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Do I really need my Rainsoft acid tank serviced?

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I have a rainsoft softener system with an acid tank. The softening
tank is guaranteed for life, no questions asked which is what I like
about the whole system. But the acid tank needs servicing.

I was told that the acid tank needs to be serviced once a year.
I just had it serviced today. I watched the guy as he was doing
the work. All I saw him do was unscrew the access port and pour
some more media into the tank. There was a $179.00 service charge
for this.

After searching the internet I believe what is in the tank is called
"Azimute." Isn't there a way I can add this myself? It seems like a
large price to pay just to have someone do something that I can do
myself.

Is there somewhere I can buy this stuff and put it in myself?

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I am not sure what you mean by Azimute???

Acid Neutralizers come in a variety of applications and media to raise the pH level to an accptable level, usually around 7.0.

I assume yours uses a sacrificial meduia like Clacite, limestone,or marble chips. These dissolve over a period of time and need to be replenished.

Sometimes the beds need to be dumped and rebedded due to 'cementing' of the Calcite. The service personnel was problably adding the media, which i normal service.

Not sure what you mean by "lifetime" warrranty. That is a very ambiguous term and many customers are shocked to learn their interpretation and that of the company's is VERY different.

I have seen many customers very upset when a huge bill appears and it is follwed by a hollow explanation of why "lifetime" doesn't mean forever, for free, for you, for its products....

Andy CSW

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Andy CWS wrote:

Sometimes the beds need to be dumped and rebedded due to 'cementing' of the Calcite. The service personnel was problably adding the media, which i normal service.

That is what was supposed to be done. I was paying to have the tank
rebedded. I watched the whole time that he was there. (my dogs tend
to be a little unsociable at times so I was watching them while he worked).
All he did was siphon some water out of the acid tank and pour a bag
of white granular "stuff" into the tank, and that was it. $179.00 for
something I could have done.

I got the word azinute from browsing the internet. Here is a pdf file that
refers to it. (I misspelled it azimute)
http://worldwidewateronline.com/acid_neutralizer.pdf

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Re: Do I really need my Rainsoft acid tank serviced?

DaveyCrocket wrote:

I have a rainsoft softener system with an acid tank. The softening
tank is guaranteed for life, no questions asked which is what I like
about the whole system. But the acid tank needs servicing.

I was told that the acid tank needs to be serviced once a year.
I just had it serviced today. I watched the guy as he was doing
the work. All I saw him do was unscrew the access port and pour
some more media into the tank. There was a $179.00 service charge
for this.

After searching the internet I believe what is in the tank is called
"Azimute." Isn't there a way I can add this myself? It seems like a
large price to pay just to have someone do something that I can do
myself.

Is there somewhere I can buy this stuff and put it in myself?

Andy gave a great answer.

Yes you can DIY, but you will need a few extra tools if you need to dump it.

Yearly service is best and it needs to backwash daily.

HTH ~

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I've sold many acid neutralizing filters on waters with pH as low as 5.2 pH and none have had to be backwashed more frequently than every 2-3 days. Every night sounds to me as if the filter is too small or not using the right mineral(s).

Calcite, Georgia Marble or Corrosex will not cement if applied properly by paying attention to the hardness in the water and what mineral you are using. And cementing is only with the use of Corrosex, not Calcite or GM or other slower acting minerals used for acidic water treatment.

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Gary Slusser wrote:

I've sold many acid neutralizing filters on waters with pH as low as 5.2 pH and none have had to be backwashed more frequently than every 2-3 days. Every night sounds to me as if the filter is too small or not using the right mineral(s).

In my case: The size is correct. The mineral is correct. The mix is correct.

Acid Neutralizers double as mechanical filters and are the work horse of
any well water treatment system. Daily backwashing is recommended for
best results. I have hundreds in service and they all backwash daily.

I have been called in to service orphans that were set to backwash every 2-3 days.
These were not able to do the job and the clients were not happy with the results.
I rebed them and set them to backwash daily resulting in great water and happy clients.
Some times I must upgrade an orphan to larger tank because the client was sold
the lowest priced system from a third party.

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The purpose of backwashing an AN filter is to clean the bed of any dirt accumulation during the service run.

The only measurement of whether an AN filter is working correctly or not, is if the acid is always buffered to a pH of 7.0 or higher.

That has nothing to do with the frequency of the backwash unless the filter is used for something other than acid neutralization as some dealers do but... the more frequent backwashes results in the use of more mineral and thereby more service/maintenance to replace it.

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Gary Slusser wrote:

The purpose of backwashing an AN filter is to clean the bed of any dirt accumulation during the service run.

Not exactly...

The purpose of back washing is to clean accumulated debris AND to prevent channeling.

You do not want untreated water taking the same path for very long.
Backwashing lifts and redistributes the neutralizing media so that fresh
surface area is exposed. Acid Neutralizers need to backwash daily.

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Yes debris is dirt but as you say, not exactly...

Channeling of AN mineral happens rarely and only with repeated small water flows over a number of days. In my area, Culligan, Kinetico, General Ionics, even plumbers and well drillers never backwash an AN filter nightly.

But then you are selling small AN filters...

So maybe they do need nightly backwashing. Otherwise I might have to say you may be backwashing them to support/justify an annual service program. :wink:

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Gary Slusser wrote:

So maybe they do need nightly backwashing.

Nuff said.

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I fully agree with H20 MAN, more frequent backwash is better than less with AN tanks as the media is quite heavy when wet. Also, due the the fact that acts as a particulate filter, either intentionally or as a by-function, the media works very hard.

Actually servicing AN filters that have gone south is a common occurrence and I have found that more frequent backwashing is the simplest solution regardless of tank size. In fact, smaller diameter tanks, to a degree, have shown to cement less often as opposed to previously implied statements.

Selling MANY of these units without actually installing or servicing them, let alone ever meeting the clients, personally testing the water, inspecting the plumbing, measuring the flow rate/water pressure, etc., is a lot different than truly taking part of the whole water treatment process with a hands-on approach. There is an important role in being a distributor, though.

Being an active part of your customers' dilemma and solution gives great rewards beyond just announcing to the world some obscure statistic.

Andy CWS

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Andy, before I started selling over the internet I sold to 3-4 DIY custmers in 18 years as a 'local' dealer with 99% of all sales on well water with the majority being classified as problem water. I serviced an 80 mile radius in central PA. Some of that was commercial buildings on their own wells. I also worked for a large regional Eastern US company for a year prior to the 18 years. I sold, installed and serviced for that employer.

I installed all that equipment myself with the exception of one hired helper in 1994 for 3.5 months. My wife used to go on a few installs back in those days and she went on all but one of the many pump replacements we did to 500+ deep and on replacement pressure tank sales and service from 2000 to mid 2005 when we shut down the pump business.

That's a bunch of hands on experinece for me. So based on what you said a year ago, I have 4-5 times your 4-5 years experience. And smaller AN filters require more frequent backwashing than larger filters do. The same applies to smaller than larger softeners, as you know.

BTW, AN media is heavy when it's dry and when wet, it doesn't soak up any water so it weighs the same as when dry.

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You got lucky, my Rainsoft system also has an acid tank and the media is called Azinute (and on the very bottom of that tank is black sterilized gravel). My annual service cost me $498.91. Like you, I'm looking for where I can purchase the media myself. Did you ever find out?

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Azinute is a cute rainsoft made up name.

You're looking for calcite or Georgia Marble. Any local or online softener dealer will have it. It comes in 50 lb bags. You may need mixed bed, which means there is another product added to the calcite, called magnesium oxide. That depends on your raw water pH. If it is 5.7 or below, you need mixed bed.

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