Since you have iron in your water, you will need to regen your softener more often. So, you could install a 1.0 cuft softener and be just fine, given that you have no high-flow fixtures. You will also need to either 1) Do a monthly treatment with Iron-Out, 2) Install a Res-Up feeder or 3) Use softener salt that removed iron. Any of the options will work well if you stay on top of it. I tend to prefer 2 or 3 since they require the least home-owner intervention.

I am a little concerned about the turbidity. Is the water cloudy directly from a tap or does it develop some cloudiness and color when sitting?

The water is not noticeably cloudy out of the tap. There is a slight amount of reddish/brown color to it after sitting for a while. I'm guessing that is from oxidizing of the iron or any manganese that I haven't accounted for. It is not so much color that it is easily discernible though.

I recently replaced the submersible well pump and had a lot of dark reddish brown gritty particulate in the water for a couple months afterward. The faucet screens were getting clogged once or twice a week. I thought I might need a spin down filter or other type of sediment filter but that problem seems to have finally mostly resolved itself. Lab tests were done after this had cleared up.

Also, before replacing the well pump the water had a fairly strong rotten-egg sulfur smell. It is not so noticeable anymore, likely because chlorine shocking during replacement killed the sulfur bacteria. Of course I'm guessing there is still sulfur in the water. Not sure how/if this might affect a softener.

It sounds like if it is a good idea to regen a bit more often because of iron, then a 2.0 cu/ft system is probably not a good idea.

So, I haven't purchased a softener yet but I did install pre-install a 3 ball valve bypass over the weekend. I removed a couple of old gate valves to help improve the SFR to the house as well.

I was a bit surprised to find that the SFR tested from the new bypass was consistently ~17 gpm through a 3/4" pipe. I also retested the combined flow from the outlets in the house and got ~8-10 gpm with most things running at once.

I doubt there would be a situation where we would reach that level of SFR in real usage, but for resin capacity, 1 cu/ft of the purolite c100e resin is only rated to a max of 5 gpm which I could see potentially causing hardness leak through problems.

While 2 cu/ft of resin would give a max of 10 gpm it would probably be over-sized on hardness capacity and because of the longer regeneration periods (even using a reduced salt dosage) would be less than ideal due to the presence of iron.

So, my conclusion is that 1.5 cu/ft of resin gives me a reasonable 7.5 gpm max SFR before hardness leak through while regenerating at a more acceptable interval (and including one of the iron treatments alice mentioned above).

Am I on the right track here? Anything I've missed?

Thank you,
John

The 1.5 sounds like a good compromise. Also ensure you get:

• High quality American or German made resin. This will provide a tight size distribution for optimal flow within the resin

• Since you have WELL WATER: 8% crosslinked resin.

• Top basket. This serves two purposes. It sets up a proper water distribution during normal operation and prevents resin loss during backwash.

• Gravel underbed. The gravel underbed is there to set up proper flow patterns, improve backwash and prevent channeling. Many softener sales companies like to leave this out or sell softeners with a vortex system instead. Vortex systems weigh less than gravel so they cost less to ship. In addition, they are a more expensive item that adds profit for the softener salesperson, but provides no additional benefit to the homeowner . It simply adds another piece of equipment that can break.

• Fleck or Clack valves. These set the industry standard. Be aware that you will not be able to purchase Clack valves online. This is not a problem if you purchase locally.

• Noryl bypass. Most softeners are available with either Noryl or stainless bypass valves. Both are good valves, but the noryl tends to be more reliable when not used for long periods of time.

• Install the softener with a three-valve bypass. This will make it so much easier if you ever need to remove the softener for repairs or wish to take it with you when you move. Use full-port, quarter-turn valves.

Thank you for the advice Alice. I have just received delivery of the softener (5600sxt 1.5 cu/ft). After I do the installation, the final piece I could use some guidance on is programming the control valve. I have the instructions sent with the order but I'm not sure if they are accurate with regards to efficiency. The resin is the purolite c100e I had mentioned above.

Thanks again,

John

Once the softener arrives, I need the BLFC size in order to help with appropriate programming. See the attached pic to find the sticker with the information:

BLFC is 0.5 gpm, 1.5 lbs salt/min

Enter Master Programming Mode

2. DF=Gal

3. VT = St1b

4. CT=Fd

5. NT=1

6. TS doesnâÂÂt matter because you only have one tank

7. C=42

8. H=18

9. RS=SF

10. SF=15

11. RC=0 (You are using a % reserve rather than a fixed reserve)

12. DO=5

13. RT=2:00 (or another convenient time when you wonâÂÂt be using water for a couple of hours)

14. Regeneration cycle step times
    BW=10
    BD=60
    RR=10
    BF=9

15. Ensure all days are set to ON, unless you have a specific day of the week when you do not want the softener to regen.

16. CD doesnâÂÂt matter unless you set a day to OFF in step 14.

17. FM t0.7

18. doesnâÂÂt matter

Exit Master Programming Mode.

Don't forget about iron treatments to keep your resin functioning optimally.

Enjoy your soft water.

This post was edited by aliceinwonderland_id on Sat, Jan 25, 14 at 13:43