Water softener repair? (San Antonio, Anton: house, plumbing, backyard)

[Boghaunter]

Did the February cold snap destroy Fleck 5600 SXT water softeners?


Mine was working fine before an extended power blackout - now, nothing. The water flows through it, the timers work, it recycles - it just doesn't soften the water.



I bought it online and they're telling me it froze and there's no warranty coverage for that.



So,


1. Does cold kill water softeners?


2. Who in San Antonio can fix it?


Thanks.

[TexasRedneck]

Cold water in and of itself won't "kill" a softener. You'd have to actually freeze the resin so that it would shatter - and if it got THAT cold, the tank itself would have been split by the freezing. Is it drawing brine properly? How old is the unit itself? I'm trying to think of what the freeze itself could have done to it that wouldn't have exhibited itself in other was (split tank, etc). Is the unit inside or outside the house?

I CAN see where it MIGHT have frozen the valve itself and done internal damage that MIGHT not be apparent from the outside....but that's NOT going to be common.

I'll DM you.

[astrohip]

Just call a plumber.

[Boghaunter]

Originally Posted by astrohip

Just call a plumber.

Thanks, I did. My plumber is good with pipes, but not so much with water softeners.

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by Boghaunter

Thanks, I did. My plumber is good with pipes, but not so much with water softeners.

Was he able to sort it out? Good luck!

[Boghaunter]

Originally Posted by astrohip

Was he able to sort it out? Good luck!

Still testing. I filled the brine tank with salt so we'll see. I'll post results.

[Boghaunter]

The water softener is sorted out - it's working fine. Much thanks for the advice of @TexasRedneck .


There were a few issues.

1. The brine in the tank was clear as opposed to the opaque I was accustomed to. Apparently, the salt I was using before the February freeze had less dirt in it than I was accustomed to.

2. Also, though I didn't know it, the fact that I could see the brine at all was a problem - when the salt level drops and brine becomes visible, I should add more salt. This prevents problems of "stratification" in the brine.

3. Minor issue, but I should have been using different hardness test strips: SofChek. They're calibrated in grains of hardness (grains per gram, gpg) as opposed to "parts per million" (ppm) - I was getting really high numbers that didn't match hardness ratings of anything I read. You can convert the larger ppm number by dividing it by 17.3, but that doesn't help much because at the higher ppm ranges you can't really tell the difference in test strip color between 120 and 250. Stick with SofChek and get readable hardness ratings between 0 and 25 - much more usable.

4. The biggest problem/surprise, however, and what confused me the most, was where I was testing the hardness - from the kitchen cold water tap. It showed the same hardness as the outside water faucet, and made me think the softener wasn't working. I was mistaken. The issue here is that some plumbers choose to run hard water directly to the kitchen faucet and not through the water softener system! That's the way mine is set up, so no matter how well the water softener is working that water will remain hard water. Had I tested any other faucet in the house, or even the hot water faucet in the kitchen I would have known it was working.

I hope this will help others who have the same kinds of questions.

[resonator]

Same deal in my kitchen.

And it's water line goes on to the outdoor backyard spigot.

[TexasRedneck]

Yeah - whatever plumbing genius came up with the bright idea of making the cold water side "hard" in the kitchen should have their head examined - 99% of the folks I know use cold water to make coffee & tea with. Haven't had to clean our Bunn in 17 years now - but I made SURE they didn't run our cold side to hard water.

[resonator]

I think it is just cheaper when running a cold raw water pipe to the far corner of the house for the outdoor faucet and the kitchen is nearby to tap in.