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1. Gather information
Ask the customer questions. Any information obtained can reduce your time on the job. Many times the customer’s response to
questions will allow you to skip directly to the next section.
2. Test the water
•
Test cold and raw.
- Cold water, directly from the softener, tells you what the water is like right now.
- Raw water, before treatment, tells you if the water to be treated has changed and if the correct meter disc was installed
originally.
•
Test water at the brine fitting while water is running to determine if the softener is producing soft water.
•
Is there really a problem with the softener? Or does the problem lie elsewhere at the customer site?
3. Observe the installation
•
Look for customer related problems.
- Is the bypass open or leaking?
- Is the softener out of salt?
- Is there bridged salt in the drum?
- Is the prefilter clogged?
•
Look for obvious installation mistakes
- Is the meter disc and salt setting correct according to raw water?
- Is the bypass disc correct?
- Are the inlet and outlet lines reversed?
- Drain installation – Are there any kinks, restrictions or T’s from other appliances using water?
•
Is the unit running water to drain?
•
Refer to the section for problems and solutions.
4. Run a soft water faucet wide open
•
Watch the meter disc.
- Is it turning?
•
Watch the no back pawl.
- As the meter disc turns clockwise, the no back pawl should drop into the next tooth, preventing the meter disc from
turning backwards. Does it?
•
Measure the metering rate.
- Wait for the no back pawl to drop into a tooth. Place a bucket under the faucet to catch the water. Let the meter disc turn
for another tooth or two, then measure the water captured in the bucket. The approximate metering rate for all models is
shown below.
Model
CC 206c
CC 208C
Mach 2060s
Mach 2100s
Volume per tooth
24 l / 6,3 gal
29 l / 7,6 gal
49,2 l / 13 gal
66,2 l / 17,5 gal
5. Place the unit in manual regeneration in the brine position
•
Check if unit is sucking brine by disconnecting the brine line from the elbow on level 3.
- Is the brine suction elbow screen clogged?
- Is the suction sound smooth and continuous with no water blow back?
- Moisten a finger and place it on the open end of the elbow. Can you feel a smooth continuous suction?
6. Remove the brine valve
•
Check the brine valve setting.
- Is it set according to the brine valve installation sheet?
7. Look for leaks in the house
•
Make sure the customer is not using any water.
- Is the meter disc still turning?
•
Some leaks may be so slow that the meter disc will not turn.
- Are there any leaky faucets?
- Are there any toilets that run continuously?
•
Place the unit in service position (6 o’clock or 12 o’clock).
•
Close the soft water side of the bypass and leave it closed for one minute. On a Kinetico bypass, turn it to the off position.
•
Open it.
- Did you hear a surge of water through the valve when it was opened? If so, there is a leak somewhere in the house.
11.1
Softening
Ten steps to determin the problem...
201218
