Softener
and Auto-Filter Control Valve Replacement
The
main component of your water
softener or whole-house
auto-backwashing filter is the control
valve. It’s the component that does the decision
making as to when and how to regenerate or backwash. It
also control flow direction and even keeps the time of day.
But when one of these things goes bad or springs leaks,
should you repair it or replace it? The answer to that question
depends a great deal on the age of the controller and exactly
what is wrong with it. A timer/drive motor failure is pretty
easy to deal with and a replacement is within a reasonable
price range. Seals, spacers, piston, cam or flapper valves?
If any of those are the problem, they too can be easily
replaced. But there are times when a control valve has a
part malfunction or two plus leaks or that it is simply
very old that the decision is made to replace it. If it’s
going to cost around half the price of a brand new controller
to repair it, you might as well get the new controller.
After all they come with a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty
and your old Autotrol or Fleck valve lasted 15 – 25
years (depending on your feed water condition), so you know
a new one will last you at least that long. So if you’re
going to replace the control valve, what do you need to
know? Where do you start?
It
would be best to first determine which control valve you
need. Presently Water Value carries both the Fleck and the
Autotrol control valves. Of the Fleck models we have the
5600, 2510, 2510SE, 7000 and 9000 models. Of the Autotrol
valves we have the models 255 and 268 Performa. You will
first need to determine which controller you need. In most
cases, any of the above mentioned controllers will work
for you but some, like the Fleck 9000 are designed to work
with a dual tank configuration and will not work for a single
media tank application. Also the Fleck 5600 and Autotrol
255 are best when connected to ¾-inch pipe, but will
work on 1-inch pipe if required. The best thing you can
do is to match up what you’ve got now with the same
replacement model. Look at our water
softener components page and use the photos to identify
your valve. This is not to say that you cannot switch models
or brands if you’d like, but you might end up having
to re-work your plumbing connections.
After
identifying your controller, you will need to determine
if the media
tank it is to reside on has a 2.5 inch opening with
large 8 count threads (8 threads per inch). If your media
tank does not have this size threaded opening on top, none
of these control valves mentioned will fit. We should be
able to get the proper size adapter or special order control
valve for you if you need it, but you’ll have to contact
us for the details.
So
with the proper size tank opening, all you need to know
now is the size of your tank. The size of the media tank
is important because we will need to configure your new
control valve for that tank. At this point you should also
take into consideration the possibility that a media change
may be in order. Most carbon filter systems require a media
change every 2 or 3 years. Softener media can sometimes
last 10 or 15 years and still perform well, but if your
system is already over 15 years old, the media should probably
be changed. Now is the time because you will be removing
your old control valve to replace it with the new one.
Removing
the Old Control Valve
If
you have a Fleck control valve, chances are it has a bypass
valve or at least a removable yoke. Shut off the water either
at the bypass valve or at the main supply line coming into
your home/building. You will want to release any water pressure
in the softener or filter first by opening faucets, or in
the case of a bypasses control valve, by advancing the Fleck
controller’s piston to a backwash position. Now unplug
the electrical cord from the outlet.
Remove
the Fleck control valve either at the bypass valve or the
yoke by loosening the silver setscrews on either side of
the plumbing at the back of the valve. The model 7000 uses
large plastic “horseshoe” clips. The softener
or filter is now ready to be removed from your water pipes.
If you have an Autotrol controller, the bypass valve (if
present) is held in place by nuts and bolts. It is best
to remove an Autotrol controller from the water pipes by
unscrewing the pipe adapters where they attach to the water
pipes. These adapters can be either copper or PVC. They
screw on to the back of the controller by way of large “durez”
nuts. They unscrew counter-clockwise.
Once
the water pipes are detached, the control valve can be unscrewed
from the media tank; again in a counter-clockwise direction.
It might be tempting here to use some type of wrench, but
great care should be taken to prevent damage to the valve
body. If it breaks, you may never get it out.
Attaching
the New Control Valve
The
new replacement controller goes back on the same way. It
is very important to make sure of two things: One, that
the top of the media tank is clean and free of debris and
two, that your riser tube is 1.05 inches in diameter and
not damaged or cracked. The top of the media tank is what
forms the seal on the o-ring attached to the control valve.
If there is a particle of media there, it could leak later
on. Also, the riser tube (it runs up and down the center
of your media tank) could be a smaller size (13/16”)
than the receptacle on the bottom of your control valve.
This is not likely but just in case, make sure that your
replacement controller fits snugly over it. If it is a loose
fit, it’s an easy matter to contact us for an adapter.
Screw
the control valve down on to the media tank; hand tight
should be sufficient. Reconnect the water pipes in whichever
manner you removed them. Open the bypass or shut-off valve
to pressure up the system slowly. There will no doubt be
air inside the controller and part of the tank, which will
make noise.
Go
ahead and check for water leaks, plug in your electrical
supply and perform the setup or programming procedures that
your particular valve needs. Each control valve will come
with its own service manual with specific startup instructions.
That’s
about all there is to it. You now effectively have a brand
new softener or filter system.
