Rainsoft Amazon Gold and Silver, cloudy water output

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Hello,

We had a Rainsoft Gold Series AQC75T conditioner along with a Silver Series RFC150Y (Iron Filter - ?) installed in Dec. 2005.

Background: new construction, well water. Had been fighting a problem of extreme amounts of sediment in the water, some days the water was like orange-colored coffee, completely opaque, (high clay content soil, Northern VA). After it rains water in the house gets pretty bad with varying degrees of cloudiness. After 9 months in the house the situation hasn't "settled" as the builder suggested so we are still trying to get something done about the well water quality.

5 months ago, the Rainsoft system was installed and seemed to do the trick for several months. We were lead to believe that the RS system could handle the levels of sediment that we were getting and for those few months it seemed that was so. However, recently we have been getting days where the water starts to get the orange color again. Even when the raw water before the RS system is visually clear, the water from the faucets is sometimes slightly cloudy.

After performing a manual regen it seems to get better but a day or so later it comes back. The Silver is set to regen every other day, the Gold who knows how often since the computer settings are unknown to me, installer did not inform us of the settings they used.

I guess my first question is there a way to find out how many days per week the Gold system is programmed to regen and can I increase that number manually?

Second, is it possible that the level of sediment in my raw water is too much for the RS system, despite the claims of the salesman?

Lastly, when I perform a manual regen I can hear the system emptying into the drain and I can only assume the remaining portions of the regen cycle are working properly...just replaced the salt for the first time since the install, was using block but could only find pellets at the store so now it is impossible to see if any water is in the bottom of the brine tank. Is there something I should look for to know if the regen is working properly?

Sorry for the broad questions but I am just starting to learn the system and trying to do so a bit before I have to fork over $150 to have the dealer even look at it. Any input will help!

Thanks,
Jay

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Jay,

I hate to say it, but they didn't put in the correct system.

When faced with particulate sediment plus iron you need to have
a filter (acid neutralizer) a Chem feed pump and solution tank, at
least one 120 gallon retention tank, a 10 x 54 auto-backwashing
GAC filter and your softener.

The salesperson was either afraid of the total price for what you
needed or she/he had no clue how to treat problem water.

If you do not install the correct equipment the Iron filter will foul
and then your softener will iron foul. This is not covered under warranty.

HTH ~

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thanks h20_man
Thanks for your input...well that certainly doesn't sound good. Let me edit my original input, although I have a feeling it doesn't change your answer. I labeled the Silver Series unit as an Iron Filter however I was incorrect. It is actually an acid neutralizer. I don't remember high iron levels, but then again I don't trust anything the salesman said anymore. I am starting to bring myself to admit I was probably sucked into a scam.

So to be clear, does my new information change any part of your good news? Or is most of the extra equipment purely due to having the sediment regardless of whether the other unit is an iron filter or acid neutralizer? I hope it may get a little better...

If not, any suggestions on what my odds of a refund from the dealer for misleading me??

My last hope is my other ongoing battle of getting the well to deliver decent water (obviously). All the houses on the adjacent lots were built at the same time and their wells have been fine, I'm the lucky one I guess.

Thanks again for your input,

Jay

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Re: thanks h20_man

jborges wrote:

I labeled the Silver Series unit as an Iron Filter however I was incorrect. It is actually an acid neutralizer.

That's actually good news Smile

Make sure all of the white buttons are pushed in so it backwashes every night.
If it does not clear up in a day or two it may need to be rebed with a mixture of calcite, Filter Ag and a little mag oxide.
Daily backwashing into a free flowing drain is a must!

Is it a tall, 10 x 54 tank?

HTH ~

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Re: thanks h20_man

H2O_MAN wrote:

jborges wrote:
I labeled the Silver Series unit as an Iron Filter however I was incorrect. It is actually an acid neutralizer.

That's actually good news

Make sure all of the white buttons are pushed in so it backwashes every night.
If it does not clear up in a day or two it may need to be rebed with a mixture of calcite, Filter Ag and a little mag oxide.
Daily backwashing into a free flowing drain is a must!

Is it a tall, 10 x 54 tank?

HTH ~

whew, so all that other equipment you mentioned was only if I was fighting Iron it sounds like. Thanks.

Yes the Silver Series Acid Neutalizer unit is larger than the conditioner unit...I would say it measures about 54 inches tall, yes. Right now it is set to regenerate (I'm assuming it backwashes each time it regen's) every other day...days 1, 3, and 5. I can up that to every day easy enough.

That is for the Acid Neutalizer with the manual dial programming system. Is there a way to view and/or edit the regens/week similarly on the conditioner (digiatal Gold Series)?...or maybe that isn't necessary or so easy to answer, I realize that may be programmed based on water in quality.

Update on well water in quality just to clarify. There has been a noticeable improvement in sediment/cloudiness since the original days of full opaqueness, just to give you the full story. I was was worried that the RS system wasn't able to clarify the water and that the system itself would be damaged by my well water. However, in speaking with the house contractor today, he is very surprised that the Rainsoft installers removed the whole house filter which was there. So as it is now the only filtering system is the RS conditioner and acid neutralizer, which I am beginning to feel isn't meant to be able to handle the job of the whole house prefilter.

They should never have removed that prefilter...would you agree with this?

I am planning on installing a whole house prefilter before the RS system (again) to at least help the system from having to deal with that too...especially if it will lessen the frequency of regenerating, and hopefully extend the life of the filter media in both tanks.

Thank you again for your input. So does the system sound a little bit more appropriate for my needs?

Jay

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A 5 micron polypropylene pre-filter in a clear housing installed ahead of the
neutralizer is OK, but the neutralizer still needs to backwash every single day.
The gold series softener is metered and will regenerate as needed.

Yes, all that other equipment is for problem water - it no longer sounds like you need the extra treatment.

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Rainsoft Amazon Gold and Silver, cloudy water output

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