What to do with 13 yr old Fleck 5600 softener?

14 years ago

I just purchased a 1923 Bungalow which had a Fleck 5600 Economiser softner installed.

The home was previously owned by an old couple and I suspect there may have been little to no maintenance done on the softener. I have never owned a home with a softener in it so this is all new to me.

We have determined the softner was installed 13 years ago. We know that the city water hardness is 20 grains and a plumber tested my softened water and it shows 5 grains, so I guess there is some softening happening but not up to it's full potential.

A couple of problems-

The valve assembly leaks - only on the brine refill cycle.

The brine tank seems to have an accumulation of "mush" (very thick heavy fine salt residue) probably 8-10 inches high in the bottom of the tank.

I am thinking of trying to repair the leak having found some great resources on the internet. I assume I should also clean out the tank entirely and start over with a new bag or 2 of salt crystals (plumber told me not to use pellets)

If any experts were in my shoes would you try the repair approach, and consider replacing the "media" in the tank as well? Or would you consider punting and buying a new system entirely?

Having just paid for a new hot water heater, new boiler and other misc items with this new old house I'd love to save a few bucks for a change if I thought I still had some good life out of the old Fleckster.

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Comments (4)

User
14 years ago
The beauty of a Fleck 5600 is that parts and tech info are readily available in lots of places.

If you have the 5600 Econominder on demand metered control valve then you have one of the best all time selling control valves and they last for decades and decades providing reliable service.

Start by clicking here for parts and how-to instructions and videos.

Make your repairs and set the bypass valve to SERVICE.

You need to find out your current water conditions. If there's iron in the water you may need resin cleaner. Set the 5600 according to the water conditions.

Clean out the brine tank and add 5 gallons of water and cover the water with salt. Wait two hours and initiate a manual regeneration.

When that regeneration is complete there will be water in the brine tank. Add two gallons of water and add salt to cover the water and wait two hours with no water use if possible. Then initiate another manual regeneration.

Now the resin is as close to full hardness removal capacity as it's condition will allow and the correct amount of water is in the brine tank for the water conditions that you set the 5600 to. Add salt to cover the water and that's all. Check salt once a week and add salt to cover the water.

If you think this is all beyond your capability then look in the Yellow Pages for an independent water treatment professional. There's always someone everywhere who services Fleck control valves. I'd avoid plumbers unless they assure you that they have water treatment experience. Many plumbers think this is easy and at plumber's prices you can make an expensive mistake.
steveshisler
Original Author
14 years ago
I am pretty sure it is the metered system as it has a cable coming off the back of the control to the valve assembly.

I am game to try repairs and I had looked over the site you linked to and watched a number of the videos already. Actually watching those videos is what gave me the confidence that I should try the repairs myself. My plumbing company was going to try a repair for $300 or so but seemed more interested in selling me a new set up for $1,500.

I think I'll follow your brine tank clean up and recharging instructions first, get my water retested and go from there.

Do folks agree that salt "crystals" are preferable to salt "pellets" as suggested by my plumbing co?
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Make triple sure the softener is NOT on bypass. When you run water in the house you should see a flow indicator in the display. If you don't then you could have a problem in the turbine, a bad display, or a wiring problem. If the softener can't count the gallons used then it will regenerate at the calendar override setting which might be 14 days... that may be where your 14 days between regenerations came from. With your softener regenerating every 14 day the resin life can be shortened and I suspect the softener was not set up correctly or for efficient operation. With your water conditions I'd expect the resin to last 10+ years easy if the softener was setup to operate efficiently and IF the softener regenerated every 7 days or less. If you can't figure it out hit the Yellow Pages looking for an independent water treatment professional. There's always someone pretty much everywhere that services Fleck control valves.
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Greetings! Here it is the day after installation. First, the positive news: Installed the Fleck 5600 SXT yesterday. Everything through the last programming step appeared to have gone per the manual's instructions along with the modifications that you suggested - e.g., changing the Capacity to 20K, BF to 4, etc. Second, the "not so good" news: Based on the manual's statement that "The resin is already charged so initial regeneration is not required" and the fact that the window of the control unit after the programming was finished showed, in addition to the time, "810" I did not add water or salt to the brine tank. Plus, since the number of gallons had dropped from 810 to only around 750 by bedtime, had thought it would be around a week before the first regeneration took place so I planned to add salt and water either today or tomorrow. It was a surprise, then, to hear a faint sound coming from the garage after 2 am this morning. Finding that the softener was in a regeneration cycle without water/salt in the brine tank, I pulled the plug to stop the process. After plugging it in today, I was ready to re-program the unit but found that although it had been sitting unplugged much of the night, the unit had retained both the time of day and the point of the regen cycle when the unplugging took place. Upon re-plugging it in, it finished the last few minutes of the cycle after which the window readings showed the correct time and, once again, the "810" that it started out with yesterday. Questions: 1. I did add salt/water today. Are the programmed values still in effect despite the unplugging/re-plugging of the unit or must changes be made? 2. Does the initial 810 gal amount appear to be a correct number? 3. Why did it regenerate last night despite the reading of around 750 gal. in the window late at night? 4. Henceforth, will the displayed number of gallons be a reliable guide to use in determining approximately when the next regen will be taking place? (Assuming that it's less than the 8-day cycle that was set in the program) Appreciate your help ... as always.
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User
14 years ago
As long as you only keep enough salt to cover the water in the brine tank you can cut down on mushing and bridging.

Try solar salt... less impurities so much cleaner.
nigelsgarden
14 years ago
Below is a link to another site that DS has found very helpful when it comes to customer service.
He purchased his fleck from them last year.

Here is a link that might be useful: water softener

What to do with 13 yr old Fleck 5600 softener?

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steveshisler
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nigelsgarden

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What to do with 13 yr old Fleck 5600 softener?

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steveshislerOriginal Author

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steveshisler
Original Author