A
step-by-step guide to setting up and connecting a Fleck model
2510/5600 auto-backwashing greensand filter.
This example is provided as informational only and in no way depicts
every installation situation you may encounter. WaterValue.com
believes strongly that a licensed plumber or water treatment professional
should install your water treatment equipment. But for the "do-it-yourselfer"
or if you are simply curious as to what is involved, these pages
should provide a considerable amount of information.
These
instructions will not deal with plumbing connections in detail
as every plumbing situation is unique, but they will aid the installer
with details on Fleck brand greensand filter assembly and setup.
When
your greensand filter arrives from Water
Value Company, it will consist of several boxes. One or
more boxes will contain bag(s) of greensand media. The media tank
itself will be empty except for a distributor tube inside the
tank. If the greensand filter were to be loaded before it left
the manufacturer UPS, FedEx or whoever delivered the system to
you, would not be able to lift it very well which would almost
certainly result in damage to the control valve, tank, or at the
very least the delivery driver's back. So the media will need
to be added to the media tank. That is why we include a media
funnel with your order. It would be best to wait until you have
your filter system nearly in place before adding the media as
these tanks can get pretty heavy once they are filled. Also never
use the base of the tank as a lifting handle, it will come off.
So
you have a box for the media tank, at least one box for the media
(depending on your system's capacity), one bag for the filter
gravel bed, one for the control valve and a box for the potassium
permanganate regenerant. You may choose to remove all of the contents
from the boxes at this time. The boxes take up a lot of space
and would get in the way of your work area once you are ready
to connect your filter system.
Once
you have your system's components nearby the location your greensand
filter is to be connected, you should fill the media tank. Make
sure that the distributor tube is seated into the dimple in the
bottom of the media tank. Ensure that the distributor tube is
capped to prevent media from getting inside it as you pour it
in. These distributors are sent from the manufactuer with a removable
cap/plug. If yours is missing, simply use a piece of tape to cover
the tube's opening. Place your media funnel in place and open
the filter gravel bag. It will be the bag with small light-colored
stones in it. Pour this into the bottom of the media tank first.
This bed of gravel acts to free up water flow from the base of
the distributor tube. If you forget to add the gravel first, you
can add it later and it will eventually work its way to the bottom
of the tank after a few regeneration cycles. Now is the time to
add the greensand media. It's not really green after all, is it?
The
distributor tube is capped or taped to prevent media from
getting inside it. The dust produced by the action of
transferring can make it difficult to breath so be sure
to do this in a well ventilated area or with breathing
protection such as a mask.
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Important:
While pouring greensand media, a cloud of dust is generated. While
this dust is non-toxic, it could prove harmful to your lungs no
matter how good it is for your water. Wear a protective filter
mask or do this in a well ventilated area such as outdoors. Pour
all of the media that came with your system inside the tank. The
media will not fill the tank more than 50% or 60% of its volume
as the upper area of the tank is required for media backwash.
Once
the tank has all of the gravel and media in it, it's time to attach
the control valve. First you must make sure there are no media
particles or residue on the top of the tank. Clean this part off
thoroughly. If there are particles in the threads, the control
valve may not seal properly. If there are particles on the very
top of the tank where the control valve's o-ring seats, you could
have a leak. Now remove the cap or tape on the top of the distributor
tube. The tube may be listing to one side and this is okay. You
can center the tube with one hand while you lower the control
valve into place with the other. The top of the distributor tube
should slide right up into the hole in the center of the bottom
of the control valve. There is an o-ring inside the control valve
that the distributor slides into. You may feel a little resistance
from this while lowering the valve. Thread the control valve into
the top of the media tank until it stops. Do not use plumber's
putty or tape. Snug it up good with your hands but do not use
any type of wrench or tool. Hand-tight does the trick. Do not
use the timer/drive mechanism casing for leverage either. Just
place your hands around the base of the valve and snug it down
tight.
Now
you can connect your water pipes to the filter's bypass valve.
There are different types, styles and sizes of bypass valves but
all of the Fleck systems come with standard pipe threaded connections
either male or female. Do not solder copper pipe while it is connected
to the bypass valve. Even the stainless steel valves have rubber
in them that can melt due to the heat. Rather sweat solder a manageable
length of pipe to it, let that cool and screw the section into
the control valve. You can then sweat solder the other end of
the pipe to your water pipes without damaging the bypass valve.
Use plumber's putty or tape on all pipe thread connections.
Another
important note: You would be suprised how often we here at Water
Value Company hear about water pipes being connected backwards.
In other words, the flow of the water is going the wrong way.
This is a serious problem and could evacuate your filter tank
of its media before you know it, and getting that stuff out of
your water pipes, faucets, fixtures and especially your hot water
tank can be a nightmare. Please make sure that you follow the
flow direction arrow on your controller's bypass valve.
Once
the plumbing is connected you will want to connect the potassium
permanganate tank. There will be a 6-foot long poly line with
a brass connector on one end and and a plastic connector on the
other; both are compression fittings. Do not confuse this line
with the drain line which is 50-feet long. The brass compression
fitting goes to the control valve and the plastic compression
fitting to the "pot-perm" tank. Inside the 4-inch "brine
well" that the tubing connects to you will find a safety
float mechanism. This device prevents accidental tank overflow
due to untimely power outages. There is a sticker on the outside
of the pot-perm tank advising you to remove the rubber band that
holds the safety float assembly securely during shipping. Be sure
to remove that now. Also be sure that both of the compression
fittings are tight. If there is even a small leak at either end,
the filter system will not be able to draw out enough potassium
permanganate to effect a proper regeneration.
Next
comes the connection of the drain line. The barbed fitting for
the drain line has most likely already been put in place by the
manufacturer, but sometimes they do not apply plumber's tape.
Be sure to remove this fitting and tape it. The 1/2-inch diameter
line that comes with the filter will slip onto the hose-barbed
fitting and will not come off, however it should be clamped into
place with a common automotive hose clamp just to be safe.
After
all connections are re-checked, it is time to introduce water
into the filter's tank. If you had to shut off the main water
line to work on your plumbing connections, now is the time to
turn it back on but be sure that your filter's bypass valve is
in bypass mode. Once pressure returns to the pipes you may want
to open a downline faucet to eject any debris that might be inside
the pipes due to sweat soldering or cutting them. Then you can
slowly open the bypass valve. You'll hear water start to rush
into the filter's tank. Try to keep the water from rushing in
too quickly at first. Once the tank is full of water you'll hear
the rushing sound subside or go away altogether. Because powdered
fines from the greensand media can get into the filter's bed,
you will want to initiate a manual backwash as instructed in the
service manual. You will not need to have any pot-perm in the
small tank just yet. Let the filter run through its cycles to
rinse out all of the powdered fines. Once the backwash cycles
are done (approximately 90 minutes) your filter will automatically
go into service mode. You may now want to fill the pot-perm tank.
If you purchased a case of pot-perm with your filter, you will
have 6 5-pound bottles of this powder. One or two bottles into
the pot-perm tank is adequate for now. You do not want to let
the pot-perm tank run out but a little of this oxidizer goes a
long way. The manufacturer of the greensand media specifies 2
to 4 ounces are used per cubic foot of media per regeneration.
Your controller will already be set up for the proper amount.
Setting
the control valve for regeneration frequency can get quite complicated
if you use some of the mathematical formulas available out there
on the web, but we've found that once a filter is properly selected
for size and flow rate, so long as you do not have excessive iron/manganese
content (over 7ppm), then setting regeneration for every 3rd or
4th day should be sufficient to start. You may find later on that
your filter can provide treated water for longer periods than
that. Maybe one regeneration every 5 days is effective and that's
fine, but be sure you do not set the controller to backwash any
less frequently than every 5th day. If the media bed is not stirred
up often enough, the media will compact which reduces flow rates
and also leads to "channelling" which renders the media
bed ineffective.
