Rainsoft water salty after cycling

Sounds like you need a new penguin to me.

H20man may explain that... or possibly not.

A new penguin indeed


jasolution,
Do you happen to know if both drain and brine tabs were replaced?
Were the two small O rings on the brine injector replaced?
Was the Tri-Guard reinstalled and sealed correctly without cracking the housing?

These are the things I would check first.

H2O_MAN,

I do know that the two O-rings were replaced, but I do not believe that any other items, besides the shear pin, were also replaced. As for cracking the Tri-Guard, is this something that I could check easily without dismantling (and thus possibly breaking ) the guts of this baby?

Jason

You want to look at the base of the Tri-Gaurd to see if a water drop has formed. Call the service tech if you see a water drop - don' touch it.

The piston has 3 quarter size o rings and the brine injector has 2 pencil size o rings.

I would have the service tech make another house call and trouble shoot the system again - otherwise "you break it, you buy it!"

HTH ~

H2O_Man,

I've just made the call. Since this problem started after the last repair, I assume that it has something to do with the repair, though I cannot say for sure. We'll see what the service tech says and I'll report back.

Jason

Well, the dealer didn't return my call from this morning, so I guess it'll remain a mystery until at least Tuesday. I did check the Tri-Guard and there is no water anywhere on or under it.

I did start a regeneration cycle and watched the Tri-Guard and brine tank throughout the cycle. I think it is odd that the Tri-Guard remained full during the whole regeneration cycle, which kept the little white float inside pegged at the top of the Tri-Guard. Also, I'm 90% certain that no water entered the brine tank during the whole cycle (I'm only 90% sure because the brine tank is full of salt right now, so it's possible that water entered but just didn't rise high enough for me to see it, though I also did not hear any water running into the tank nor did the salt level drop at all).

Based on those additional clues, what's your diagnosis, Dr. H20_Man?

Jason

If you remove the motor cover you will see a cream colored pair of disc.
Do these disc turn as the cycles progress?

I'm still thinking you need brine and drain tabs plus brine injector O rings.

They don't allow water softeners in California without a permit. I don't have to worry about this

H20_Man,

Both of the discs do turn as the unit progresses through its cycle. To put it into perspective, normal sea water has a specific gravity of 1.025; my water after the regeneration cycle has a specific gravity of 1.060!

Here is what my water looks like coming out of the kitchen faucet:


Ugh!

Jason

Unplug the unit, flush cold water in the tub until the salt is gone and wait for the service tech to arrive. You do not have to bypass the system.

The Q valve you have is obsolete and I'm surprised your local dealer is attempting to service it.
Dealers are instructed to offer customers upgrade valves or new systems.

I have replaced many RainSoft Q valves with metered digital FLECK 2510SE valves. LINK
You can do this yourself.

H2O_Man,

It looks doable from the pics that you've posted. I have a few questions:

1) What tools are required to remove the valve from the tank?

2) Which components must be removed from the valve itself before removing the valve from the tank?

3) In your pics, I noticed that the Fleck controller is plumbed using PVC. Is PVC the standard on Fleck, or was it just that particular installation that you photographed? My Rainsoft valve is copper-to-copper right now.

4) In one of your photos, you show a file and a white tube. Can you describe what you did with the file?

5) In one photo, you show a hose attached to the tube in the resin tank. Was that just to pull the tube out, or were you flushing water into the tank?

6) Do you have any play-by-play descriptions to accompany the pictures?

Thanks,

Jason

Other than cutting the pipes I use the palm of my hand to break the valve loose.

Disconnect the brine line from the top of the Tri-Gaurd and remove the drain line.

I like CPVC, but you can use just about anything you like.

RainSoft uses a riser pipe extension that fits into the riser pipe. Fleck uses a taller riser pipe that fits up into the valve.
You have to custom fit the riser to the tank and bevel the top of the pipe.

I use the water pressure to remove and install riser pipes.

I have added some text to the web page

That water is full of minerals. It's very good for you! Don't touch it!

FYI: Minerals in H20 consist of dissolved rock, our bodies are not set up to assimilate rock.
Dissolved rock becomes kidney and gal stones in the human body.
The human body is designed to extract minerals from organic matter.

Now a high dollar Scotch on the rocks is another matter... I have sold and installed countless softeners with RO or
distillation systems feeding ice machines just because hard water was ruining the flavor of my clients favorite Scotch

Jason, IIRC this problem has been ongoing since April or May plus you're out the money for the local dealer to come out and replace 1-4 1/4" long brass shear pins that I used to pay a Rainsoft dealer something like $1.98 each for, and whatever else the tech replaced or did. Now the softener has failed again and you are questioning IF the tech did or didn't do something that caused the salty water problem so you're looking into replacing the control valve.

In a previous thread of yours, you say you didn't have time to be a DIY yet since then I'd guess you've spent much more time than it will take to replace the control valve or install a new softener. Here's a link to that thread.

I suggest a Clack WS-1 control valve over the Fleck valves. It will be less to purchase and much quicker and easier to repair when needed; plus parts cost less. It has variable reserve, it uses soft water for brine makeup with either Pre or Post brining, calendar override and NOVRAM memory to maintain programming data (for many years) without the need for a battery. It also keeps time during a power failure for up to two hours. The version of circuit board I suggest allows full control of the length of time of each cycle position of a regeneration. It also stores extensive water usage and other history, the number of regenerations and when they have happened and daily water usage patterns over the past 63 days etc., the maximum gpm ever run through the softener or filter and other troubleshooting data. It's head and shoulders above the majority of Fleck controls but especially the 5600 and 2510 in any of their versions. You can contact me privately for more info.

Also, I include very detailed instructions for replacing a control valve, programming it, getting the softener or filter back into service in the proper way so as to not cause serious problems later and toll free telephone support while you're doing it or for any questions or problems at anytime later.

I also have the Clack WS-1 control valve available in place of the Fleck 2510SE.
I don't care for them, but it's your money and your choice.

By the way: The best softener on the market is EcoWater.

Spoken like a salesman only interested in a sale, especially after saying you've never seen one personally and you think they are dainty and saying you've never heard one but they are noisy while accusing them of being "cheap".

I do not beleive so because of their rip off prices and equally high priced proprietary parts. I say Ecowater is a very poor choice for anyone let alone a DIYer.
Also, I would expect the Ecowater warranty would be voided by the dealer if not the company because of the less than as you say, "professional" installation by a DIYer.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water... DIYerrhea

You are an anti DIY Ecowater salesman.

To those DIYers I say - If people try real hard, they can't find a cheaper softener design of any lower quality than those made by Ecowater.

They use soft ABS plastics; CHEAP CHEAP. They clamp the control valve onto the proprietary non-industry standard resin tank; CHEAP CHEAP. If they set the salt dose with the float in the salt tank; CHEAP CHEAP.

The control valve is a rotary disk design that fails very frequently;CHEAP CHEAP. And, the parts prices are ridiculously high for the few small parts needed to replace the disk and gasket; CHEAP CHEAP.

The biggest rip off is the Ecowater dealers' version of the Kenmore, GE, Whirlpool, North Star and mortonsalt.com softeners. They are nothing but an overpriced Kenmore etc.. They even look alike! but... there are thousands of dollars difference in price but... the Ecowater dealer says the price is negotiable. Folks, that's like buying a used car/truck/SUV. You'll spend about as much as a 7-10 year old used car costs too!