"WRONG, water should NEVER come out of the overflow on the brine tank... never ever. Something is wrong! " justalurker, I agree with you that there is a problem with the softener! I was referring to the immediate problem being resolved - namely, the almost ankle depth water in the utility room that we had to deal with when we first discovered this issue. As I mentioned, we have switched the softener to bypass mode now so atleast we dont have to deal with overflowing water in the utility room, but like you said we still need to fix the root cause with the softener. The documents and links you provided gave pretty good overview of how the softener works and how it can be serviced. I also talked to the softener dealer I had purchased the softener from and they advised me to try some things: 1) Confirm that the PE brine tube connecting the control valve and brine tank is connected securely to the control valve. (verified this is true) 2) Remove the air check valve from the brine tank (BTW, is the "air check valve" the same as the "safety float" you keep referring to in your posts?). Clean out the air check valve to remove anything that might prevent it from sucking the brine from the brine tank back into the control valve. I tried to pull out the PE tube from the white plastic elbow (see photo of this in the link below) so that I can lift out the air check valve from the white cylinder in the brine tank and clean it, but it seemed quite tight (maybe its supposed to be this tight) and I didnt want to yank on it too hard and cause further damage (just playing safe due to my inexperience dealing with softeners). Will it be easier to remove the PE tubing from the white plastic elbow if I turn the control valve to "Backwash" position manually and remove some water from the PE tubing first? If so, when control valve is in "backwash" position, would the water from the PE tubing flow out the "bypass outlet" (and hence require me to turn off the bypass) OR would it flow out the "drain line"? Basically, I am trying to figure out the right way to remove and clean the "air check valve". 3) If cleaning the "air check valve" does not help, the dealer advised to remove the control valve and bring it in because it would probably still be covered under warranty. Per the dealer, since the softener was purchased and installed in late summer of 2006, most of the repair costs should still be covered under manufacturer's warranty. As I understand they would send the control valve to the manufacturer (Water Right) and get it back within 7-10 days and I would be responsible for 25% of the cost. So if it comes to this, I will need to figure out the right way to remove the control valve - I understand it should not be too hard and the control valve can be "twisted off" from the top of the resin tank (how do i disconnect control valve from the bypass or the water meter before twisting it off the resin tank)? As you quoted Clint Eastwood, I can and prefer doing the "basic" troubleshooting (i.e. cleaning air check valve and, if needed, remove the control valve) but since its under warranty, it might be best to have it fixed by the pros (in the case the manufacturer themselves). Would appreciate help with these "basic" tasks. Thanks again, -Topper Here is a link that might be useful: PE tubing connected to white plastic elbow

Yes, in fact, I reversed the terms rinse and backwash, Sorry for the oversight. But sometimes these terms are interchangeable (backwash = rapid rinse, etc). Nonetheless, after the brining, hard water containing iron re-enters the resin bed to "wash" out the salty brine water. Chances can be that the iron used in this portion of the regeneration process can be re-introduced to the house causing him the problems he is stating. I disagree in that it makes no difference if the regeneration water is either hard for soft. There are advantages to using soft water. It avoids the very problems that darknova is stating. Older systems that use hard water for brine drums can cause many problems as I have seen dirty water cause problems with brine drums. So much so that a few inches of dirt have accumulated in the bottom of the drum. I see no sense in washing the resins in this dirty, iron-ladened water. We have had so many service calls with this very problem. Counter-current regeneration has shown to be more efficient using less salt, water and hard water leakage is greatly reduced. In other words, brining in the opposite direction of service. The reason for twin tank softener because water is needed 24/7 is never a reason given for their application and therefor as an argument against it has little value. Twin tank softeners have better service, longer resin life and customers that I have after replacing single tank softeners nearly always commented on the great difference in service and water quality. How much iron does darknova have. "Low iron" is not a clear definition and anyone who judges the type of softener because someone has 'low iron' is doing no one any service. Would you consider 5ppm iron low? Well, in some location where iron can be 25ppm, 5 might seem low. Or the owner has been told "low" but in fact after testing it is considered high. Anything over 0.2 ppm is considered a nuisance iron. So, if he has 2.0 ppm it may not seem high to the person telling him but in fact can cause problems. Get accurate test results, that is essential. http://www.awqinc.com/buying_a_water_softener1.html http://www.realestatecolorado.com/realestatelibrary/water_water_softners.html http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library/Don_t_Be_Afraid_of_the_Water-Miscellaneous_Plumbing-A1610-5.html Yes twin tank systems are more expensive but cost effective over the longer and generally use less salt and water. Andy Christensen, CWS

You will see closer to a 5% reduction using a twin system. The only way you would see close to a 15% reduction in salt usage is if somehow you always hit the cutoff right as you used the last drop of water for the day. Close, because twin tanks use softened water for brine make-up, which increases salt usage by a bit. You will save 2-3 lb potassium chloride per month using a twin vs single-tank system, assuming you regen with 4 lb salt/cuft of resin. It is possible to regen with an even lower salt dosage, but not successfully in a standard softener. For that you would need a packed bed softener, such as those offered by Kinetico. They are mechanically operated by water power, rather than electronically controlled. Although they come at a premium price, they are very reliable. If your chief concern is environmental, they are worth a look. The 2x1cuft twin system you have quoted above should work fine for your purposes if you prefer a Fleck softener. Alternately, a 1.5 cuft single tank would work. For watering outdoor plants you may wand to consider alternating between raw water and softener effluent. The effluent will have a very high TDS. Coupled with your already high pH, it could burn your plants if it is their primary source of water. There is a big difference between watering with potassium-softened water and watering with potassium chloride saturated water.

What I would do... Remove all the salt and water from the brine tank and make sure there's no solidified salt at the bottom. Any solidified salt can be dissolved by hot tap water. Put 4 to 5 gallons of water in the brine tank and add one bag of salt. Note the water level with the salt added. Get some Iron Out or Super Iron Out and dissolve 3/4 cup in a gallon of warm water in a bucket or bottle. Add that solution to the brine well (the 4" tube where the float lives) and wait two hours (for the salt to dissolve and make the brine). After two hours do a manual regeneration. After that regeneration the control valve should have replaced the water in the brine tank. Add water to the level noted in previous paragraph. Make sure there's enough salt to cover the water. If not, add salt. Dissolve another 3/4 cup in a gallon of warm water in a bucket or bottle and add that solution to the brine well. Wait two hours, with no or as little water use as possible, and do another manual regeneration. Now your resin is as clean as it can be and your resin is returned to as much hardness removal capacity as it's condition will allow. Ger some hardness test strips and test the water after the softener after the second regeneration. The strips should show ZERO hardness. Test the softened water again before the softener regenerates. The water should hold ZERO hardness all the way till the next scheduled or demand initiated softener regeneration. If not, then see the paragraph below. If the problem is not solved the resin is fouled, the resin is depleted, the water conditions have changed and the softener is no longer set correctly for those conditions, or the softener is not operating correctly. If problem is resolved you need to be using Iron Out or a comparable product on a routine schedule determined by the amount of iron in the water. Please let us know what you find out.