Service
When the water softening system is providing soft water, it is called “Service.” During
service, hard water flows from the house main water pipe into the water softening system.
Inside the water softening system resin tank is a bed made up of thousands of tiny, plastic
resin beads. As hard water passes through the bed, each bead attracts and holds the hard
minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is much like a magnet attracting and holding
metals. Water without hard minerals (soft water) flows from the water softening system and
to the house pipes.
After a period of time, the resin beads become coated with hard minerals and they have to
be cleaned. This cleaning is called regeneration, or recharge. Regeneration is started at
2:00 AM (factory setting) by the water softening system control, and consists of five stages or
cycles. These are
FILL, BRINING, BRINE RINSE, BACKWASH
and
FAST RINSE
.
About the water softener system.
Customer Service
Troubleshooting T
ips
Installation Instructions
Safety Instructions
Customer Service
Troubleshooting T
ips
Operating Instructions
Safety Instructions
Customer Service
Troubleshooting T
ips
Safety Instructions
12
Automatic Hard Water Bypass During Regeneration
For emergency needs, hard water is available
to the home during the regeneration cycles.
However, you should avoid using HOT water
because the water heater will fill with the
hard water.
Fill
Salt dissolved in water is called brine. Brine is needed to clean the hard minerals from resin
beads. To make the brine, water flows into the salt storage area during the fill stage.
Brining
During brining, brine travels from the salt storage area into the resin tank. Brine is the
cleaning agent needed to remove hard minerals from the resin beads. The hard minerals
and brine are discharged to the drain.
The nozzle and venturi create a suction to move the brine, maintaining a very slow rate to
get the best resin cleaning with the least salt.
Brine Rinse
After a pre-measured amount of brine is used, the brine valve closes. Water continues to
flow in the same path as during brining, except for the discontinued brine flow. Hard
minerals and brine flush from the resin tank to the drain
.
Backwash
During backwash, water travels
up
through the resin tank at a fast flow rate, flushing
accumulated iron, dirt, and sediments from the resin bed and to drain.
Fast Rinse
Backwash is followed by a fast flow of water
down
through the resin tank. The fast flow
flushes brine from the bottom of tank, and packs the resin bed.
After fast rinse, the water softening system returns to soft water service.
