Sort of OT Water softener?

used red MN

Well-known Member
Location
Coon Rapids, MN
Sears Kenmore was in the house when we moved in 15 years ago and was probably a couple
years old then. Over the years it has needed minimal maintenance/ repairs. One time a plugged
orifice another time a sticking selector valve. Both times I could fix it myself inexpensively. Now it
is letting resin get in the water (found in the toilet tanks) and out the recharge drain. A quick
internet search showed a broken or cracked distributor or air getting in the brine feed. How hard is
it to replace the distributor if it is broke? Or should I cut my losses and bite the bullet and buy new.
Any expert opinions? TIA!
 
Any way to estimate how much resin has been lost? I would test the hardness of the water coming out of the softener. If it is no longer producing soft water and you need to replace the resin then it may be time for a new softener.

Last year I replaced one for my brother (the control board stopped working). The new 30,000 grain version of his old softener cost $280 at Lowes and his old o-ring connectors clipped right into the new unit (no soldering).
 
I have two Kenmore water softeners, one in service and another nearly identical one as back-up that can be slid in place of the in service one in minutes allowing me to work on one without getting hard water into my hot water heater. My older unit is about 15 years old, similar to yours.

There is no black magic in a water softener. I've completely disassembled two or three units and replaced the resin. You will struggle the first time you do it but afterwards you will wonder why you ever bought a new softener.

Not sure what you mean by distributor but I'm guessing it is the cone shaped "screen" (for lack of a better name) on the end of the down tube in the resin tank.

The good news is that parts are readily available for Sears appliances and quickly shipped to your door at reasonable prices. Parts drawings are available online if you have the model number.

Replacing it will require emptying the resin tank, which you will want to do anyway in order to replace the resin. Resin kits are available online that include a funnel that makes pouring the resin into the tank with the down tube in place much easier. I've done it with and without the funnel. Get one. It is money well spent.

After resin replacement, you will be amazed how much better it performs. If performance deteriorates after two or three weeks, the unit is not regenerating properly, indicating other issues.

Dean
 
If you have not done so, take your softener off line. The resin beads will clog your sink aerators, toilet valves, washing machine solenoids, dishwasher solenoids, filters etc. You should also flush the control head. Replacing the distributor tube requires removing the control head from the tank. The tube goes down the center of the tank and can be lifted out once the control head is off. The control head slips over the tube and can be twisted off, or lifted off along with the tube. Job is not difficult and basically all labor. The tube and filter basket on the end are cheap. Make sure there is water in the tank, and work the tube up and down when you replace it. Don't try to pound the tube through the resin when reinstalling it. All softeners work on the same principleI and have similar components. I am responding based on my experience with a Kinetico softener. At 15 years plus for your system, the control head may be close to failing which is the most expensive part of the system. Your weighing your time and labor against the imminent failure of the control head.
 
Thanks for the advice. So if this works I'm adding a photo of the softener's ID tag. Why does it show different gains of hardness removal with different amounts of salt? What changes the salt amounts? In short trying to figure out what I need to replace it if that is the way I go. One issue I've noticed for years now is my wife is a weekend launderer. When she does all the wash in a day or so the water gets hard and fills the water heater with hard water. Then of course l have to shower in hard water a day or so until the water heater gets replenished with soft water. I hate that, when I stay in a motel I just dread more times then not the water is stone hard.
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If memory serve me, the hardness of the water can be determined from your supplier (city, municipal supplier) or there is a test if on well water.

That number is programed into the softener. The softener then knows how often it needs to regenerate, which determines how much salt it will use.

If that number was entered too low, that would explain why it doesn't keep up on laundry day, or possibly it has lost enough resin to not work at full efficiency.
 
Some softeners have a built in water meter, and regenerate depending on a preset (adjustable) for how much water you use, and how hard your well water is. I used to be a rep for Marlo out of Racine WI and their Erie heads were superior to anything on the market. When a head regenerates, (draws brine up out of the brine tank and floods the resin bed), the Erie head flows one way, then the opposite way. The biggest single problem with service on softeners is a piece of dirt is sucked up out of the brine tank and lodges in the venturi (which all softeners have) and plugs it. The next time the softener needs to regenerate, it cannot because of the dirt. The Erie then reverses flow and blows the dirt back into the brine tank. All salt has a percentage of dirt in it, some more, some less. And all brine tanks should be allowed to empty every couple of years, and be removed and cleaned out. You would be surprised at the amount of dirt in the bottom of the brine tank if you haven't done that before...
 
Water softeners come in various sizes, It sounds like yours is inadequate for your usage.

It would help if you manually regenerated it the night before laundry day, then again, the night after.

Dean.
 
It sounds like you have a bad distributor, When I worked in the paper mill the water softeners were big enough that I crawled into one and changed distributors. You probably need a new softener, but get your water tested first to find out how big you need. If it was just loosing capacity I would say to disconnect it and roll it around on the floor, that agitates and repositions the resin.
 
When we retired I put in a Water Boss softener in the new house we moved to. It was still working fine when we sold the place 14 years later. Bought a new house and put in another Water Boss; working good after 6.5 years. You might want to look into that brand.
 
We have a Water Boss. One of the short models, only about 2' tall.

It's been doing it's thing for 17 years with no problems.
 

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