Water Softener Problems
 

"Mike" wrote
I have done a little searching through the news groups, but have not
found a solution to this problem yet.

I have a 3 year old GE water softener that is not softening water any
more. The water in the brine tank is filling up, about half way up
the
tank. There is a little salt at the bottom, about 2 inches and has
been
there for over a month. Basically it's not using salt, and filling up
with water. Since it's filling up, I know there is no salt bridge. I
have cleaned the Venturi nozzle several times, and each time it looked
clean. I have taken out the brine valve body, washed it out and made
sure the float was not stuck. One site I found, mentioned that the
distributor that delivers water to the resin tank may be clogged. I
took
off the valve, and pulled out the basket, and cleaned it using an old
toothbrush. It didn't look dirty or clogged.

The only thing left is the resin in the tank. Looking in, it looks as
if
it's about a foot or two below the mouth of the tank. I would think
that
should be enough and wouldn't cause no hard water or water to build up
in
the brine tank.

When the system is regenerating, does it send tap water down the tube
to
the brine valve to make brine, then later suck that brine back into
the
resin tank to regenerate the tank? I ask this because when the
regeneration cycle first starts, I pulled the brine line off the
venturi
nozzle, and water shot out the nozzle, indicating that it was sending
water to the brine tank. Later in the process, I pulled the brine
line
off again, and water just trickled out of the nozzle. I could have
missed the cycle, but could the pump that brings the brine into the
resin
tank be bad? And is there a way to be sure?

This happened once before when it was still under warrantee. We had a
repairman come out, but I wasn't here at the time to see what magic he
worked to get it working again.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Mike Arvay
marvay at amishcasino.com

You probably have a problem with the valve disc and o-ring/seals. There
is no pump, suction causes the brine to be sucked out of the brine tank.
When that doesn't happen, or there is an internal leak in the valve that
controls brine refill, the brine tank receives the normal amount of
water that was supposed to have been sucked out adding it to the water
left in the tank. That can happen too if the float doesn't shut off the
water. A kinked/blocked drain line can cause this too.

If you're interested, I can provide you an adapter that allows you to
replace your control valve with an industry standard control valve such
as a Fleck, Autotrol or Erie.

Gary
Quality Water Associates