Actually I do understand how the float works. You said it yourself that the float comes into play to prevent overflowing of the brine tank if the control valve fails. So if the valve did fail, then the float should stop the water flow but it does not and the water drips out the area around the threads holding the float assembly to the brine tank and the hole for the clear tubing. . So the float safety failed since it allowed the water level to rise much higher than the float. Second, is that I have been down this road twice before and if I empty the tank, clean the inlet tube and air check valve etc then its fine. It happens if the tank runs basically out of salt leaving just the white soft undissolved salt on the bottom. But if during the brine sucking phase the air check is clogged or the intake is clogged thus preventing any brine from being sucked out then the water level will not drop but when it goes back to fill the tank the volume of water gets compounded and eventually reaches the level of the float . I do agree that many of the site do not give all the info. although I really did not find any that did not give you a formula of how to size the softener. What I see that can be misleading is that many aren't showing grain capacity needed based on a seven day requirement but more are only 5 days. I did find one that I had gone to before for some info that did calcuate for 7 days. http://www.qualitywatertreatment.com/water_softener_sizing.htm It also uses 75gal per person vs. the more realistic 60 you gave. In their sizing they say you need a 64,000 grain capacity. I get this. In your original post you said I needed 42000 grains to be treated each week. What I then can't understand is why is your recommendation for almost double the capacity for 2.5 cu ft thus a 80,000 grain water softener? This what I am trying to understand.

I don't think the salty water will be good for the plants buti could be wrong.....

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.

How recently was the softener purchased? Was the softener installed by a pro or DIY? On a well or municipal water system? What are the conditions of the water that you are treating? Hardness, iron, manganese, and how much? Results of a water test will help a lot.