polychromeuganda
New Member
I want suggestion about a replacement for a softener I have had since 1979 that contains an unknown quantity and type of media in an 8 x 40 resin tank attached to an Autotrol 155 valve with a 6 day electro-mechanical time clock. The local man who installed the system, William Phair, passed 15 or 20 years ago, so there's no asking media he put in. I live in a small town northwest of Boston, MA, in Worcester County with lots of hills and many apple orchards although the best crop that boils fron the earth is stone, and all of it is iron loaded granite. The well water contains iron and manganese.
The last time I had my well tested the water was 15 years ago, if I remember correctly it was 3 grains, 3mg clear iron, 0.5mg Manganese, or words that sounded like that 15 years later. The softener has been regenerated every 6 days with what the setting would have you believe is 10 lbs Morton rust remover salt (green bag), but the actual salt consumption is a bit under 40lb/month, so perhaps its better to use the actual lb than the setting.
The compliants against the present system are;
1) There has always been a pulse or iron loaded or salty water the morning after it regenerates. (I'm the 1st owner of the house, well and softener, so I do mean always.) There are enough of us in the house that this may be due to nocturnal visits to the toilet, but this was not always so although (2) below may contribute to this...
2) It almost always shrieks like the banshee at some point early in the regeneration cycle. A crooning whine with a rising pitch. It follows up with a fluttering drum solo at the end of the regeneration cycle ending in a final crashing slam that shakes every pipe in the 4 bedrroom house. I say almost always because I can't swear it does this when we're away on vacation or only for our entertainment. The Autotrol pilot actuated flapper disc valve has been unquestionably admirably durable. Its lasted 34 years so far without needing any repairs. Its flaw is that its also been noisy the entire time. If this has been instrumental in preventing mineral build-up in the pipes... that's nice... but I still don't want the noise.
4) The EM time clock... we frequently have brief power outages, (5-15 minutes) and infrequently (well, averaging annually) multi-day outages punctuated by generator power that runs out of gasoline over night. The point being that the softener clock is frequently wrong, the house waked to the shriek of the banshee, and all and sundry go unwashed in the AM lest they emerge from their ablutions with orange-brown streaks. The coffee pot get the last clean quart from the hot water pipe, and the toilets flush... almost ambiguously once the iron selltles. The un-treated water is un-pleasing.
5) The EM clock... was the first part to fail, breaking some gear teeth. The firm that took Bill Phairs clients when he learned he would pass (Friot Water Treatment) was very kind and gave me 3 or 4 timers removed from service to take whatever I needed. After the 1st failure 18 years ago (aged 15 years) I started greasing the thing every 5 years or so with a plastic compatible teflon loaded grease for HO trains from Labelle similar to the "white lube" once used in VCRs and it hasn't failed since. The cam failed 2 years after the timer, and was swapped and has been greased since.
5) The resin bed seems not to regenerate fully anymore. There is a faint taste of iron in the water that grows as time goes by. Cleaning the resin bed with Water softener cleaner was followed by Ball citric acid dissolved in water in the salt tank. This worked quite well 15 years ago, when I put in the pool and wanted to be sure of the fill water. It didn't help much now, although it took 20 minutes running the hose for extra rinsing after the citric acid to get rid of extra iron flavors.
So... the key criteria are...
1) No iron/salt pulse after regen...
2) Quiet...
3) Electronic clock...
Fleck 9000 and 9100 series based systems have some appeal. Is one better or worse than the other for New England? Is there another type I should consider? I'm looking for something for me to install and maintain rather than a dealer-only brand or model. After 34 years I'm also inclined to believe that the expense for a seperate iron filter isn't justified. On the other hand I have no idea if I should or should not seek fine grain resin, or thin sheel resin, etc. I get the idea that higher crosslink percent resin is not needed for well water.
I'm (now) an old engineer who fixes everything, TVs, computers, air conditioners, oil furnaces, automobile engines, transmissions, cars totalled by the kids get welded, straigtened, repainted and given back (totalling the car be shouldn't be rewarded with a new one...). I do plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, tree felling, and so on. I gave up on minor surgery though. The lack of anaesthesia got a lot of push-back. (umm... hold off on the reply button, that one was a joke...) You do have to drawn a line though - I have never considered pumping the septic system myself, and never will. No Way. Digging down to the lid is enough. Those flies are vicious. Anyway, the point was that I'm looking for something for me to install.
The last time I had my well tested the water was 15 years ago, if I remember correctly it was 3 grains, 3mg clear iron, 0.5mg Manganese, or words that sounded like that 15 years later. The softener has been regenerated every 6 days with what the setting would have you believe is 10 lbs Morton rust remover salt (green bag), but the actual salt consumption is a bit under 40lb/month, so perhaps its better to use the actual lb than the setting.
The compliants against the present system are;
1) There has always been a pulse or iron loaded or salty water the morning after it regenerates. (I'm the 1st owner of the house, well and softener, so I do mean always.) There are enough of us in the house that this may be due to nocturnal visits to the toilet, but this was not always so although (2) below may contribute to this...
2) It almost always shrieks like the banshee at some point early in the regeneration cycle. A crooning whine with a rising pitch. It follows up with a fluttering drum solo at the end of the regeneration cycle ending in a final crashing slam that shakes every pipe in the 4 bedrroom house. I say almost always because I can't swear it does this when we're away on vacation or only for our entertainment. The Autotrol pilot actuated flapper disc valve has been unquestionably admirably durable. Its lasted 34 years so far without needing any repairs. Its flaw is that its also been noisy the entire time. If this has been instrumental in preventing mineral build-up in the pipes... that's nice... but I still don't want the noise.
4) The EM time clock... we frequently have brief power outages, (5-15 minutes) and infrequently (well, averaging annually) multi-day outages punctuated by generator power that runs out of gasoline over night. The point being that the softener clock is frequently wrong, the house waked to the shriek of the banshee, and all and sundry go unwashed in the AM lest they emerge from their ablutions with orange-brown streaks. The coffee pot get the last clean quart from the hot water pipe, and the toilets flush... almost ambiguously once the iron selltles. The un-treated water is un-pleasing.
5) The EM clock... was the first part to fail, breaking some gear teeth. The firm that took Bill Phairs clients when he learned he would pass (Friot Water Treatment) was very kind and gave me 3 or 4 timers removed from service to take whatever I needed. After the 1st failure 18 years ago (aged 15 years) I started greasing the thing every 5 years or so with a plastic compatible teflon loaded grease for HO trains from Labelle similar to the "white lube" once used in VCRs and it hasn't failed since. The cam failed 2 years after the timer, and was swapped and has been greased since.
5) The resin bed seems not to regenerate fully anymore. There is a faint taste of iron in the water that grows as time goes by. Cleaning the resin bed with Water softener cleaner was followed by Ball citric acid dissolved in water in the salt tank. This worked quite well 15 years ago, when I put in the pool and wanted to be sure of the fill water. It didn't help much now, although it took 20 minutes running the hose for extra rinsing after the citric acid to get rid of extra iron flavors.
So... the key criteria are...
1) No iron/salt pulse after regen...
2) Quiet...
3) Electronic clock...
Fleck 9000 and 9100 series based systems have some appeal. Is one better or worse than the other for New England? Is there another type I should consider? I'm looking for something for me to install and maintain rather than a dealer-only brand or model. After 34 years I'm also inclined to believe that the expense for a seperate iron filter isn't justified. On the other hand I have no idea if I should or should not seek fine grain resin, or thin sheel resin, etc. I get the idea that higher crosslink percent resin is not needed for well water.
I'm (now) an old engineer who fixes everything, TVs, computers, air conditioners, oil furnaces, automobile engines, transmissions, cars totalled by the kids get welded, straigtened, repainted and given back (totalling the car be shouldn't be rewarded with a new one...). I do plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, tree felling, and so on. I gave up on minor surgery though. The lack of anaesthesia got a lot of push-back. (umm... hold off on the reply button, that one was a joke...) You do have to drawn a line though - I have never considered pumping the septic system myself, and never will. No Way. Digging down to the lid is enough. Those flies are vicious. Anyway, the point was that I'm looking for something for me to install.