Rain Soft Woes

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THIS IS LENGHTY BUT I NEED HELP PLEASE READ!!!!!First, this site has been extremely helpful! Read a post from cicerone imposter from November '06 that solved the excess water in the brine tank problem I was having. Followed his directions and now the water level is where it should be. You saved me an $80 + service call. AWESOME!!! Now if I may tell my story and current problem. I bought the RainSoft Gold Series Model AQC 75 unit in 2002. I never had the soft water promised, never had the silky feeling. The service people have come 5 times, no improvement. I also had the R/O system installed at the same time. The water line to that rusted closed about 3 months ago. I asked the dealer how could this happen with a softener unit installed. I was told the problem was my fault for not calling for service more often as i have a high level of rust/iron in my water. I was never told this before. On the original paperwork it lists 2PPM of iron, hardness 13. I have chlorinated my well (5 yrs old) as I was concerned about iron bacteria reducing the effectiveness of the softener. But I do not see improvement in water, still has a yellow hue to it and slight odor of iron. Oh yes I also have an iron prefilter as well. What should I do now? Does the resin need to be cleaned or replaced? Do I need to change the programming on the unit? The owner's manual is useless, no troubleshooting or guide for programming. If I can get the softener problem resolved I want to fix the R/O next. Any help/answers will be greatly apprecciated!!

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Re: Rain Soft Woes

rheast wrote:

On the original paperwork it lists 2PPM of iron, hardness 13. I have chlorinated my well (5 yrs old) as I was concerned about iron bacteria reducing the effectiveness of the softener. But I do not see improvement in water, still has a yellow hue to it and slight odor of iron. Oh yes I also have an iron prefilter as well. What should I do now?

A few Questions:

What is the Ph of your water? Did anyone test for Tannins?
There are 4 kinds of iron, what kind(s) of iron do you have?

What type of iron pre-filter is being used? Does it backwash?

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Rain Soft Woes
I took a sample of untreated water to a local building supply store that sells softeners, prior to chlorination pH 7.5, I have not had it tested after.
No test for tannins ever. I do not know what type of iron I have. The RainSoft paperwork does not specify, I have not had the water tested for the type of iron. The prefilter is one from Menards, installed by a friend, Omnifilter model U25, I use a string filter 5 micron, the manual says nothing about backwashing. Thank you for your speedy reply!!!

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Re: Rain Soft Woes

rheast wrote:

I took a sample of untreated water to a local building supply store that sells softeners, prior to chlorination pH 7.5, I have not had it tested after.
No test for tannins ever. I do not know what type of iron I have. The RainSoft paperwork does not specify, I have not had the water tested for the type of iron.

The prefilter is one from Menards, installed by a friend, Omnifilter model U25, I use a string filter 5 micron, the manual says nothing about backwashing. Thank you for your speedy reply!!!

With the mineral content in your water it is best that you test the Ph on site to get a correct reading.

The string filter is nothing more than a sediment filter. It should be replaced with a 10 x 54 filter with a control valve that backwashes every day.

If you Ph is 6.9 or lower the filter needs to be an Acid Neutralizer.
If your Ph is 7.0 or higher GAC may be all you need ahead of the softener.

Has your softener used salt during this time? How much?

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Can I do the pH testing myself?
Do you know of a brand of filter unit I should look for?
GAC means what?
The brine tank was filling with water, I just got that issue resolved last night, so not sure about salt use, I will have to see over the next few days. Prior it was going through 5 bags every 2 months,( i had the Rainsoft guy set it to the "highest softening" in April '06)
Would it be worthwhile to test for tannins and the type of iron?
Last night when I manually regenerated the unit, I checked it about 40 min. later and the screen read 21:09 several minutes later 21:02 what does that mean?
Thank you for your help

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rheast wrote:

Can I do the pH testing myself?
Do you know of a brand of filter unit I should look for?
GAC means what?
The brine tank was filling with water, I just got that issue resolved last night, so not sure about salt use, I will have to see over the next few days. Prior it was going through 5 bags every 2 months,( i had the Rainsoft guy set it to the "highest softening" in April '06)
Would it be worthwhile to test for tannins and the type of iron?
Last night when I manually regenerated the unit, I checked it about 40 min. later and the screen read 21:09 several minutes later 21:02 what does that mean?
Thank you for your help

Ph - A pool test kit or the test strips now sold in large Home stores.
If your water is yellow, testing for iron and tannins is a good thing.
GAC = Granulated Activated Carbon
I like Structural tanks with Fleck filter valves.

The computer read out does not look right - you may have issue with the computer board.

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I curse the day I bought this thing.
I went to your website......too bad I am not closer to GA.
I have talked to so many people, softener people, well drilling company, etc. you are the first person that has helped and given me some real answers, this is greatly appreciated. I will check the pH and see where I can get the other testing done. Thanks again!!

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Rain Soft Woes

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