Lifesource Water versus a 'salt' system

Re: Lifesource is it really good?



Questions:

How hard is your water?
How old is your softener?

My system is 1year old. I'll have to dig though a pile of papers to find my first water test,but it was very hard ,around 80.My follow up test,the sodium was 300 and calcium<than 10.

What is the raw (unsoftened) sodium content?

With still <10 gpg hardness, then your softener is not sized, set up or operating correctly.

I'll start again and try to get it right,
The first Water test,Hardness 280,Manganese .09, Chloride 12,Sodium 67,pH 7.74,Iron <0.10
Test after water softener Hardness <10, Manganese <0.03,Chloride 10,Sodium 300, pH 7.58,Iron <0.10

The hardness is gone,but we still have a saltly flavor and after a glass of water you still feel thirsty.

Again Thanks for the help.

It sounds as if your softener isn't set up correctly or, it is getting insufficient backwash and/or rinse.

What size softener is it?

What is the salt dose?

What control valve is on it or, what brand softener is it?

Low water pressure and restricted flow on the drain line can contribute to your situation.

Your water pressure should not drop below 45 psi and your drain line should be short, free of kinks and have an air break.

Also, your exchange ratio is high enough to warrant a drinking water system that reduces sodium.
Look into a distillation system or a high capacity reverse osmosis system.

HTH ~

Dgiller, before you buy anything....

I suggest you make sure the softener is set up correctly. You get 7.85 mg/l of added sodium per gpg of raw water compensated hardness. Meaning... if your water is 15 gpg * 7.85 = 117.5 mg of added sodium per quart of softened water. Your raw water hardness is 280/17.1 = 16.37 gpg hard. So 16.37 * 7.85 = 128.51 mg/l of added sodium.

Where is the rest to make up 300 mg/l? 67 mg/l comes from the raw water leaving 300-67-128.5=104.5 mg: possibly from incomplete backwash or rinse.

That would be caused by a number of things in addition to a kinked/blocked drain line or low water pressure that has been mentioned.

Again thanks.
I have a Aquapure Model 5564002,the water tank is a foot away and reads 40psi,I've set the salt dosage to6#,Control value is a12 day timer,Regeneration every 4 days ,2people in the house.Drain is a 1/2" ridge pvc with 5' rise and 2' horizontal in summer and 20'horizontal winter,on downward pitch.I checked the drain flow control button and it was find ,not compressed .

Thanks Dave

Searching for the brand name and model number comes up with nothing. Then Aquapure brings up the manufacturer and other sites selling Aquapure but, nothing about your model. I see a Fleck 5600 like control valve that looks a bit different than stock but then that could be just due to the picture.

The minimum pressure for Autotrol, Clack, Erie and Fleck controls is 20-30 psi but... you must look at the gauge while water is being run so you can see the cut-in and cut-out settings of the pressure switch; like 30-50. Otherwise your gauge could be broken showing only 40 regardless of what the actual pressure is.

Your 1/2" "PVC" for the drain line.... is it white (PVC) or tarnish/gray CPVC? There is a PVC or CPVC marking on the tubing every 18-24". 1/2" CPVC is not a good choice due to it's less than 1/2" ID through the fittings but, you aren't going that far. PE tubing is best.

OK on the 6 lbs of salt. You didn't tell me the size of the softener in K of capacity or the tank size but 6 lbs shouldn't cause salty taste ... Chlorides might though. So have a chlorides test done.

The 5600 does not allow for changes to the length of time of each of the cycle positions of a regeneration. So if you listened to someone saying buy a softener with the 5600 (when he bought a Clack WS-1), now what are you going to do if you need more time in the Rapid rinse or final rinse?

Maybe you have a water leak or someone is using water during regeneration and that's getting some salty water into the plumbing. Check the toilet tanks and make sure the water level is set at the mark on the overflow tube and that there is no water leaking into the bowl causing the toilet to fill periodically.

Other than that, is the water level in the salt tank where it usually is or higher than 'normal'? If you can't find anything wrong, call the place you bought it and get their ideas.

Did this problem just start or has it been since you installled the softener?

Page #1 of this manual http://www.ohiopurewaterco.com/19742-Insert4-01.pdf for the Fleck 5600SE clearly shows that the duration (length of time) of the regeneration cycle steps can be varied.

You took your eye off the ball again...

He said: "Control value is a12 day timer".

For the benefit of others, that is not an SE version.

YOU said "The 5600 does not allow for changes to the length of time of each of the cycle positions of a regeneration".

YOU DID NOT SPECIFY which model of 5600, but did specifically say "so if you listened to someone saying buy a softener with the 5600 (when he bought a Clack WS-1), now what are you going to do if you need more time in the Rapid rinse or final rinse?"

Since you are referring to me I responded with the fact that the Fleck 5600SE that I often recommend IS capable of what you said it is not. The length of the regeneration cycles IS variable as the Fleck literature I linked to plainly states.

Facts, you gotta love 'em.

Yes that is what I said about the model he has; his 5600 12 day TC control valve. It does not allow for changing of the cycle times. Then I continued into a related subject and mentioned the nonadjustable times.

There are two versions of the 5600 that do not allow those changes versus the one that does.

The people that listen to what I recommend buy the "SE" model and can control those settings easily.

Again I thank you for your info and time.I will take this info to the dealer that sold me the tank.Last time I spoke with him,he also said that it sounded like I needed more rinse.
Question?
There is a washer in the drain line of the tank,called a "drain line flow control button", it comes in different sizes from 1.2GPM to 2.4 GPM. If I changed this to the largest washer would it help with the rinse.
There is also a note in the booklet that if water tastes salty, it could be the Cyclone distributor tube is too short. How do you tell if it's to short.

I'll be away for a couple of weeks, maybe it will fix itself.

Thanks

Dave

It would be nice if it fixed itself but that ain't gunna happen.

The volume of resin dictates the size of the tank and that dictates the gpm/size of the DLFC. So you should not change it unless the drain line restricts the flow, then you'd only go up one size and see how it works. The guy you mention should be able to take care of the problem or give you another larger DLFC button.

Fleck DLFC buttons go from 1.2 to 7 or 9 gpm. The 2.4 gpm would be for a 1.5 cuft softener with regular mesh resin.

well water problem
my water is a brownish color. I have had the water tested and the results show hardness 13, iron 3, ph 7.3, tds 221, tannins 3 manganese & nitrate not detected. I have contacted Clean My Water Company and they recommended a PT 3000 and PT 2900. Has any one used this company or system? if not could you recommed a company that could help me.

Thanks

Re: well water problem


Questions:

Who tested your water?
Did they perform the testing in your presence?

The company you mention is an online sales organization.
Who is going to install and service the system?

Do you have a local company that sells, installs and services modern water treatment equipment?

HTH ~

I recently bought to a well-water house in Haymarket, Virgina. I tested the water using a water tester kit and found the water has hardness level 3 (that is, I should have a water softener). I did some research about the water harness and the softener; it is a really complicated topics! However, I found this device "TOT-10-HE/FE" by RainDance Water Systems and it costs around $2500. If you know this product, please advise. Also, H2O_Man sounds very simple: A water softener and a whole house water filter system will do it. So is it good enough to just buy the $500 softener from Lowes, Home Depot, or Sears with a water filter for drinking water?
Thank you very much in advance for your advice.

drtan, I have no experience with RainDance.

A hardness of 3 gpg is slightly hard, what is the Ph? Any Iron?

Before you buy the LOWES or HD products try and locate a plumbing supply house that sells North Star.

HTH ~