Category Archives: Equipment

Repairing Water Softeners and Automatic Filters

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We have always maintained an extensive parts and components list of items for the water treatment systems that we sell and support. Often times the breakdown of a component on a control valve is due to age and normal wear and is usually very easy to replace. In some cases, special tools are required for replacing seals and spacers for instance in the Fleck models 9000 and 2510, but for the most part, replacing parts on softener or filter control valves can be performed with common tools.

Repairing your softener or filter system yourself can save you a great deal of expense but it is important to consider other aspects of your softener/filter before repairing. First, consider the age of the system. For example, if your softener is 20+ years old and you have a control valve with worn piston and seals, you will also want to think about the softener’s media. Softener media can have a very long lifespan depending on the conditions of your water and how much water flows through it over the years, but after 20 years or even less, the media becomes worn out. Friction due to the hundreds of regeneration cycles through the years will wear the surface of the resin beads down making them in effective. At that point you should also consider the cost of replacing the resin media and the repair parts you need for your controller. Often times these costs will come close to the cost of an entire new softener.

Another example: You have a greensand filter which is only 5 years old but because of the high iron content of the water, the injector is clogged or wore out and the media is likely in need of changing as well. In this case, changing the injector and the media are less than half the cost of a new filter system, but a close examination of the seals and piston should be done at this time as well. All of these components can be replaced at far less than the cost of replacing the entire system.

We do not recommend repairing a very old system. While the media and parts can be a temporary fix, in the long run you save money and time by investing in a complete new system.

Reverse Osmosis Components

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While every reverse osmosis (RO) system we carry comes with an owner’s manual which states how often to replace the filters and membranes which the systems use to purify the product’s water, we are often asked how frequently these items should be replaced, so I thought this would be a good time to not only answer that question, but to explain the function of each filter.

The RO’s pre-filter is just that, it pre-filters the water coming into the RO system. It is designed to remove and particles in the water of 5 microns or larger, thus protecting the membrane. In at least a couple of the RO systems we carry, a combination carbon/sediment pre-filter is available. A carbon/sediment pre-filter is a good choice for your RO system if your water contains chlorine. Chlorine can damage a typical RO membrane so unless your water comes from your own private well, a carbon/sediment pre-filter is a good choice. Most manufacturer’s recommend changing this filter every 6 months.

Next is the carbon filter. These filters offer a 2nd layer of protection against chlorine but they also reduce other chemicals which can affect RO membrane performance. The manufacturer’s recommend changing these filters every 8 months.

Next is the RO membrane. In the case of the GE Merlin RO, there are actually two of these membranes. A membrane is technically not a filter at all. In the case of a filter, all water passes through it. An RO membrane does not allow anything but pure water to pass. It rejects contaminants and channels them down the drain. An RO membrane should be changed every 2 to 3 years, but if regular pre-filtration changes were neglected, then the membrane should be changed sooner as it is likely damaged.

Finally there is the carbon post-filter. Not all RO’s have a carbon post-filter. They are generally inline between the membrane and the tank/faucet. These post-filters contain activated carbon and remove any ‘plastic taste’ the water might contain after running through the RO system’s lines. This filter should be replaced every year or after any membrane replacement is performed.

Sediment Filter Cartridge Types and Materials

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There are three basic materials used in the various sediment filters that we carry at Water Value Co. While all three materials achieve the same results – removing sediment from the water – each material has its own characteristics.

Melt-blown spun poly filterMelt-Blown Spun Polypropylene: This sediment filter material uses a graded density to trap sediment particles. Larger particals of sediment entering the filter will be trapped on the outside of the filter media while the smaller particles become trapped deeper inside the filter cartridge. This graded density method greatly increases the effective surface area of the filter cartridge which prolongs the useful life of the cartridge itself. Melt-Blown Spun Polypropylene filters ratings begin at 25 microns on down to 1 micron.

String wound filter cartridgeWound Poly Cord: The idea behind the spun cord sediment filter cartridge is cost. This type of filter cartridge is much less costly to manufacture than any other method. As the name implies, this is simply a polypropylene cord wound around a rigid core. The poly string material is also more resistant to corrosive fluid and materials that the other two types of sediment filter material. These filter cartridges rate at 30 micron on down to 5 micron.

Pleated filter cartridgePleated Polyester: Pleated filter cartridges use a non-woven polyester material that is folded into pleats around a solid core. This pleating characteristic greatly increases the surface area of the filter cartride. The unique characteristic of this type of sediment filter is the fact that it is reusable. You can remove the trapped sediment particles from the inside folds of the pleats and put it back into service several times. This material ranges from 50 microns on down to 1 micron.

Water Softener Sale

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We have select sizes of the Water Value WS-1 Clack controlled water softeners on sale until the end of the month. These electronic, turbine metered, on-demand complete water softener systems feature easy and automatic setup along with high flow rates and high efficiency. These professional grade systems – once only available to water treatment professionals – are now available to the public.Water Value WS-1 water softeners on sale.

The Water Value WS-1 water softener systems feature high flow rates, electronic turbine metering, high salt efficiency, LCD display, easy initial setup, FREE installation kit, high capacity ion exchange resin, Structural tanks, brine grid, bypass valve, drain line and more. Everything you need to connect to your existing plumbing. There are a number of options you can choose from as well including pipe connector size (free installation kit is 3/4-inch NPT), optional tank jacket and brine tank colors. The sizes included in this sale are the 24,000 grain, 32,000 grain, 40,000 grain and the 48,000 grain capacity. To find out which size works best for your application, use our handy Softener Sizing chart.

This sale ends November 30, 2008.

Solving Well Water Problems

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Private wells can present quite a few problems for homeowners and businesses alike. All water out of an underground well contains some degree of hardness. But hardness is easily removed with a standard water softener. Most wells also produce water with some type of iron contamination. While iron in your water is not considered a health risk according to the US EPA under certain amounts, it can cause many problems with staining of plumbing and fixtures, laundry and often times produces an unpleasant odor. Water Value Company has an excellent iron elimination system available called The Terminator. Using 3 stages of water treatment, it injects oxygen into the water as the well pump runs. It then oxidizes and bleeds off excess air and sulfur gas, and finally filters out the oxidized iron through an automatic backwashing filter system. The Terminator system is very effective in removing high amounts of iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.

But often times well water will not only contain iron and odor, but bacteria also. Bacteria can be killed with UV filter lamps and chlorinators, but BWI (Better Water Industries) has come out with an ingenious all-in-one device for treating not only bacteria, but iron, sulfur, sulfate reducing bacteria, black manganese, algae, tannins, arsenic and even low pH. It is the Sentry I Open-Air System and it even increases low level well water output. Sentry I Open-Air System

While being ideal for removing very high levels of iron and sulfur gas from your water, the other benefits of this open-air system coupled with a standard water softener downline of the appliance makes for nearly perfect water right out of your tap, no matter how difficult your well water problem may be. The simple design of this open-air system means easy installation. It comes pre-wired and plumbed with a 1-inch inlet valve, adjustable air-draw for oxidation, safety floats, dry pellet chlorinator, submersible pump, and bladder tank. Water enters the Sentry I Open-Air system and is injected with air for oxidation, chlorine for oxidation and disinfection, holding tank and a booster pump to provide higher water pressure to your faucets than a standard well system can.

So if you need to solve multiple problems with your well water and require a simple to use, low maintenance water treatment equipment solution, the Sentry I Open-Air System is the right choice.

Brine Tank Overflow

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A widely common problem people have with their water softeners is too much water going back to the brine tank after regeneration. This can happen with a 15 year old softener or a brand new one. There is likely only one cause; a leak somewhere. Finding that leak is the trick. So if you’ve searched and found this article, you have a problem with your softener’s brine tank over filling. Therefore, you do not want to have to read through the mechanics of the brine system of your water softener, you just want to fix it. So I will try to get right to the point here.

First of all, if your water softener is brand new, the leak is not caused by your brand new control valve. Do not bother to call whomever you purchased it from and demand a warranty replacement. You will still have the same problem with a brand new controller. The leak is likely in the line leading from the control valve to the brine tank. There are only two fittings in this line, so check both of those. Even the plastic fitting inside the brine tank’s brine well needs to be “wrench tight” not finger tight.

If your water softener is older, say 2 or 3 years, then it’s likely you need to clean the brine injector assembly and the air-check at the bottom of the brine tank’s brine well. The brine well is a large diameter tube that runs down the inside of the brine tank. The air-check will be in the bottom of that. If you have an Autotrol model 255 control valve, you will not have an air-check in the brine tank, but there will be a brine pickup there which should be checked and cleaned of any debris if necessary.

The air-check is simply a plastic ball in the bottom of a serrated tube. The ball closes off the backflow of brine water out of the brine tank. In other words, the control valve does not “know” when the brine tank is empty. This air-check mechanism takes care of sealing off flow from the brine tank. If it does not seat properly, there will be a vacuum leak. The service manuals of all makes and models of water softeners we carry deal directly with cleaning of these air-checks and brine injectors. After making sure the brine line is not leaking, the air-check and brine injector are the next items to focus your attention. They should be clean of any brine or debris buildup.

Finally, all water softeners sold by Water Value come with a safety overflow float assembly. If yours has a leak where the brine pickup tube connects to the safety float shutoff, you will eventually end up with an overfilled brine tank. If the safety shutoff valve itself is leaking, you will also end up with an overflowing brine tank. Check that pickup tube and float assembly for leaks. A very easy way to do this is to activated your safety shutoff valve when the water softener is in brine refill mode. Simply pull up on the float assembly rod to activate the shutoff. If you see water dripping out, then you have a shutoff valve leak.

If a control valve has a brine draw cycle time of 8 minutes, and there is a vacuum leak somewhere in the brining system, that 8 minutes might not be long enough to draw all of the brine water out of the tank and into the softener’s resin bed for regeneration, leaving some brine in the brine tank. Then when the control valve reaches its final brine refill cycle, it will run for 8 minutes to replace the water it initially drew up out of the brine tank. If the brine tank still has water inside because of the vacuum leak, too much water will be sent to the brine tank. This is what causes brine tank overflow. It’s also possible that it could take several regenerations over several weeks time to realize this condition.

The preventive maintenance section that comes with these softener systems’ service manuals explains how to clean your specific brine valve and air-check. Do this brine system cleaning once per year, and you should never have brine tank overflow problems again.

Cost For Activated Carbon Goes Up

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The cost of granular activated carbon for water treatment has tripled in the last few months. There are all kinds of speculation as to why but in fact, there are a few reasons. These price increases currently affect automatic backwashing carbon filter systems and will no doubt start showing up soon in the manufactured cartridge filters.

Up until a couple of years ago, the vast majority of activated carbon coming into the U.S. was manufactured in China. For various reasons, the U.S. government wisely assessed and enforced import fees on this popular filter media. Water Value was already incorporating U.S. made carbon media in its systems all along, but when the Chinese media was no longer practical to purchase due to the increased cost, the other water treatment companies were forced to buy U.S. carbon. Because their prices went up and ours did not, we even went so far as to upgrade our carbon media to a nationally known name brand manufacturer in place of the generic U.S. media we were using.

We are still using that name brand carbon in our automatic filters, but the cost has risen above what anyone in the business had anticipated. A great deal of this can be attributed to the cost of oil for sure. While oil is not directly used in the manufacture and processing of activated carbon, producing the heat required is. It will either come from electrical or gas energy.

Rest assured that any of the activated carbon systems/products you purchase from Water Value have, and always will contain the highest grade of media available and it’s certainly made in the U.S.A.

Water Pitchers Saving the Environment

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I really like the new commercial about the filter-style water pitchers. They show a person doing some sort of activity such as treadmill running or even reading a book. In all cases, the person is accompanied by a plastic bottle of water. The commercial displays the line “20 minutes on a treadmill (or whatever the activity is): forever in a landfill”. The “forever in a landfill” is of course referring to the plastic water bottle.

We have addressed this issue of the plastic water bottles in the recent past. Our solution to the problem might be a bit more expensive than a filtering pitcher, but it’s much more practical.

Today, everyone knows how important it is to keep hydrated either while exercising or even at rest. Water helps to clean out the toxins in your body, and especially today, there are plenty of toxins in our environment. But the use and waste of these plastic bottles is going to catch up with us quickly. Either re-using the bottle or choosing an alternate, washable container is the right thing to do.

Keeping the water as clean and fresh as the bottled water factories do is easy too. Reverse osmosis is the single most effective, efficient and economical method of purifying your tap water available today. And it’s also orders of magnitude cleaner than any pitcher filter.

Do You Need Water Treatment?

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In most cases throughout the U.S., the answer to the above question is yes. In some cases though, and so long as there are no health issues with your water, water treatment is not needed. Because all water eventually filters down through several layers of minerals until an aquifer is reached, due to the solvent nature of water, it is going to gather minerals such as calcium along the way. When this aquifer is tapped either by a private well or municipal water distribution facility, the hardness minerals come right along with it. This calcium or lime can cause problems with your water pipes due to deposits on the inside walls of the pipes and plumbing fixtures over the years. The hardness also requires higher levels of soap and detergent to produce suds and lather when bathing or washing laundry and cookware. This calcium in the water poses no threat to health, but no benefit either. It is not the type of calcium that can be absorbed into your blood stream such as the calcium your body gets from food or vitamins. But it sure can be annoying when it comes to plumbing fixtures, washing and deposits left on surfaces such as a shower door or bathtub. If these annoyances do not cause you any bother, and there are no other contaminant issues with your water, you will not require any sort of water treatment.

Chances are though, if you’re reading this, you’ve decided that you do require some sort of water treatment. Once you know what is in your water that is causing the problems, it’s easy to figure out what you need. The best way to determine the nature of the contaminants in your water is to test the water. Simply pick up a water test kit at your local hardware/plumbing supply store or even get one of our Complete Home Water testing kits. There are 2 tests for every kind of water problem common to drinking water. There’s even a single test for bacterial infection.

Now that you know how much of what is in your water, you have come to the right place. Hardness, iron, bacteria, chlorine, fluoride, nitrates/nitrites, copper, taste and oder can all be treated easily with one or two devices. Hardness (and even some iron) can be treated with a regular ion exchange water softener. Iron in its many forms can be treated with one of our iron filter systems or chlorination. Turbidity is normally treated with a sediment filter, chlorine with a carbon filter, and even pH can be raised with a Calcite filter system. Nearly all chemical contaminants in the drinking water can be removed with a reverse osmosis system.

Some water treatment devices might require a pre-treatment method for proper operation. For example, reverse osmosis systems require a hardness level of less than 10 grains per gallon to operate properly. If your water hardness is over 10 grains per gallon and you require reverse osmosis treatment, you will also need to add a softener to your water treatment system.

If you cannot find what you’re looking for, try searching this web site. We take every question we have been asked over the phone for the past 7 years and addressed them in a search-able format. Simply type in your question at the “search this site” box in the left side of this page.

Brine Tank Sizing

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The brine tank (or salt tank) size can be important when selecting the water softener for your needs. Some people prefer a smaller tank due to the fact that their softener has been over-sized to allow for higher flow rate requirements. Others prefer a larger brine tank because their water is high in hardness and a smaller tank would need to be filled too often. Others simply want to fill their tanks with salt only once per year.

For those reasons, Water Value provides brine tank size selection for most of our softener models on the same page that you purchase the system from. Smaller 24,000 grain capacity softeners will only have the standard 15x17x36 rectangular brine tank available, but the larger 48,000 grain and 64,000 grain can be upgraded to the 18×33, 18×40 tanks. The commercial size 24×41 brine tank should only be used on high volume applications. This brine tank does not have a salt grid available for it and the color is black (charcoal) only.

The standard 15x17x36 rectangular brine tank will hold up to 275 pounds of salt pellets or 6-40 pound bags. The 18×33 round brine tanks hold up to 375 pounds of salt or 9-40 pound bags. The 18×40 round brine tanks can hold up to 450 pounds of salt or 11-40 pound bags. Finally, the commercial 24×41 round brine tanks hold up to 700 pounds of salt pellets which equates to over 17-40 pounds bags of salt. These volumes do not take into account the 4-inches that the brine grid takes up on the bottom of the brine tank.

Standard 15x17x36 rectangular brine tank. Due to the fact that there are so many different sizes of brine tanks, the manufacturer of the safety float assembly, which is included with all water softener systems we carry, require that the float rod be trimmed to size for your particular tank. Detailed instructions for trimming this float are written on a bright pink tag which is attached to the float assembly. We also have instructions for trimming this float rod on our Installation Example section.

Some brine tanks are also available in different colors. The common colors can include blue, almond or black. You can coordinate the color of your brine tank to compliment the color of your softener system’s media tank. For example, a blue tank jacket can look good with a blue brine tank, but an almond tank jacket looks great with a black brine tank.Blue tank jacket with blue brine tank.

The standard 15x17x36 brine tank cover comes with a molded handle for cover removal while the round brine tank covers do not have a handle. The round covers are quite easy to remove even without a molded handle. Most of the softeners we carry come default with blue media tanks, so customers tend to order blue brine tanks. If your brine tank is going to be located in a highly visible area (garage, carport or main floor utility), you will probably want to order a color combination which will look right for the location. But if your system is going to be located in a utility room in the basement, color combinations probably do not matter much to you in this case.

All of our residential brine tanks also have an overflow elbow fitting on the side of the brine tank. We are often asked what this fitting is for. This fitting is to be connected to a 1/2-inch drain line in the case of a power failure while the control valve is running through a regeneration process. While obviously rare, it could happen. Because all of our water softener brine tanks come with a safety overflow device, some local plumbing codes do not require that this overflow fitting be connected to a drain, but we recommend that you do so anyway.