Water Softener recharge

homeguy · 06-30-2014, 04:12 PM

I just replaced the resin in our water softener and learned a couple of interesting things that were not listed in any other literature. After adding your salt, lay it on its side and roll it a couple of times to loosen the resin and allow the salt and water to penetrate the resin. If you are in an area that has hard water, you can add powdered iron out when you add the salt. 1 -2 teaspoons is all you need. Also, before adding salt, disconnect your supply line and empty the water that way, you won't lose any resin when removing water.

travelin' texans · 06-30-2014, 05:12 PM

Homeguy
How did you decide you needed resin & where did you get it? I've been using ours for 18 months & having to recharge more often, is that my cue?

homeguy · 06-30-2014, 05:19 PM

I decided I'd better because each time I had to recharge, I unscrewed the top plug and dumped out water. when I did that, some resin would come out. it was also red in color so there was quite a bit of iron in it and I also was recharging more frequently. I ordered it directly from flowpur. I think it was $65 for the resin for my rv10000. I now know not to dump the water out using the top plug but to unscrew my supply line and dump it that way. Also, if I close the side to the rv, and open the drain side, water will come out quickly by blowing into the drain hose. In addition, you get a free buzz if you blow hard enough!

travelin' texans · 07-01-2014, 02:33 AM

Thanks for the info!!

**hoosierguy** · 07-01-2014, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homeguy

I just replaced the resin in our water softener and learned a couple of interesting things that were not listed in any other literature. After adding your salt, lay it on its side and roll it a couple of times to loosen the resin and allow the salt and water to penetrate the resin. If you are in an area that has hard water, you can add powdered iron out when you add the salt. 1 -2 teaspoons is all you need. Also, before adding salt, disconnect your supply line and empty the water that way, you won't lose any resin when removing water.

I don't understand why you are having to replace any resin. That resin will last for years. I have had a water softener at my residence for 45 years and have never had to replace any resin. If someone is telling you this, they are just plain wrong. JMHO. You shouldn't be losing any resin when you recharge the RV water softener if its done according to the instructions. I recharge mine approximately every 4 to 6 weeks depending on source water hardness and have not lost any resin.

homeguy · 07-01-2014, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

I don't understand why you are having to replace any resin. That resin will last for years. I have had a water softener at my residence for 45 years and have never had to replace any resin. If someone is telling you this, they are just plain wrong. JMHO. You shouldn't be losing any resin when you recharge the RV water softener if its done according to the instructions. I recharge mine approximately every 4 to 6 weeks depending on source water hardness and have not lost any resin.

As I stated earlier, I had to replace my resin because I lost some while removing water to add salt. I was opening the fill port and dumping water out. When I did that, resin would also come out, and it was very red meaning lots of iron. Nobody told me to replace the resin, I did it on my own because of the color and how much I had dumped over the 2 years I have had the unit. It says on their website that it will last for years unless it is dumped out. Oops. However, these are not the same as your residential unit. The life span of the resin depends on how hard the water is.

If you read the instructions, it says to "tilt the system to drain some water out of the mineral tank to create room for salt". It does not say to use the inlet. I posted this just in case others have made the same mistake I did.

**hoosierguy** · 07-01-2014, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homeguy

As I stated earlier, I had to replace my resin because I lost some while removing water to add salt. I was opening the fill port and dumping water out. When I did that, resin would also come out, and it was very red meaning lots of iron. Nobody told me to replace the resin, I did it on my own because of the color and how much I had dumped over the 2 years I have had the unit. It says on their website that it will last for years unless it is dumped out. Oops. However, these are not the same as your residential unit. The life span of the resin depends on how hard the water is.

If you read the instructions, it says to "tilt the system to drain some water out of the mineral tank to create room for salt". It does not say to use the inlet. I posted this just in case others have made the same mistake I did.

Using the Iron Out should take care of cleaning out the iron in the resin bed. In severe cases, you may have to repeat the re-charge process a couple of times. For my "On The Go" RV softener, the instructions indicate that you can add up to 2 lbs. of salt, but, I can never get it to take more than 1 lb. at a time. That has seemed to be adequate for our use so far.

brenkco · 07-01-2014, 08:48 PM

I was told to check the resin level, just shine a flash light (in a dark place) through the unit (On the Go, blue tank). You can see the level of resin.

As far as getting 2 lbs. of salt, you must pour out some of the water 1st through the input side so as not to loose the resin. After getting enough water out, you can get 2 lbs. of salt into the unit. I had trouble getting the salt in too before I learned to remove the water. The regen is much better and lasts longer.

BTW, I use the iron out too when necessary.

Ken

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