Fleck 9100 SXT over old Kinetico tanks

[Mowmow]

TV should be there. Do you get into the diagnostics mode?

Yes I can get into diagnostics, but it literally skips that one page. It goes from RC to SV. The manual skips TV as well - for the AC version only. One thing I did notice during regen is that the water flow icon doesn't flash - it still keeps track of gallons - just doesn't flash the flow icon.

I'll give the hardness kit a try.

 

[Reach4]

On the single tank system, the flashing icon tells you a regen has been scheduled for time RT.

On your unit, with immediate regen, a single push of the extra cycle button may start a regen immediately . For the non-immediate units, the user must hold the button down for 5 seconds to get the regen.

My 9100 manual does not mention SXT at all. For that info, I look at the SXT manual -- #42713 Rev F. I have not looks around for newer manuals.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Mowmow]

<delete this - it was a duplicate posting>

 

[Mowmow]

On the single tank system, the flashing icon tells you a regen has been scheduled for time RT.

I meant the FLOW icon (the drop of water) - this is what doesn't flash during a regen - even if water is being used.

On the manual - I am talking about the "Fleck SXT Timer Service Manual" dated REV L - JL18 on the back. My PDF is REV K - AU16. They essentially match in the area of diagnostics.

 

[Mowmow]

For measuring the hardness of your water with a Hach 5-B, test (1 part raw well water) + (3 parts distilled water). Count the drops until the mix turns blue, and multiply that number of drops by 4. Hach 5-B is specified up to 30 grains.

Hach 5-EP results on first tank (U2) of second complete 2-tank cycle tested per the above method for the hard water:
- Desulf water into the softener: 84
- Softened cold water with 12 gallons remaining of the 295 capacity: 1 drop yielded bright blue
- Soft water retested with 4x the water and reagent: 2-3 drops for blue

I am eager to see what happens on the next tank (U1), as it went hard on its first pass and I needed to force a regen at 95 gallons remaining. It's possible that it wasn't properly regenerated before I put the system into service.

R.O. water tastes noticeably better so far.

 

[Mowmow]

OK, I have some updates.

1. Tank 2 has been going hard within the last 30 gallons or so, so I increased H to reduce my regen point from 295 to 266 gallons. Under the new settings, the hardness stays below 3gpg to the regen point. I'm not sure if changing H was the best solution, or if I should be increasing the brine fill, or a mix of the two. Too bad I can't individually adjust the tank settings.

2. Stupid me failed to take a look at the media level when replacing the valve heads. I'm guessing that tank 2 has less media. Can I add a bit to tank 2 to top it off? I don't know how much this stuff costs, what type I have vs. what to buy, etc, but would love to be go back to 295 gallons. Even with the reduced capacity, I am using close to HALF of the salt that I was with the Kinetico.

3. I do occasionally get hard water toward the end on both tanks, and I think I have traced this down to a defective (Wellmate/Pentair/Whitewater CH5551) air bleeder (in air-injection-based sulfur removal system that precedes the softener) that sometimes gets stuck closed. It has done this since I installed it a year and a half ago. That's what I get for not just cleaned the old one lol. I believe that the sticking vent allows non-vented air to collect in the "in use" softener tank to the point that incoming water will "tunnel" through a portion of the media, rather than uniformly down-flowing, thus depleting the media that gets overused. Anyway, I am getting a warranty replacement vent in a week or so.

4. To ELIMINATE air in the softener tanks, I've been considering drilling a 1/16"-1/32" hole in the side of the riser tube inside the upper baskets, or in the distributor adapters. That way, air that enters the tank would make its way out through the small hole. The biggest issue I see with this idea is that my water is so hard that the water that passes through that hole (when air isn't) could measurably increase the output water's hardness. The small hole might be prone to clogging as well.

5. The Fleck seems to demand less water flow rate during regen as well (I hardly notice it's happening now), so the night time regen isn't nearly as important to me. Hopefully the backwash/rapid rinse are strong enough to do the job in the longer term with my water.

Though I still have some work to do, even as it stands right now, I am waaaay happy with this new setup relative to the old one.

 

[tjramjet]

dF1b is downflow, 1 backwash. For something else, I think it needs a different piston.

On the expired Hach test, I don't know if the extra year degrades the accuracy. It is possible the colors get less intense rather than not getting the hardness right. Hach 5-EP seems to be the same as 5-B except instead of spooning out the crystals, you break open a portion pack pillow.

TV should be there. Do you get into the diagnostics mode? Note that the service icon (faucet) flashes when a regen has been scheduled. I don't know what happens if you are set up for immediate. Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that getting into diagnostics is a bit tricky at times. I have gotten into scheduling a softner regen on my 5810sxt by mistake, and need to push the extra cycle button momentarily if that icon flashes accidentally (to cancel the pending regen). My 5600sxt has no meter because it is serving as a filter.
So I expect no difference in DC vs AC versions.

This thread is not particular to the above, but I have the Kinetico Quad 51 with 4 small tanks. Any Idea of how much carbon to put in? and what type of resin I need to use. and where can i purchase it. Thanks for any help I can get