Kenmore 625.3486 owner manual Water Flow Through the Softener in Backwash

SECTION 2

HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

2B. SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION

[-2]BRINING: During brining, the brine is moved

from the salt storage area, into the resin tank. Inside

the resin tank, brine cleans hardness minerals from

the resin beads and they are discharged out the drain. How much brine is needed to clean the resin

depends on:

- -the amount of resin in the softener,

--how fast the brine goes through the bed.

WATER FLOW THROUGH THE SOFTENER IN BACKWASH

hard water, hard water

bypass OUTt ! IN

drain

The nozzle and venturi (FIG. 6) make suction to take brine from the salt tank and put it into the resin tank. They keep the brine flow down to a very

slow rate to get the best resin cleaning with the least salt.

[3]BRINE RINSE: After all of the brine is moved into the resin tank, the brine valve closes. Water

keeps flowing the same way it did during brining

except the brine flow has stopped. Hardness

minerals and brine flush from the resin tank to the

drain. Brining and brine rinse together vary in the

length of time they take, relative to the fill cycle length.

WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN BRINING AND

BRINE RINSE

hard water hard water

bypass OUTt I IN

drain

resin bed lifted and expanded

[-_FAST RINSE: Backwash is followed by a fast

flow of water down through the resin tank. The fast flow packs the resin bed and gets it ready for return to service (FIG. 8).

After fast rinse, the softener returns to service. Hard water goes into the resin tank where the resin

bed again takes out the hardness minerals. Soft water goes to the house soft water pipes.

WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN FAST RINSE

soft water hard water

OOT ! '"

drain

brine

[4]BACKWASH: During backwash, water flows

UP through the resin tank (FIG. 7) at a fast rate to

flush iron minerals, dirt and sediments from the

bed and to the drain. The bed lifts and expands for good cleaning.

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