I think its the brine tank.

there are no leaks in the plumbing or valve body or purge lines and the float in the brine tank seems to be operational and moves freely.

The whole house filter is not leaking....


I have put the softener on bypass for now until I can figure it out...if I cant, I have to call Culligan...the thing is only 3-4 years old.

any help would be appreciated.

problem: I have not been able to locate the paperwork yet..usually Im really good with that stuff, but must have filed it somewhere where it would be "safe".......:mad:


thanks in advance!

JP

If the system is a 2 tank design, not a cabinet style, it is very easy to determin where the leak is coming from. Taste the water, ugh... if it is salty, it is the brine tank. not salty, it is coming from the softener tank. BTW, you could also thoroughly dry the area surrounding tha tanks and then determine where the leak is coming from, but the taste test ( a tiny drop on the tip of the tounge is all that is needed) works every time. It is not recommended due to sanitary reasons though. :)
 

jpdiy64

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If the system is a 2 tank design, not a cabinet style, it is very easy to determin where the leak is coming from. Taste the water, ugh... if it is salty, it is the brine tank. not salty, it is coming from the softener tank. BTW, you could also thoroughly dry the area surrounding tha tanks and then determine where the leak is coming from, but the taste test ( a tiny drop on the tip of the tounge is all that is needed) works every time. It is not recommended due to sanitary reasons though. :)

Thanks for the reply, Dittohead

The water did not taste any different before I put the unit on bypass mode...and it was leaking then...Would I have salt all over the floor if it were the softener tank?....

The floor is concrete, so its tough to determine which tank it is, but Ill go down there and mop everything up with towels to see where its coming from....Sounds like it might be coming from the softener tank.

either way, it look like its time to give Culligan a call...

Ill keep you guys posted...

thanks

JP
 

Akpsdvan

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Hi, guys

Im new to the forum, so sorry if the subject of this post has been addressed before.

our Culligan Water Softener seems to be leaking from the Brine tank (salt tank)......or it could be coming from the softener tank itself......I have not been able to dry the floor sufficiently yet to determine the offender...but I think its the brine tank.

there are no leaks in the plumbing or valve body or purge lines and the float in the brine tank seems to be operational and moves freely.

The whole house filter is not leaking....


I have put the softener on bypass for now until I can figure it out...if I cant, I have to call Culligan...the thing is only 3-4 years old.

any help would be appreciated.

problem: I have not been able to locate the paperwork yet..usually Im really good with that stuff, but must have filed it somewhere where it would be "safe".......:mad:


thanks in advance!

JP

There are Four things that could be putting water on the floor.
The copper or other plumbing could be sweating so much that water shows up on the floor.
The valve could be leaking.
The brine/salt tank could have a break in the bottom in away that the water is leaking out and if the case any water that dries will have white crystals showing up as the water leaves.
The softener media tank would be sweating so much that the outer jacket is no longer able to hold it back and is showing up on the floor.

Clean up the water and dry the area and watch closely for the next few days of normal water usage inside the house to see where the water shows up from.
 

Mikey

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I have a conventional non-proprietary softener and noticed the same problem a couple months ago. It was easy to identify the 11-year-old brine tank as the source of the leak due to the location of all my components, but the taste test and the white salty residue at the margins of the spill area (where the water had evaporated, leaving the salt) confirmed it. I removed the "dry" salt from the tank for reuse, dumped the remainder into old salt bags for disposal, and flushed the area thoroughly to get rid of the salt. On inspection of the failed tank, I found it had cracked on the bottom for no good reason -- I'll post a picture later.

Later:

Crack in brine barrel.jpg

(I kept the old tank for use as a lawn-trash barrel.) No idea why it decided to crack after sitting in the same place for 11 years, but it was a low-quality concrete job on the floor, and there may well have been a piece of gravel or somethingunder the barrel. A trip to a local dealer and $100 later, I had a new tank and tower -- all I needed was the tank, but all he sold was the combo. 15 minutes to install, refill with salt, and start a dummy regeneration cycle and I was back in business.
 
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jpdiy64

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I have a conventional non-proprietary softener and noticed the same problem a couple months ago. It was easy to identify the 11-year-old brine tank as the source of the leak due to the location of all my components, but the taste test and the white salty residue at the margins of the spill area (where the water had evaporated, leaving the salt) confirmed it. I removed the "dry" salt from the tank for reuse, dumped the remainder into old salt bags for disposal, and flushed the area thoroughly to get rid of the salt. On inspection of the failed tank, I found it had cracked on the bottom for no good reason -- I'll post a picture later. (I kept the old tank for use as a lawn-trash barrel.) A trip to a local dealer and $100 later, I had a new tank and tower -- all I needed was the tank, but all he sold was the combo. 15 minutes to install, refill with salt, and start a dummy regeneration cycle and I was back in business.

This sounds and looks exactly like what Im experiencing....there is a great deal of salt on the floor in the water, which led me to believe it was the brine tank. Ill confirm by continuing to dry the area until I can see exactly where its coming from.

Thanks very much!

JP
 
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