Reply
Tue 4 Oct, 2005 09:09 am
I just moved into a new house and it has a Rainsoft Gold system. From the pictures on the web site, it appears to be the Amazon system. I'm not sure of the age of the unit, but the house is 6 yrs old so it's that age or less.
When I first moved in, the unit was on "bypass". When I moved the values to "in service", it appears to begin working, BUT, there is a high pitched squeek when water is moving thru the pipes (appears to be coming from the area around the bypass valve but I can't tell for certain). Also, water constantly flows out of the plastic pipe into the drain. I haven't left it "in service" for more than an hour because of the squeek -- I put it right back in bypass to shut it up!
I can't affort to pay a tech $100 right now, is this a common problem that can easily be fixed?
Thanks in advance!
Re: Rainsoft Gold questions
A few questions...
dhoyne wrote: When I first moved in, the unit was on "bypass". When I moved the values to "in service", it appears to begin working, BUT, there is a high pitched squeek when water is moving thru the pipes (appears to be coming from the area around the bypass valve but I can't tell for certain).
Does the clock show the correct time?
Was the house sitting empty for long? Rubber parts on these systems can dry-rot.
dhoyne wrote: Also, water constantly flows out of the plastic pipe into the drain. I haven't left it "in service" for more than an hour because of the squeek -- I put it right back in bypass to shut it up!
It sounds like the drain tab is stuck open. Is the unit plugged in? Have you pressed "start cycle" ?
The house was not sitting empty at all, but I can't say for sure how long it was on bypass. The previous owners were anything but good housekeepers and handymen.
The unit is plugged in and appears to work fine except for the high-pitched noise. Someone has an auction on ebay right now for for a unit that looks exactly the same as mine (search for rainsoft) if you want a visual on the unit.
Thanks again for your help, if you'd like you can email me at
dhoyne (at) gmail.com
(replace "(at)" with @)
dhoyne wrote:The house was not sitting empty at all, but I can't say for sure how long it was on bypass. The previous owners were anything but good housekeepers and handymen.
The unit is plugged in and appears to work fine except for the high-pitched noise. Someone has an auction on ebay right now for for a unit that looks exactly the same as mine (search for rainsoft) if you want a visual on the unit.
Yeah, that's the metered Gold series. It's a bastardized FLECK 5600 valve.
It does not have a drain tab. Press the "regenerate" button and tell me what happens.
I did that a few days ago. It appears to start the regeneration cycle, at least the timer starts showing different numbers. After about 3 hours of listening to the whine I had to shut if off because I couldn't stand the sound anymore.
Maybe I should just let it run all day while I'm not home? Any chance this will clear it out?
dhoyne wrote:
Maybe I should just let it run all day while I'm not home? Any chance this will clear it out?
No - that will just waste water. Put it on bypass until you can have it serviced.
It sounds like a switch or motor has gone bad.
I took it all apart last night and cleaned and lubed all the rubber gaskets between the stacks of impellers. It seemed like the plastic rod that selects modes wasn't quite all the way up for normal operation so a bit of water was still being diverted to the drain hose -- hence the draining water and squeek.
After putting it all back together, it appears to be working great! Thanks for all your help.
BTW: is there a way to buy replacement gaskets? A few had a bit of very minor rubber rot; I'd like to have a spare set to swap out if this happens again.
dhoyne wrote:
BTW: is there a way to buy replacement gaskets? A few had a bit of very minor rubber rot; I'd like to have a spare set to swap out if this happens again.
If you have one in hand you can go to your local hardware store and match it up with what is available in the plumbing/faucet section.
Also, since it is a FLECK based valve - find an independent water service company that works on FLECK valves. They can get parts for you.
Good job getting it up and running
Gaskets and Seals for Rainsoft Gold Series
You won't find the rubber gaskets that are part of the "Seals and Spacers" used around the "Main Piston" at any Hardware store. The valve body of the Rainsoft Gold Series is basically the Fleck 5000 or newer Pro Flow valve. The Seals and Spacers ( part number 60120 or 60125 minus "end spacer" ) can be purchased from any dealer of Fleck parts.
The Seals are pn 13242 ( quantity 5 ) and the Spacers are pn 14241 ( quantity 4 ) , and the end spacer is pn 18264 ( and this part can normally be re-used, that is why the 60125 Kit will work ).
Here is one online source:
http://www.softenerparts.zoovy.com/product/3460125
H2O_MAN wrote:Yeah, that's the metered Gold series. It's a bastardized FLECK 5600 valve.
You wish that was a typo huh... how many years has it been?
Gary Slusser wrote:H2O_MAN wrote:Yeah, that's the metered Gold series. It's a bastardized FLECK 5600 valve.
You wish that was a typo huh... how many years has it been?
The Fleck Silver and Gold series valves are based on the Fleck 5600.
They are bastardized FLECK 5600 valves.
Fleck doesn't have a Gold or Silver series. Or any other type series.
You sure you know what a 5000 is?
Gary Slusser wrote:Fleck doesn't have a Gold or Silver series. Or any other type series.
You sure you know what a 5000 is?
The
made by Fleck RainSoft Silver and Gold series valves are based on the Fleck 5600.
They are bastardized FLECK 5600 valves.
I'll go with what softernerparts says it is; a 5000 or ProFlo. I received a picture of a Rain Soft a few days ago and it has a 5000 mechanical meter timer on it. I can't tell what valve body it has. Do you know what I'm talking about when I say timer and valve body?
Gary Slusser wrote:I'll go with what softernerparts says it is; a 5000 or ProFlo.
You can go down that path, but you will only get lost.
The RainSoft Gold and Silver series valve is made by Fleck and is based on the 5600.
I'm wrong about the picture I received, it is not of a Rain Soft softener but... I still go with softenerparts. He's into parts in a big way and I doubt he gets many things wrong.
Do you have any closeup pictures of a RS with the 5600 on it?
Gary Slusser wrote:I'm wrong about the picture I received, it is not of a Rain Soft softener but... I still go with softenerparts. He's into parts in a big way and I doubt he gets many things wrong.
Do you have any closeup pictures of a RS with the 5600 on it?
The RS Silver and Gold series valves are based on the Fleck 5600 valve, it is reconfigured to make a few items proprietary to RS.
I don't have any close up pictures of G&S/5600 on RS, but I have plenty of pictures of RS tanks with 2510SE valves on them...
And you should know that Fleck makes many private labeled versions of their control valves BUT, they are not available to anyone other than that company and its dealers; hence my statement.
And until you or someone else sends me a picture showing the valve body of a 5600 with Rainsoft's timer on it, I will continue thinking you got it wrong. So next time you replace one, take your camera or camera enabled cell phone and snap a pic of it and post it here. If you don't know what the mechanical metered 5000 timer looks like, I can post a picture of it.
Gary Slusser wrote:And you should know that Fleck makes many private labeled versions of their control valves BUT, they are not available to anyone other than that company and its dealers; hence my statement.
And until you or someone else sends me a picture showing the valve body of a 5600 with Rainsoft's timer on it, I will continue thinking you got it wrong. So next time you replace one, take your camera or camera enabled cell phone and snap a pic of it and post it here. If you don't know what the mechanical metered 5000 timer looks like, I can post a picture of it.
I honestly don't care what you think or believe.
I honestly don't care if you don't care.
I received a number of various pictures of a Sliver Series Rainsoft softener control valve.
You sir don't know what you are talking about when you say it is based on a 5600. It is not a 5600 valve body.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace