Do I really need my Rainsoft acid tank serviced?

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

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

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


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 ~

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Nuff said.

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

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.

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?

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.

I'm a Rain Soft technician, and have been for nearly 10 years.
I'd have to ask which type of acid neutralizer you have to get into more detail, but from the year in which you posted, I'd say you have a silver series neutralizer. My company sold two versions. The 1044, and the 1054. 10 would be the diameter of the tank, and 44 or 54 would be the height from the bottom to the collar. If the timer is mechanical and has a grey knob, and also is extremely complicated to understand, I'd be certain that it was a silver series. If it has a computer board, it's a TC series, and the tank sizes still apply.
I read a couple of posts, and the one thing that caught my attention was someone said the ph should usually be around 7. No it should not usually be around 7. It should be 7 period. The scale goes from 0-14. 7 is smack in the middle, hence neutral. When it is below 7, the water is acid. Then you get those blue green stains, the pinholes, etc.
There are variables that have an effect on your neutralizer; water consumption, iron levels, suspended iron, etc. Think of that tank as a gas tank for your car. You get X amount of miles out of a full tank of gas, you get X amount of gallons of water out of a full bed of calcite, or azinute. My company mixes Mag Oxide in with the calcite to kick the ph up, limiting the amount of calcite we use (usually 1 50lb bag) This increases the free board (distance from collar to top of bed, 18" is minimum) in the tank, limiting the possibility of raising the bedding up into the control because your system comes with a 1" valve, manifold, and 6 gpm flow restricter on the drain line. Also it helps a little bit with the water pressure in the house.
We're taught to tell people expect to rebed the tank once a year, but if I walk into a house with a only 1 person living there, they are not using as much water as a family of 6. So a rebed might not be necessary.
What the technician in your case did was shortbed the tank. It is a means of getting the job done and does work. However I cannot recommend doing that year after year. As the calcite breaks down, it starts to turn into mud in the tank. It's the best adjective I have. By repeatedly pouring on top of that, you're compressing that down and it will work it's way through the pea gravel at the bottom of your tank. This will cause water pressure drops in the house but also it may slip passed and into your water softner. Those little pieces of calcite can scratch the teflon coating off your softeners piston. That's why I refuse to do the shortbedding consecutive years.
Rebedding the tank on your own isn't recommended for one very simple reason. If you break it, that warranty is not valid because it's not considered, "normal wear" Now if a technician breaks it, that's a whole other story. I know. I've cracked my fair share of head casings. It is not that hard to do. "Made from the same material they make bullet proof glass out of." Oh yes, I had to sit through one of those sales pitches. It's good to know that these guns (as I flex my biceps) can break bullet proof glass. But if you were inclined to attempt it, a flat head screw driver is all you need.

That's good stuff right there.

What area of the country do you currently service?