26
Routine Maintenance
ADDING SALT
If the water softener uses all the salt before more is
added, hard water will result. The softener salt status
screen has an optional display of the estimated number
of days until salt is depleted (“Out of salt in X days”).
The softener can also be programmed to display a Low
Salt Alarm a certain number of days before salt is esti-
mated to run out (See Page 15).
Be sure that the brinewell cover is on when adding salt.
NOTE:
In humid areas it is best to keep the salt level
less than half full and add salt more often.
RECOMMENDED SALT:
Cube, pellet, coarse solar,
etc., water softener salt is recommended. This type of
salt is high purity evaporated crystals, sometimes
formed and pressed into briquets. It has less than 1%
insoluble (not dissolvable in water) impurities. Clean,
high grade rock salts are acceptable, but may require
frequent brine tank cleaning to remove the “sludge”
residue (insolubles) collecting at the bottom of the tank.
POTASSIUM CHLORIDE:
If you choose potassium
chloride (KCl) salt as a regenerant:
1) Make sure “Salt type” on the electronic control is set
to “KCl”, as shown on Page 15.
2) Place only one bag of potassium chloride (KCl) into
your softener at a time. The salt storage tank should
never contain more than 60 pounds of KCl.
SALT NOT RECOMMENDED:
Rock salt high in impuri-
ties, block, granulated, table, ice melting, or ice cream
making salts, etc., are not recommended.
SALT WITH IRON REMOVING ADDITIVE:
Some salts
have an additive to help a water softener handle iron in
the water supply. Although this may help keep the resin
bed clean, it may also release corrosive fumes that will
weaken and shorten the life of some water softener
electronic parts. Iron Out salt is safe to use on two-tank
models.
BREAKING A SALT BRIDGE
Sometimes a hard crust or salt “bridge” forms in the
brine tank. This is usually caused by high humidity or
the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges, an empty
space forms between the water and the salt. Then salt
will not dissolve in the water to make brine. Without
brine, the resin bed is not recharged and hard water will
result.
If the storage tank is full of salt, it is difficult to tell
whether there is a salt bridge. A bridge may be under-
neath loose salt. The following is the best way to check
for a salt bridge:
Salt should be loose all the way to the bottom of the
tank. Hold a broom handle, or like tool, up to the sof-
tener, as shown in Figure 90. Make a pencil mark on
the handle 1” - 2” below the top of the rim. Then, care-
fully push it straight down into the salt. If a hard object
is felt before the pencil mark is even with the top, it is
most likely a salt bridge. Carefully push into the bridge
in several places to break it.
Do not try to break the
salt bridge by pounding on the outside of the salt
tank. You may damage the tank.
FIG. 90
1” - 2”
Pencil
Mark
Broom
Handle
Push tool into
salt bridge
to break
Water Level
Empty Space
Salt Bridge
Salt
