I just bought a house for the first time and have been struggling to understand the water softener system. Thank you for making and posting these videos, they are super helpful.
Gary, I keep referring to your videos. They are ABSOLUTELY 'THE BEST' on UA-cam! You SET THE BAR. Simple, detailed, straight-forward. Perfect the DIYer as I am. I so very much appreciate you taking the time out of your day to explain everything and then go above and beyond to offer solutions. If I'm ever in Midland... will stop in and 'shake your hand'... in thanks. Keep up the great work! Mike from French River, ON.
The water absorbs salt until is reaches saturation, which is about 3 lbs of salt per gallon. If it's had sufficient contact time to reach saturation, it doesn't matter in the least whether the water level is above or below the salt line. if you can see any salt in the water, and it's had sufficient contact time, you're all set. With a wet salt system, the weight of the salt above the water line can crush and "mush" the wet salt. Good rule of thumb with wet salt systems is to not overfill, so generally keeping it half full or less works well.
Thanks for that second paragraph Ray. Gary never really explains in the video *why* it’s bad to have too much salt in the brine cabinet. (And the manual for my WaterBoss unit says that for convenience you can just keep it right full.) But I have indeed experienced that mushed up layer of salt at the bottom that you describe, and it was a pain to clean out. The weight thing makes sense.
I'm not sure much of this video holds water, no pun intended. Salt reaches an equilibrium concentration in the water, period. This is chemistry 101. As long as the salt has had time to dissolve (and is at equilibrium) and as long as some salt in the solid phase still exists, the water will contain as much salt as it can hold. The water level must be sufficient, at a minimum, to fully supply the brine draw cycle. Brine refill time should be tuned to maintain a roughly constant liquid level before and after a regen cycle, and at a level that more than covers the brine draw. It is good to have enough salt so you don't ever run out, but keeping a little bit lower allows easier monitoring of the level at the start and end of a cycle, and occasionally after brine draw.
Water needs to touch salt to absorb it. If the salt level is below water, the water above it is not touching the salt so it cannot absorb it. Brine refill is determined by the valve based on the hardness settings input into the water softener.
@@water_estore Hey, Gary. I trust that you know much about water softeners, but what you are pushing is not sound chemistry. As long as solid salt exists below the water line, dissolved salt in the water will reach a saturation point, at which time no further salt can absorb (assuming constant temp). Ion diffusion keeps the ion concentration in the water essentially the same from top to bottom, even where water exists well above the salt layer. As salt is dissolved after regen, the solid salt level will drop to resaturate the refill water. Ref ionic equilibrium and diffusion. Here's a ref for you specific to this system equilibrium: courses.lumenlearning.com/cheminter/chapter/saturated-and-unsaturated-solutions/ and for diffusion: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_diffusion
Dave is right, the dissolved salt level will quickly saturate both among and above the pellets, but since the brine is drawn out from the bottom of the float valve cylinder, way below the refilled waterline, it is kind of a moot point. Plus Gary''s recommendation does no harm, in fact it buys you a little more time before you need to add more salt. Gary your videos are top drawer, best I've seen on this topic, so I'm glad you aren't a chemist because you would probably not be able to make such clear and helpful water treatment videos.
I just owned a home and was really perplexed about excalibur water softener requirements. Couldn't obtain manual anywhere. Just came across your videos and they have helped me a lot. Thank you. :-)
You are absolutely the man! I love your videos they helped me understand the water softener in our newly purchased house! We have family up near Midland area kinda (stayner) and we will definitely be sending them your way if they require anything water related !
Thank you for this video! I have a Pentair/Fleck 5810 XTR2, and after the plumbers installed it they didn't explain ANYTHING. We are a two-person household with extremely hard AZ water, so I went with your suggestion of having enough salt to cover the water, about ½ way.
Thanks for the video. So by this, I'm deriving that during regeneration and fill, the water should come up just to the top of the salt for brining. If the salt is fully under water, you should add salt (especially for my family of 5, including 2 water-hogging teens). If the water does NOT come to the top of the salt, it's all good but I should be cautious about having TOO MUCH salt, as the weight of it could cause packing and bridging (an issue I just finished clearing up). I was always a 'fill it to the top, so I don't have to think about it' guy, but I just cleared a MAJOR mess -- about 8-10" of sludge/rock at the bottom of my softener. I'm hoping by clearing it all out and putting in a resin cleaner, and keeping less salt in the brine well, I can keep from having to replace it.
Hey Gary - I just refurbished my 17 y/o clack ws1 water softener valve, cleaned & refilled the 1.5 cu.ft. resin tank and thoroughly cleaned my brine tank. Following your helpful video on setting up a new (or rebuilt) system I put about 4-5 gallons of water into my empty brine tank and manually partially stepped through each of the regen stages; I did a complete post fill cycle and during that time I added a total of 80 pounds of salt pellets to the tank. With the residual gallon or two of water from the initial step through of the regen cycles plus the complete post fill cycle I now have about an inch or so of water above the salt fill. Should I: (1) Leave it as is until the first on demand regen. in about a week, or (2) remove the excess water to an inch or two below the salt level, or (3) Add another 40 lb. bag of salt pellets to the tank? Thanks, -Doug
Good information in all your videos. Question: my water softener when regeneration makes loud knock noise, no water in the salt tank. Hope you have the time to answer. Thanks.
That is incorrect. The water softener valve calculates how much water goes into the brine tank so that when that quantity of water if fully saturated with salt it will have the correct dosage of sodium to regenerate the media. If the water level is higher than the salt the water above the salt isn't touching the salt (so it can't absorb the sodium) so there will be insufficient sodium to regenerate the media.
Hello, any hints on how to clean the water boss 900's brine container? It seems like the resin media canister shouldn't be removed from the enclosure but it has dirty waterline marks all around the cabinet from previous owners.
Dumb question: how do I know where the half full mark for salt is? I have a WaterBoss 180 and I just bought this house with the unit hooked up. I've read the manual, but maybe I'm missing something.
do you have a video that breakdown the whole system you installed in you house. I want to combiine a salt base water softener, and RO system and UV light.
It is a good idea for a future video, but no I don't have a video detailing what I have at home for my family but I can tell you. I have an iron filter like this one waterestore.ca/products/hum-fob-chemical-free-iron-filter?_pos=568&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r, a water softener like this one waterestore.ca/products/hum-deluxe-water-softener-30-000-grain?_pos=1133&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r_pos=1&_sid=e7c219341&_ss=r this UV system waterestore.ca/products/hum-water-care-10gpm-minirack-mr320e-tp2s-220?_pos=30&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r and this Reverse Osmosis Drinking water system waterestore.ca/products/hum-water-saver-reverse-osmosis-system-75-gallons-per-day?_pos=187&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r We have all of those available on our Canadian and US ecommerce websites.
Have you run into an issue where the water will not suck out of the holding area and recharge the brine? My tank will fill up no problem but will not suck out. I replaced the Venturi and cleaned everything.
Yes, that is a common concern. Assuming the injector and screen are clean I would look to make sure there is no blockage or leaks in the brine line connections at either end of the brine tubing.
Thanks for clarifying a few of my questions. I have a Culligan water softener tank that I used to keep full of solar salt until I had a clog which required me to empty the tank and wash out all components. Now I keep it only 1/4 full in case of another clog and to reduce the amount of wasted salt. Since I'm seeing some water in the softener tank, should I add more salt so that all water is below the salt line? In other words, seeing water in the tank means that I don't have enough salt? Thanks!
I’m perplexed. We bought a house with a WS and that’s a first for us. It was installed and maintained by culligan. The salt tank was full when we got it and only an old couple lived there, then the husband dies and she’s alone for 6 month. Following your logic, why would the culligan guy fill the tank to the top ? According to a calendar taped to the tank, It seemed like he came by every other month... was this just to justify a service plan ?
He meant the container. He also says the water that creates the brine should be below the salt you have in there. So that should help fortify that answer :-) hope this helps!
Do you have a video explaining the hardness number? In this video you referenced 20 a couple times. I have a 4 person family and my water is very hard. I test my water regularly (I have several aquariums) Ph is 8.4+, Gh is 300+ and Kh 210, any suggestions? I've watched several of your softener videos and they are very helpful. Thank you.
The Water eStore I'm not sure, I'll have to look into it. Should I start by setting my softener to hardness of 20? I've never really known what that number should be set to or even where to start. Thanks for your time.
So if I'm understanding this correctly if my brine tank for example holds 20 gallons of water and I can fill the brine tank with enough salt that there is just about 1 inch of water over the salt that it will soften the water the exact same if I have 10 inches of water over the salt mind you with 10 inches of salt there would be enough salt in the brine tank let's say 2 bags. I was always always thinking that it must be better to have more salt always above water to assure more concentration or higher concentration of salt. Saltier solution.
The water softener determines, based on its settings how much water is added to the brine tank to make the correct amount of brine to regenerate the softener. This only works if all of that water comes into contact with salt. If some of the water does not touch salt because there isn’t enough in the brine tank then there will be insufficient brine to regenerate the media fully
@@water_estore Thanks for the reply I just installed a new piston kit with a new brine valve because after a regen I could hear water still draining through the drain pipe and my pump kicking in. I would have to manually turn my regen knob fully to get the water to stop. My guess a sticky piston. So far it seems that I’m hearing louder noises when it was backwashing meaning more water getting by the first cycles without a sticky piston I’m assuming. Right now I’m in brine rinse watching how much it will draw. Knob seems easier to turn also. So could a water softener be programmed to add more water over the float in some cases? With salt in my brine tank the finished water level is higher than the float when regen is completed
I just cleaned up my salt tank after 6 years since it was first installed. I put a 40 lb bag of salt. But after the regeneration, the water level is higher than the salt. Is this normal?
I have a Culligan water system, and in your video, mine is missing that brine well cap inside the brine tank... is that a problem ? And if it is, should I find something to cover that well top?
@@water_estore Ok, I just poured some "resin cleaner liquid solution" into that brine well the other day and hit the Regen button... I guess that's what that well is there for... And when I pour in the salt pellets, I am careful to just pour around that well, not inside it.. I guess I could using masking tape or saran plastic wrap around that well top...
So short of any mechanical issues with my fleck 5600..what would be the cause of my system backing up into my domestic water pipes...causing slow water flow...and clogging sink airetors ..? i listened to the MFG and they said the media resin is good for about 10-12 yrs..before it needs replacing....however, in my case the time was 5yrs..then things went bad? so cause??/ is my question..i also want to say,,that the media resin attracts minerals, iron, manganese....if thats the case that explains why my swimming pool salt water generator went bad,,as i believe the magnetic properties shorted out this salt cell..and i had to get new one...$$$$ pricey..thanks for any insight.pete
one day last week all my water was flowing in my home slooooowly,,,i cleaned all the faucets out,,and that helped a bit...then i went under the sinks and cleaned the small strainers out and that helped..i then added water to my pool...and then found huge particles of the resin media on bottom of pool floor...that led me to look at my water softener in the garage and low and behold..it lost about 2/3 of the media in the tube that holds the media....for some reason it backed up into my plumbing pipes...? Its not a broken timer on top of the media canister,,that is working fine....i can only assume that the media resin was so full of foreign particles that it clogged the system up?
ok i replaced the media resin..cleaned out the riser tube..reinstalled everything and re-programmed everything on the timer.....today the timer was supposed to go into backwash...but it seems like it got stuck (timer) on RC? setting portion of recycleing? do i need a new timer? what would cause this...thanks..P>S> i reset timer to new settings...and am doing a manual back wash cycle..to see how it does? i will update ASAP...
ok i did a manual backwash and watched the whole process and it worked fine...but i still think that the automatic backwash in 14 days it will stick ? i will take your advice and look for a set of seals and spacers? if that will help piston from jamming? thanks..ps where can i get these parts ?
Water eStore The past 11 days I have had air then water come out of my faucets periodically. This seemed to have happened after a 2 second power outage, a flicker during a storm. When I open faucet, air spurts then water with rust. I have purged all faucets. It worked fine until yesterday. I heard something and opened a sink faucet, no water. My husband was running water at the barn. He shut off water. I opened sink faucet again and had water. He turned water on at the barn and it was very rusty. I turned on house to get the air sputter, rusty water then it cleared again. We had well repair/plumber come out. He tested well and pressure tank. He says he thinks its water softener. Waterboss proplus 360. We bypassed water softener. No more air rusty water. Today I called waterboss and was told impossible. Took off bypass and Set water softener to power clean. Then water level got very high. I stuck a pvc pipe in the softener and could feel a salt block. I poked at salt block until it was broken up. Now machine is on regenerate again. Please advise with any suggestions. Thank you.
I just got my new water softener! The tech that installed it told me to only put two bags into the tank. I recall my uncle had a softener and we always filled the tank with salt... 6 or 8 bags? Which is right? Only two bags looks very empty and I want to add more... may I? THANKS!
I do hair from home and run my water all day most everyday. I have a family of 7 and we all use the water. I have a room for rent and they use the water. I also have a small apartment and they use the water. I am thinking I should be keeping the water softener pretty full with salt. It is making noise that I don't know or recognize. I checked it and the salt was below half way. I filled it pretty full with salt and have been running the water again. I hope it stops making noise.
I am a household of one and I just put in four 50 pound bags of salt, which put the softener around 3/4 of the way full. The water level is just barely above the salt level. How do I know if I've put too much salt in? Am I at risk for salt clog? The water hardness where I live expressed as calcium carbonate, typically ranges from around 200 to 350 milligrams per liter or parts per million (ppm).
If you don't add salt (in my case to a Culligan) will the level go all the way down to empty? I'm running this experiment, because I want to put in resin cleaner, and isn't it better to do that when the brine tank isn't too full? It seems to be stuck at one fifth full
What about the brine concentration?, I have a salinometer or densimeter in 0-100 scale and in takes 5 days to reach only 70% of brine concentrarion in my brine tank. I think this is very slow. I use a salt pellet. How long time is really needed to reach a 100% concentration? I think that at 50% brine concentration I only get 50% of resin capacity, am I correct?
Hi, My water kind of smell musty. Water in the brine tank was always above the salt. After watching the video, I can make sure it salt level is good. The brine tank smells musty as well. Could water smell due to smelly brine tank?
What level should I put my softer at ? My softner hardness can be set from 1-150. I live in Utah and our water is loaded with minerals . I have it set all the way at 150 right now , but idk if that is too much or not . Help !
Informative, useful... Delivery-wise, need to not read off the prompter mechanism (whatever) above the camera quite so obviously. You spend the entire video blatantly looking above the camera. ;-)
I was watching the Blue Jays game and decided to add salt to my water softener. Water softener is in the basement where I was at…long story short I dropped a beer in there and almost all of it spilled into my salt. Do I let it ride or clean the entire tank?
does it matter if you use block salt vs pellets? Or could you use a combination of both. I typically use 3 x 50lb blocks and 1 bag of 40 lbs pellets. Is that ok?
My water softener is old. I am told that it will be full of water all the time. My question is, how do I know when I need to add salt when I can't see the salt.
Your water softener should never be full of water, about 1/3 or 1/2 full, yes but never totally full. If yours is there is something is wrong, this video will help. ua-cam.com/video/ZdA0aI1q22w/v-deo.html
We just installed a new system and are getting peppered by particals when running the water in the showers and sink, its constantly clogging the faucets. What is causing this?
hello sir,its just me and my 77 yr old mother that I'm trying to take care of,we use very little water,can't drink it,it stinks and we can never get the salt and bleach right,my question is how many times should i set mine to backwash ? as for my chlorinator i was told 1 gal, of bleach to 14 gal,of water,but if i do this each month it will fill up to the top.were trying to get things working so we can buy a reverse osmosis and install it so we can cook and drink the water in the kitchen,but we need ,or i need help sir.any help thanks so much
I thought the higher the number the softer the water 🤷♀️ i had it on 30 and the water guy came over because my brine tank is at the 4 level of water, and he said to set the level to 60 or even higher for softer water
if your water has a hardness of 20, you would typically set the softener at 22 (20 plus 2) to get water that has a hardness of 0, soft water. Setting it higher will just waste salt and water. You can't make the water softener than 0
I used his advice with filling up brine tank until salt pellets fill above water level and now stuck with salty drinking water we filter in our kitchen faucet. It may have something to do with the amount of salt (or amt of softness/hardness) in municipal water. The previous homeowners had a water softner so I am assuming that its needed where we live in MN. I'm going back to one bag per month once the tank goes empty.
I would check your settings to make sure they are set properly for the amount of hardness in your water. This video also shows you how to trouble shoot salty water ua-cam.com/video/3GQWpqlLBps/v-deo.html
Just bought a New water softener system but I’m still getting rust in my water and itchy skin. When I let the water lightly run on tissue the tissue turns a deep dark rusty brown....what gives?
What hardness and iron levels did you have before your water softener and what do you now have after the water softener? Water softeners can remove some iron but if you have over 1 ppm you will likely need an iron filter before the water softener.
You should ask them why, I would be curious to know. Maybe they sell their own brand of salt and theirs is not available in pellet form. Pellets are better in every respect.
Do you actually drink the same water that comes out of that brine tank? That seems a bit nasty and possible dangerous to your Heath...adding salt to drinking water ? That tank is more like a slime tank that I don't wish to drink from..Am I missing something here??
You said fill the salt just above the water line. If you fill the salt all the way up, or is not touching the water. How can that possibly effect anything?
the amount of salt in your water softener has no affect on how much salt your water softener will use. Similar to the amount of gas in your vehicle tank will not cause you to use more gas to travel the same distance.
@@LegitsTV It's not recommended to drink softened water due to the higher sodium/potassium (salt) content in the water - the hard minerals (calcium/magnesium) are replaced with salt...and more salt that a 1 for 1 exchange. You should drink purified water - no salty water!
@@LegitsTV you bet. You can certainly 'drink' the water, just like you can drink tap water, river water, and many other waters...but it's not recommended to throw down soft water. Good luck and hopefully you're enjoying soft water - we love it :)
sir i am from infdia using eureka forbes AWS 2000 MODEL.. I KEPT 20 KGS OF SALT INSIDE THE BRINE TANK HALF FULL AND IT HAS GONE TO BOTTOM WITHIN 5 DAYS ...I PUMP UP ABOUT 500 LITRES A DAY AND USE. IS MY SALT CONSUMPTION OF 20 KGS FOR 5 DAYS IS NORMAL OR EXCESS....SHOUD I CHECK ANY SETTINGS.... I FEEL 4 KGS OF SALT PERDAY IS ON THE HIGHER SIDE....PL GUIDE AND ADVICE tHANKS
Thanks for the video. I heard that you need to put 1/4 cup of bleach into the brine tank to clean the pipes, do you agree? If so, what is the purpose for that? How often to put it?
Oh goodness, I have a Water Boss 900 and I've been filling the tank completely with salt, it is only myself in the house, I have hard well water & my Boss regenerates once a week. A 40 lb bag of salt will last me 2 months in the tank. Who knew? From now on I'll keep the salt slightly above the water line. Oh yes, I've had one salt clog in the 10 years I've owned mine.....not good! My sister just replaced her Boss w/a Puritan softner, I think, like me she was dumping the whole 40 lbs into the tank & she said her clothing was looking dingy. I will try just enough salt as you mention and see what happens. I want to keep my Boss as long as possible.
From time to time, I have to manually recharge water softener, as I can tell that the water is becoming less soft. When I manually recharge, after completion, water in house is a cloudy dark color. I have to run the cold water for about 20 minutes for water to be clear. (During manual recharge, we don't use water, until regen goes back to "in service".) This problem does not exist when unit recharges automatically during the late night hours. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I just bought a house for the first time and have been struggling to understand the water softener system. Thank you for making and posting these videos, they are super helpful.
My right ear appreciates this
Gary, I keep referring to your videos. They are ABSOLUTELY 'THE BEST' on UA-cam! You SET THE BAR. Simple, detailed, straight-forward. Perfect the DIYer as I am. I so very much appreciate you taking the time out of your day to explain everything and then go above and beyond to offer solutions. If I'm ever in Midland... will stop in and 'shake your hand'... in thanks. Keep up the great work! Mike from French River, ON.
Wow, thanks! Yes, please share videos with friends and family
The water absorbs salt until is reaches saturation, which is about 3 lbs of salt per gallon. If it's had sufficient contact time to reach saturation, it doesn't matter in the least whether the water level is above or below the salt line. if you can see any salt in the water, and it's had sufficient contact time, you're all set.
With a wet salt system, the weight of the salt above the water line can crush and "mush" the wet salt. Good rule of thumb with wet salt systems is to not overfill, so generally keeping it half full or less works well.
Thanks for that second paragraph Ray. Gary never really explains in the video *why* it’s bad to have too much salt in the brine cabinet. (And the manual for my WaterBoss unit says that for convenience you can just keep it right full.)
But I have indeed experienced that mushed up layer of salt at the bottom that you describe, and it was a pain to clean out. The weight thing makes sense.
I'm not sure much of this video holds water, no pun intended. Salt reaches an equilibrium concentration in the water, period. This is chemistry 101. As long as the salt has had time to dissolve (and is at equilibrium) and as long as some salt in the solid phase still exists, the water will contain as much salt as it can hold. The water level must be sufficient, at a minimum, to fully supply the brine draw cycle. Brine refill time should be tuned to maintain a roughly constant liquid level before and after a regen cycle, and at a level that more than covers the brine draw. It is good to have enough salt so you don't ever run out, but keeping a little bit lower allows easier monitoring of the level at the start and end of a cycle, and occasionally after brine draw.
Water needs to touch salt to absorb it. If the salt level is below water, the water above it is not touching the salt so it cannot absorb it. Brine refill is determined by the valve based on the hardness settings input into the water softener.
@@water_estore Hey, Gary. I trust that you know much about water softeners, but what you are pushing is not sound chemistry. As long as solid salt exists below the water line, dissolved salt in the water will reach a saturation point, at which time no further salt can absorb (assuming constant temp). Ion diffusion keeps the ion concentration in the water essentially the same from top to bottom, even where water exists well above the salt layer. As salt is dissolved after regen, the solid salt level will drop to resaturate the refill water. Ref ionic equilibrium and diffusion. Here's a ref for you specific to this system equilibrium: courses.lumenlearning.com/cheminter/chapter/saturated-and-unsaturated-solutions/ and for diffusion: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_diffusion
What you say makes sense Dave. But why then does my softener manual say to keep the salt level above the water level?
Dave is right, the dissolved salt level will quickly saturate both among and above the pellets, but since the brine is drawn out from the bottom of the float valve cylinder, way below the refilled waterline, it is kind of a moot point. Plus Gary''s recommendation does no harm, in fact it buys you a little more time before you need to add more salt. Gary your videos are top drawer, best I've seen on this topic, so I'm glad you aren't a chemist because you would probably not be able to make such clear and helpful water treatment videos.
I just owned a home and was really perplexed about excalibur water softener requirements. Couldn't obtain manual anywhere. Just came across your videos and they have helped me a lot. Thank you. :-)
New home buyer and your vids are a big help! Thanks from Michigan!
Glad to hear you find them helpful. Please share with friends and family!
You are absolutely the man! I love your videos they helped me understand the water softener in our newly purchased house! We have family up near Midland area kinda (stayner) and we will definitely be sending them your way if they require anything water related !
Glad to help! Please share with friends and family.
Solid selection of videos. Great job putting a big font title as the thumbnail which makes it easy to focus in on the right one. Cheers.
Glad you like them!
Thank you for this video! I have a Pentair/Fleck 5810 XTR2, and after the plumbers installed it they didn't explain ANYTHING. We are a two-person household with extremely hard AZ water, so I went with your suggestion of having enough salt to cover the water, about ½ way.
Thanks , I've been over filling my salt prior to this . Appreciate the video
Thanks for the video. So by this, I'm deriving that during regeneration and fill, the water should come up just to the top of the salt for brining. If the salt is fully under water, you should add salt (especially for my family of 5, including 2 water-hogging teens). If the water does NOT come to the top of the salt, it's all good but I should be cautious about having TOO MUCH salt, as the weight of it could cause packing and bridging (an issue I just finished clearing up). I was always a 'fill it to the top, so I don't have to think about it' guy, but I just cleared a MAJOR mess -- about 8-10" of sludge/rock at the bottom of my softener. I'm hoping by clearing it all out and putting in a resin cleaner, and keeping less salt in the brine well, I can keep from having to replace it.
Great - thank you for the response!
Hey Gary - I just refurbished my 17 y/o clack ws1 water softener valve, cleaned & refilled the 1.5 cu.ft. resin tank and thoroughly cleaned my brine tank. Following your helpful video on setting up a new (or rebuilt) system I put about 4-5 gallons of water into my empty brine tank and manually partially stepped through each of the regen stages; I did a complete post fill cycle and during that time I added a total of 80 pounds of salt pellets to the tank. With the residual gallon or two of water from the initial step through of the regen cycles plus the complete post fill cycle I now have about an inch or so of water above the salt fill. Should I: (1) Leave it as is until the first on demand regen. in about a week, or (2) remove the excess water to an inch or two below the salt level, or (3) Add another 40 lb. bag of salt pellets to the tank?
Thanks,
-Doug
Good job! I would just leave it until after the first automatic regeneration and check the water and salt levels then
Good information in all your videos. Question: my water softener when regeneration makes loud knock noise, no water in the salt tank. Hope you have the time to answer. Thanks.
The noise is likely being caused by the piston sticking and releasing slightly as it moves. Was there ever any water in the salt tank?
thanks for the info i had no idea i wasnt supposed to fill it up all the way
Really depends on your circumstances.
Your videos are great. They're helping me understand how this works. We have the same system.
Glad to hear. Please share video with friends and family!
I was told that water level should be slightly higher than the salt to reduce scaling.
That is incorrect. The water softener valve calculates how much water goes into the brine tank so that when that quantity of water if fully saturated with salt it will have the correct dosage of sodium to regenerate the media. If the water level is higher than the salt the water above the salt isn't touching the salt (so it can't absorb the sodium) so there will be insufficient sodium to regenerate the media.
Does the amount of salt have any effect on the fact that we get a dry, white, flaky powder, that blows off easily, atop our ice cube trays?
Hello, any hints on how to clean the water boss 900's brine container? It seems like the resin media canister shouldn't be removed from the enclosure but it has dirty waterline marks all around the cabinet from previous owners.
your video was very helpful and you answered all my questions.
Good to hear, thank you for the feedback. Please share.
Dumb question: how do I know where the half full mark for salt is? I have a WaterBoss 180 and I just bought this house with the unit hooked up. I've read the manual, but maybe I'm missing something.
good question! Just estimate. As long as the salt level is above the water everything will be fine.
@@water_estore Thank you!
OMG that was so short & simple and so helpful!!! MAHALO!!!
Glad to hear! Please share video with friends and family!
@@water_estore I WILL!!!
do you have a video that breakdown the whole system you installed in you house. I want to combiine a salt base water softener, and RO system and UV light.
It is a good idea for a future video, but no I don't have a video detailing what I have at home for my family but I can tell you. I have an iron filter like this one waterestore.ca/products/hum-fob-chemical-free-iron-filter?_pos=568&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r, a water softener like this one waterestore.ca/products/hum-deluxe-water-softener-30-000-grain?_pos=1133&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r_pos=1&_sid=e7c219341&_ss=r this UV system waterestore.ca/products/hum-water-care-10gpm-minirack-mr320e-tp2s-220?_pos=30&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r and this Reverse Osmosis Drinking water system waterestore.ca/products/hum-water-saver-reverse-osmosis-system-75-gallons-per-day?_pos=187&_sid=fcd219aa0&_ss=r We have all of those available on our Canadian and US ecommerce websites.
What do I do if my brine tank is 3/4 full of salt, but the water level is still slightly higher than the salt level?
I have the same issue. I wonder if it is normal
Have you run into an issue where the water will not suck out of the holding area and recharge the brine? My tank will fill up no problem but will not suck out. I replaced the Venturi and cleaned everything.
Yes, that is a common concern. Assuming the injector and screen are clean I would look to make sure there is no blockage or leaks in the brine line connections at either end of the brine tubing.
Great - you answered my question - thanks!
Thanks for clarifying a few of my questions. I have a Culligan water softener tank that I used to keep full of solar salt until I had a clog which required me to empty the tank and wash out all components. Now I keep it only 1/4 full in case of another clog and to reduce the amount of wasted salt. Since I'm seeing some water in the softener tank, should I add more salt so that all water is below the salt line? In other words, seeing water in the tank means that I don't have enough salt? Thanks!
Yes, the salt should be higher than the water at all times.
I’m perplexed. We bought a house with a WS and that’s a first for us. It was installed and maintained by culligan. The salt tank was full when we got it and only an old couple lived there, then the husband dies and she’s alone for 6 month. Following your logic, why would the culligan guy fill the tank to the top ? According to a calendar taped to the tank, It seemed like he came by every other month... was this just to justify a service plan ?
I have a genesis select 32000 grain softener. How much water should be on the bottom of brine tank.
About 3 gallons.
Thanks for the video. When you say "half full" do you mean fill the salt half way up to the water line? Or fill the salt container to 50%?
He meant the container. He also says the water that creates the brine should be below the salt you have in there. So that should help fortify that answer :-) hope this helps!
I am only at my house for a week every month and thus don't use lots of water. Does that make a difference in recommended salt level?
Keep it low but above the water,
Do you have a video explaining the hardness number? In this video you referenced 20 a couple times. I have a 4 person family and my water is very hard. I test my water regularly (I have several aquariums) Ph is 8.4+, Gh is 300+ and Kh 210, any suggestions? I've watched several of your softener videos and they are very helpful. Thank you.
The Water eStore I'm not sure, I'll have to look into it. Should I start by setting my softener to hardness of 20? I've never really known what that number should be set to or even where to start. Thanks for your time.
The Water eStore thank you for your time, you've been a big help.
So if I'm understanding this correctly if my brine tank for example holds 20 gallons of water and I can fill the brine tank with enough salt that there is just about 1 inch of water over the salt that it will soften the water the exact same if I have 10 inches of water over the salt mind you with 10 inches of salt there would be enough salt in the brine tank let's say 2 bags.
I was always always thinking that it must be better to have more salt always above water to assure more concentration or higher concentration of salt. Saltier solution.
The water softener determines, based on its settings how much water is added to the brine tank to make the correct amount of brine to regenerate the softener. This only works if all of that water comes into contact with salt. If some of the water does not touch salt because there isn’t enough in the brine tank then there will be insufficient brine to regenerate the media fully
@@water_estore Thanks for the reply
I just installed a new piston kit with a new brine valve because after a regen I could hear water still draining through the drain pipe and my pump kicking in.
I would have to manually turn my regen knob fully to get the water to stop.
My guess a sticky piston.
So far it seems that I’m hearing louder noises when it was backwashing meaning more water getting by the first cycles without a sticky piston I’m assuming.
Right now I’m in brine rinse watching how much it will draw.
Knob seems easier to turn also.
So could a water softener be programmed to add more water over the float in some cases?
With salt in my brine tank the finished water level is higher than the float when regen is completed
I just cleaned up my salt tank after 6 years since it was first installed. I put a 40 lb bag of salt. But after the regeneration, the water level is higher than the salt. Is this normal?
Yes, it probably is. You control the salt level, the water softener controls the water level.
@@water_estore Do I now need to add more salt? If so, wouldn’t I be going through the endless cycle of putting salt jus above the water?
I have a Culligan water system, and in your video, mine is missing that brine well cap inside the brine tank... is that a problem ? And if it is, should I find something to cover that well top?
If salt gets dumped in there it could cause problems. It would be best to cover it up.
@@water_estore Ok, I just poured some "resin cleaner liquid solution" into that brine well the other day and hit the Regen button... I guess that's what that well is there for... And when I pour in the salt pellets, I am careful to just pour around that well, not inside it.. I guess I could using masking tape or saran plastic wrap around that well top...
@@be236 yes, that's what I suggest.
If I add less salt like you recommended, will it help with water being to soft and the slimy feeling after using soap? Thanks
No it will not. I would confirm that your settings are correct I’d the water feels slimy.
So short of any mechanical issues with my fleck 5600..what would be the cause of my system backing up into my domestic water pipes...causing slow water flow...and clogging sink airetors ..? i listened to the MFG and they said the media resin is good for about 10-12 yrs..before it needs replacing....however, in my case the time was 5yrs..then things went bad? so cause??/ is my question..i also want to say,,that the media resin attracts minerals, iron, manganese....if thats the case that explains why my swimming pool salt water generator went bad,,as i believe the magnetic properties shorted out this salt cell..and i had to get new one...$$$$ pricey..thanks for any insight.pete
one day last week all my water was flowing in my home slooooowly,,,i cleaned all the faucets out,,and that helped a bit...then i went under the sinks and cleaned the small strainers out and that helped..i then added water to my pool...and then found huge particles of the resin media on bottom of pool floor...that led me to look at my water softener in the garage and low and behold..it lost about 2/3 of the media in the tube that holds the media....for some reason it backed up into my plumbing pipes...? Its not a broken timer on top of the media canister,,that is working fine....i can only assume that the media resin was so full of foreign particles that it clogged the system up?
ok i replaced the media resin..cleaned out the riser tube..reinstalled everything and re-programmed everything on the timer.....today the timer was supposed to go into backwash...but it seems like it got stuck (timer) on RC? setting portion of recycleing? do i need a new timer? what would cause this...thanks..P>S> i reset timer to new settings...and am doing a manual back wash cycle..to see how it does? i will update ASAP...
ok i did a manual backwash and watched the whole process and it worked fine...but i still think that the automatic backwash in 14 days it will stick ? i will take your advice and look for a set of seals and spacers? if that will help piston from jamming? thanks..ps where can i get these parts ?
thanks for your replys..appreciate...:)
Water eStore The past 11 days I have had air then water come out of my faucets periodically. This seemed to have happened after a 2 second power outage, a flicker during a storm. When I open faucet, air spurts then water with rust. I have purged all faucets. It worked fine until yesterday. I heard something and opened a sink faucet, no water. My husband was running water at the barn. He shut off water. I opened sink faucet again and had water. He turned water on at the barn and it was very rusty. I turned on house to get the air sputter, rusty water then it cleared again. We had well repair/plumber come out. He tested well and pressure tank. He says he thinks its water softener. Waterboss proplus 360. We bypassed water softener. No more air rusty water. Today I called waterboss and was told impossible. Took off bypass and Set water softener to power clean. Then water level got very high. I stuck a pvc pipe in the softener and could feel a salt block. I poked at salt block until it was broken up. Now machine is on regenerate again. Please advise with any suggestions. Thank you.
I just got my new water softener! The tech that installed it told me to only put two bags into the tank. I recall my uncle had a softener and we always filled the tank with salt... 6 or 8 bags? Which is right? Only two bags looks very empty and I want to add more... may I? THANKS!
how much water is normally in a brine tank? Is it based on how much salt is in the tank and the level knows and keeps the appropriate amount in it?
The settings in the water softener valve determine how much water it adds to the brine tank.
I do hair from home and run my water all day most everyday. I have a family of 7 and we all use the water. I have a room for rent and they use the water. I also have a small apartment and they use the water. I am thinking I should be keeping the water softener pretty full with salt. It is making noise that I don't know or recognize. I checked it and the salt was below half way. I filled it pretty full with salt and have been running the water again. I hope it stops making noise.
I am a household of one and I just put in four 50 pound bags of salt, which put the softener around 3/4 of the way full. The water level is just barely above the salt level. How do I know if I've put too much salt in? Am I at risk for salt clog? The water hardness where I live expressed as calcium carbonate, typically ranges from around 200 to 350 milligrams per liter or parts per million (ppm).
@@water_estore Will do. Thank you for the answer and for sharing your expertise on the video.
Sir may know the salt percentage in the output of soft water
It depends largely on the salt percentage of the water going into the softener but it would be slightly higher coming out.
Excellent video thank you for posting!
Glad you enjoyed it! Please share video with friends and family!
What levels should I put it on to not have the water come out slimy
If you don't add salt (in my case to a Culligan) will the level go all the way down to empty? I'm running this experiment, because I want to put in resin cleaner, and isn't it better to do that when the brine tank isn't too full? It seems to be stuck at one fifth full
Yes, the water softener should use up all of the salt eventually if you don't add more.
What about the brine concentration?, I have a salinometer or densimeter in 0-100 scale and in takes 5 days to reach only 70% of brine concentrarion in my brine tank. I think this is very slow. I use a salt pellet. How long time is really needed to reach a 100% concentration? I think that at 50% brine concentration I only get 50% of resin capacity, am I correct?
Thank you for the excellent video as always. Cheers
Hi, My water kind of smell musty. Water in the brine tank was always above the salt. After watching the video, I can make sure it salt level is good. The brine tank smells musty as well. Could water smell due to smelly brine tank?
The Water Filter eStore thank you. You are so great!
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What level should I put my softer at ? My softner hardness can be set from 1-150. I live in Utah and our water is loaded with minerals . I have it set all the way at 150 right now , but idk if that is too much or not . Help !
Informative, useful... Delivery-wise, need to not read off the prompter mechanism (whatever) above the camera quite so obviously. You spend the entire video blatantly looking above the camera. ;-)
Glad you found the information useful. Please share with friends and family.
I was watching the Blue Jays game and decided to add salt to my water softener. Water softener is in the basement where I was at…long story short I dropped a beer in there and almost all of it spilled into my salt. Do I let it ride or clean the entire tank?
I am sure you’ll be surprised that I’ve never been asked this before. I would manually regenerate it and you’ll be fine.
does it matter if you use block salt vs pellets? Or could you use a combination of both. I typically use 3 x 50lb blocks and 1 bag of 40 lbs pellets. Is that ok?
Block salt doesn't work because it doesn't have the surface area you need and that pellets provide.
My water softener is old. I am told that it will be full of water all the time. My question is, how do I know when I need to add salt when I can't see the salt.
Your water softener should never be full of water, about 1/3 or 1/2 full, yes but never totally full. If yours is there is something is wrong, this video will help. ua-cam.com/video/ZdA0aI1q22w/v-deo.html
Wish I could hear better but ty for the video
We just installed a new system and are getting peppered by particals when running the water in the showers and sink, its constantly clogging the faucets. What is causing this?
I don't know, you need to ask whomever you bought it from to check it out for you.
for 1160 lits volume plant how much salt should be used?
What is a salt clog? How do I clear that?
hello sir,its just me and my 77 yr old mother that I'm trying to take care of,we use very little water,can't drink it,it stinks and we can never get the salt and bleach right,my question is how many times should i set mine to backwash ? as for my chlorinator i was told 1 gal, of bleach to 14 gal,of water,but if i do this each month it will fill up to the top.were trying to get things working so we can buy a reverse osmosis and install it so we can cook and drink the water in the kitchen,but we need ,or i need help sir.any help thanks so much
I thought the higher the number the softer the water 🤷♀️ i had it on 30 and the water guy came over because my brine tank is at the 4 level of water, and he said to set the level to 60 or even higher for softer water
if your water has a hardness of 20, you would typically set the softener at 22 (20 plus 2) to get water that has a hardness of 0, soft water. Setting it higher will just waste salt and water. You can't make the water softener than 0
I used his advice with filling up brine tank until salt pellets fill above water level and now stuck with salty drinking water we filter in our kitchen faucet. It may have something to do with the amount of salt (or amt of softness/hardness) in municipal water. The previous homeowners had a water softner so I am assuming that its needed where we live in MN. I'm going back to one bag per month once the tank goes empty.
I would check your settings to make sure they are set properly for the amount of hardness in your water. This video also shows you how to trouble shoot salty water ua-cam.com/video/3GQWpqlLBps/v-deo.html
Thanks a lot! Clutch video
Glad you liked it! Please share with friends and family!
Just bought a New water softener system but I’m still getting rust in my water and itchy skin. When I let the water lightly run on tissue the tissue turns a deep dark rusty brown....what gives?
What hardness and iron levels did you have before your water softener and what do you now have after the water softener? Water softeners can remove some iron but if you have over 1 ppm you will likely need an iron filter before the water softener.
The manufacturer of mine said never use pellets
You should ask them why, I would be curious to know. Maybe they sell their own brand of salt and theirs is not available in pellet form. Pellets are better in every respect.
@@water_estore they told me the pellets can clog up. They do sell various brands but all are crystal. They refuse to sell pellets
Gary, this was awesome information
Glad you enjoyed it Please share with friends and family.
I poured salt ip to level 2.
2 weeks later I have no salt but just water at level 2. Is that normal.
Yeah man, the salt is being used up to soften your water - keep adding salt every month or so 👌👍
Do you actually drink the same water that comes out of that brine tank? That seems a bit nasty and possible dangerous to your Heath...adding salt to drinking water ? That tank is more like a slime tank that I don't wish to drink from..Am I missing something here??
The water (brine) in the brine tank is used to wash/regenerate the resin in the media tank that softens the water. You are not drinking that brine.
You said fill the salt just above the water line. If you fill the salt all the way up, or is not touching the water. How can that possibly effect anything?
How can you tell, your water softener needs resin. My water softener is 19yrs
I have just sanitized my softener. The softener over flowed twice.
Doesn’t having too much salt causes Hair loss. Ensure to drain your water heat tank
the amount of salt in your water softener has no affect on how much salt your water softener will use. Similar to the amount of gas in your vehicle tank will not cause you to use more gas to travel the same distance.
Can u drink the water?
@@water_estore how can u know if it is within the standard?
@@LegitsTV It's not recommended to drink softened water due to the higher sodium/potassium (salt) content in the water - the hard minerals (calcium/magnesium) are replaced with salt...and more salt that a 1 for 1 exchange. You should drink purified water - no salty water!
@@rgbking488 thank you
@@LegitsTV you bet. You can certainly 'drink' the water, just like you can drink tap water, river water, and many other waters...but it's not recommended to throw down soft water. Good luck and hopefully you're enjoying soft water - we love it :)
sir i am from infdia using eureka forbes AWS 2000 MODEL.. I KEPT 20 KGS OF SALT INSIDE THE BRINE TANK HALF FULL AND IT HAS GONE TO BOTTOM WITHIN 5 DAYS ...I PUMP UP ABOUT 500 LITRES A DAY AND USE. IS MY SALT CONSUMPTION OF 20 KGS FOR 5 DAYS IS NORMAL OR EXCESS....SHOUD I CHECK ANY SETTINGS.... I FEEL 4 KGS OF SALT PERDAY IS ON THE HIGHER SIDE....PL GUIDE AND ADVICE tHANKS
It depends on the hardness settings in the water softener. Be sure to set your water softener for your water's hardness.
Thanks for the video. I heard that you need to put 1/4 cup of bleach into the brine tank to clean the pipes, do you agree? If so, what is the purpose for that? How often to put it?
Thanks for the quick response. I'm glad I asked.
The problem with salt level being higher than water level is that I can't see if there is any water in the tank.
True, but you need to trust the process
Oh goodness, I have a Water Boss 900 and I've been filling the tank completely with salt, it is only myself in the house, I have hard well water & my Boss regenerates once a week. A 40 lb bag of salt will last me 2 months in the tank. Who knew? From now on I'll keep the salt slightly above the water line. Oh yes, I've had one salt clog in the 10 years I've owned mine.....not good! My sister just replaced her Boss w/a Puritan softner, I think, like me she was dumping the whole 40 lbs into the tank & she said her clothing was looking dingy. I will try just enough salt as you mention and see what happens. I want to keep my Boss as long as possible.
You are the boss of you.
How about saturated brine concentration???
One cycle of regenerating time is 90min. Make it clear sir...why we must use 70liters brine tank??
From time to time, I have to manually recharge water softener, as I can tell that the water is becoming less soft. When I manually recharge, after completion, water in house is a cloudy dark color. I have to run the cold water for about 20 minutes for water to be clear. (During manual recharge, we don't use water, until regen goes back to "in service".) This problem does not exist when unit recharges automatically during the late night hours.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
U
so what happens when you fill the salt tank to the top and fill it again when it gets to the water level?
he moves like a robot,deffo weird body language but he's extremely helpful when it comes to water softeners diy and troubleshooting
Funny, I never noticed my robotic moves before you mentioned it. Glad you find the videos helpful, please share with friends and family.
Almost none of your viewers will know how hard their water is, or how to find out.
Good point. They can either check with their water provider or mail us a sample, here is more info waterestore.ca/
no sound at all, can't hear anything
Eric Gao pentair controls