Water Softner

[PKOVA]

HI,I just moved in to a house and the brine tank is full of water. It has regenerated a few times and it has not over flown. There is no salt in the tank. Could there be a valve that is stuck open allowing water in ? Do I need to just add salt ? Im not sure what to do just in case the salt binds something up causing more damage. It is a real joy emptying the water out of the tank !

[John FreerParticipant]

: HI,: I just moved in to a house and the brine tank : is full of water. It has regenerated a few times and it has not over flown. There is no : salt in the tank. Could there be a valve that is stuck open allowing water in ? Do I need to just add salt ? Im not sure what to do just in case the salt binds something up causing more damage. It is a real joy emptying the water out of the tank !The brine tank should be full of water. Also the salt tank should be full of salt. Stop what ever you are doing and go get some salt. Fill the salt tank with salt to the top. Your systen should work fine. Good Luck.

[John FreerParticipant]

: : HI,: : I just moved in to a house and the brine tank : : is full of water. It has regenerated a few times and it has not over flown. There is no : : salt in the tank. Could there be a valve that is stuck open allowing water in ? Do I need to just add salt ? Im not sure what to do just in case the salt binds something up causing more damage. It is a real joy emptying the water out of the tank !: The brine tank should be full of water. Also the salt tank should be full of salt. : Stop what ever you are doing and go get some salt. Fill the salt tank with salt to the top. Your systen should work fine. Good Luck.How full is full? The brine tank should not be full of water or even half full of water. The water level in the brine tank Should be a few inches depending on the softner, and the salt setting. If a few inches is what you have, add salt. and the next time the water is visible add salt again. However, there are two parts of the regeneration cycle that if not working properly will let to much water into the brine tank. If the brine rinse cycle doesnt draw water out of the tank the brine fill will add to what is already there. This will happen with each regeration until the tank over flows or closes a safty valve that some models have to protect from the overflowing. The second possible answer is a problem with the brine fill part of the cycle. some softners use floats to control valves that are adjusted to meet the needs of the particular set up. Others use a timed brine fill that will let water into the brine tank at a given rate for a certain amount of time. I suggest you have it checked out by a water conditioning specialist. Also if you think it might be OK try putting one bag in until your sure that it is working. To much water can cause the salt to bridge ( turn into a big chunk ) and you would rather not have to dig it out. there is a web site called water technology on line that has some pretty good people from the water treatment industry. You might want to check it out

[John FreerParticipant]

When adding salt you do not want to add so much that you actually have salt crystals. A saturated salt solution (salt and water) should be used. Saturation is the point at which the water can hold no more dissolved salt. If more salt is added it will cystalize. If salt cystals are present, you are correct in saying they will clog the machine.As for the brine tank, it should never be completelty full. Remember brine is waste from the softening process and should be kept at a low level. If you have a lot of brine being produced this simply means that your water has a higher hardness. The brine tank should never go over half full and is usually at about 1/4. Why I dont really know; I think it is just an industry guideline that will reduce chances of overflowing.

[John FreerParticipant]

: When adding salt you do not want to add so much that you actually have salt crystals. A saturated salt solution (salt and water) should be used. Saturation is the point at which the water can hold no more dissolved salt. If more salt is added it will cystalize. If salt cystals are present, you are correct in saying they will clog the machine.: As for the brine tank, it should never be completelty full. Remember brine is waste from the softening process and should be kept at a low level. If you have a lot of brine being produced this simply means that your water has a higher hardness. The brine tank should never go over half full and is usually at about 1/4. Why I dont really know; I think it is just an industry guideline that will reduce chances of overflowing.The water that is in the brine tank is there to absorb salt. When the softner regenerates it draws the salt water into the softning media. This salt brine rinse causes the hardness to detach from the media and then get flushed down the drain. Then the media bed is flushed with fresh water down the drain. The media bed is now ready to remove hardness again at this point the unit should put just the right amount of fresh water back into the brine tank to absorb salt again. This amount of water is just right to rinse the bed the next time and is determined by the hardness of the water and the holding capacity of the media. The proper amount of salt to put in a softner that is working correctly is anything as long as its above the water level. If you see water in the brine tank add salt.(after we know it is working right) Again go to the site I suggested before. Theyre a knowledgable bunch of guys when it come to this kind of thing.

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