How Your Water Softener Works
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. See Fig. 40.
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.
SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION
AUTOMATIC BYPASS
During the brining, brine rinse and backwash cycles of regeneration, HARD water goes through the softener valve and to the house pipes. If a faucet is opened, hard water is there for your needs. However, you should not use hot water, if possible, because the water heater will refill with hard water. The softener, as factory pro- grammed, regenerates from 2:00 AM to about 4:20 AM, a time when not much water is used.
If you start your day prior to 4 AM, you may need to change the recharge starting time. Set the recharge time to 12:00 AM or 1:00 AM. Then regeneration will start and end that much earlier and your water heater will not refill with hard water if a hot faucet is opened.
ELECTRONICS
Two main parts of the softener’s electronics are: a WATER METER, and a COMPUTER.
•WATER METER The water meter is in the softener valve outlet. As water flows through the meter, it sends electric pulses to the computer. The computer changes the puls- es to a measure in gallons of water.
•COMPUTER The computer is part of the faceplate timer circuit board. It is programmed to know the softener’s capacity (how many grains of hardness minerals it will take out of the water before a regeneration is needed). When starting the softener, you set it for the grains per gallon (gpg) hardness of the water.
To find a regeneration pattern best for your needs, the computer uses:
(1)water usage from the meter
(2)hardness setting
(3)softener capacity
(4)time since the last regeneration.
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE SOFTENER
IN FAST RINSE
Soft Water Hard Water
OUT IN
Drain
FIG. 40
The computer always adjusts this pattern to your water using habits. It works toward providing you with soft water for the longest time and at the most efficient salt usage.
Softening capacity is used as hard water goes through the softener and hardness minerals are removed. When the computer determines that only enough capacity remains to provide soft water up to the next regenera- tion starting time (2:00 AM, or as otherwise set) it will schedule a regeneration. When the regeneration begins, RECHARGE NOW flashes in the display during the regeneration.
Questions? Call The Kenmore Water Line
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