rlp2955 wrote:
All,
I just recently had a new GE water softener installed in my home
and I am trying to confirm whether the darn thing actually works.
Here is what I do know...I originally put a 40lb bag in and 3 gallons
of water.

You shouldn't need to add any water if that is what you did.
You probably need more than 1 bag of salt 2 or 3 at least.
You need to wait over night or several hours at least after adding salt
before you do a regeneration.


The water is slightly above the salt in the salt tank. I
ran the manual diagnostics to see the meter reading when I turn on the
soft water faucets. The meter runs which seems to me proof that its
working properly.

What do you mean by 'soft water faucets'?
Do you just have a few faucets on soft water?
Just the Hot water or your entire water supply?
Hopefully the outdoor faucets were plumbed to not be on the soft water.

However, I was told that when you run a manual
regeneration you should see water moving into the smaller brine well
tank.

Did you stand there 1+ hours and watch?
I think it's done at the very beginning or the cycle but not sure?

I don't really notice anything happening at all when I do a
regeneration other than hearing water noise and water running out the
drain behind the filter. Is there a way for me visibly to see that
this thing is working?

Not really that I know of.


It is set to regenerate at 2am...does that
mean it regenerates every night at 2am...or only when it needs to?

Depends on the model. Look it up in the operators manual.

If
I did multiple regenerations manually, shouldn't I notice a drop in
the salt level?


Yes if you gave sufficient time in-between regenerations for the salt to
dissolve and make brine.


I am a newbie here...but I don't notice a difference in the "feeling"
of our water. We have had it for a week. Just want to confirm that I
do or do not need to have someone come look at it. Please help.
Thanks in advance.

Is there a bypass system on the softener or plumbed into the pipes
nearby (3 shutoff valves)? Perhaps the bypass is not set correctly?
Soft water feels slippery or slimy.
Kevin