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| Hi,
My 17 yr old Culligan 812 is ineed of replacement. I have decided on a Fleck 2510.
I have used all of the online calculators that tell me I need either a 1.5, 2.0 or even a 2.5 cubic ft. unit.
Dan |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 17:29
| Well or municipal water system? PH? <.10 iron and .30 manganese what? Grains, ppm, ppb? How many bathrooms? Any high water use appliances like a Jacuzzi? |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 18:06
| Thanks for the response. The water is from a shallow well. PH is 7.8 and the house Thanks, Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 18:45
| 3/4" pipes at the softener or 1"? Did they test for nitrates and bacteria? VERY important on a well. PH is a touch high. You will want to be very careful with that sediment filter. Unless it is absolutely necessary. It can cause flow problems which will reduce the SFR below the 3 gpm backwash flow rate requirement to regenerate the softener. Looks like a 2 cu ft softener will do nicely @ a 5 lbs/cu ft salt dose (10 lbs total for 2 cu ft) and will regenerate every 7 days. Are you getting the standard 2510 or the 2510SXT? Make sure you get a gravel underbed, top basket, and the Noryl bypass for the Fleck even if the salesperson says you don't need it... DEMAND those options. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 19:05
| No bacteria or nitrates. We do have a lower flow rate and I was concerned with the 2 cu ft for that reason. I'll have to change the sediment filter a little more frequently. I haven't desided yet on the 2510 or the 2510SXT. I imagine the SXT will be easier to set up but i figured the mecanical 2510 would be more reliable in the long run. What would you suggest? Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 19:27
| 3/4" or 1" plumbing at the softener? Electronics on Fleck control valves have proven very reliable and it is easier to tweak for the most efficient operation. What is the SFR at the softener installation point? You should measure BEFORE the filter housing because unless it is a 4x20 Big Blue it will restrict flow. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 20:00
| 3/4 " plumbing. I don't know what the SFR is. It's a Cuno sediment filter and I'm sure it must restrict flow. Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 5, 11 at 20:10
| With 3/4" the Fleck 2510 will work fine. You really want to check your SFR. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 13:24
| I just checked my service flow rate and I'm getting between 4 and 4.5. Gallons / seconds x 60. I took the measurements below the water tank. Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 14:18
| With the water running through the sediment filter OR before the sediment filter? Awful close to the 3 gpm minimum for regenerating the softener. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 15:12
| I took the water from the spigot coming out from the tank. It's a T fixture that conects the well line, tank and then goes to the filter. It seems awful close for comfort for me. Would a 1.5 cu ft softener work for me? My Culligan regens every other day. Even if a 1.5 regens every five days I'm saving money. I belive a 1.5 cu needs 2.5 gpm. That's why I wanted the Fleck 2510. I figured the 1 " internals wouldn't restrict the flow rate any further to the resin tank. Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Thu, Jul 7, 11 at 16:20
| A 1.5 cu ft softener requires a minimum of 2.5 gpm... still a tight squeeze. Softeners are sized to the water conditions, water usage, and SFR... not just the SFR. Seems like the demands you put on your water surpass the SFR the well can deliver. A lose, lose situation all the way around. You should look into getting higher SFR out of your well because 3 gpm is AWFUL low for a 4 person household. Pssst... the 2510 is a 3/4" valve not a 1". You can get by just as well with a 5600SXT but 2 cu ft is the limit for that valve. |
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| Justalurker.. Can you help us under why you recommend this? "get a gravel underbed, top basket, and the Noryl bypass for the Fleck even if the salesperson says you don't need it... DEMAND those options" Lalitha |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 18, 11 at 21:58
| I have my 2 cu ft tank filled with gravel and SST-60 resin. The 2510 SXT is screwed on. I hope to have it connected to the plumbing by Wed. Now I could use some help with the programing. The valve says 1.5 lbs of salt per min. I have 20 gr of hardness. This latest water test says no iron...it was 4ppm 17 yrs ago. I know I still have iron so I'm splitting the difference and will say 2ppm of iron. 4 people, 2.5 baths. I have a reverse osmosis also (don't know if that will affect the figures. Thanks, Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Mon, Jul 18, 11 at 22:13
| Now you have 2 ppm of iron? You said <.10 iron in your first post. That makes a difference in the calculations and regeneration frequency. "The valve says 1.5 lbs of salt per min" Where does it say that? What does the BLFC sticker say? Does the BLFC sticker say .5 gpm? Why did you get SST-60 resin? |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 0:22
| The sticker on the valve says .5 gpm, 1.5 lbs of salt per minute. 17 yrs ago Culligan determined 4ppm of iron. This yr independent lab results are <.10. Sediment filter turns red in a month in a half. I figure there's more iron than lab results say. That;s why I spent the estra on the SST resin. Nextdoor neighbor's clear discharge hose is stained red also. So I figure split the difference between culligan's past results and recent lab reuslts. I'm regenerating every other day right now on a timer. Even adding 2ppms of iron with a 2 cu ft unit and I'm still saving money on salt. I'll certainly appreciate your comments and advice redarless. I'm an amature erring on the side of caution. |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 1:01
| There are two types of iron... ferrous and ferric. One type a softener can treat up to a point and the other a softener can't treat. When you ask for recommendations don't be guessing and splitting differences and erring on the side of caution yourself. This isn't guesswork, it's exact. Had you provided current and accurate info the recommendation would have been different. Since you haven't looked into getting more flow out of your well this softener may not regenerate adequately as I pointed out. Try the following settings and if you have the iron that can be treated they might work if not then I doubt that they will be correct. Capacity = 33600 (compensated) hardness = 28 calendar override = 5 days salt dose 10 lbs = 3.3 gallons x .5 BLFC = 6.6 minutes of brine fill (round up if necessary) Since you have iron, if you have the treatable type... For resin cleaning, once a month use 1/4 cup of Iron Out, Super Iron Out, Rust Pro etc. dissolved into a gallon or two of warm water and pour it into the 4" round tube in the brine tank where the float is and then flush that with a quart of clear water. Then do a manual regeneration. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 8:04
| When you say capacity 33600, is that I'm programing the softener to think it's a smaller unit? |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 9:40
| This is the programming you should try... Capacity = 33600 (compensated) hardness = 28 calendar override = 5 days salt dose 10 lbs = 3.3 gallons x .5 BLFC = 6.6 minutes of brine fill (round up if necessary) Also, for SF or safety factor or reserve = 20% |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 16:11
| Valve is programmed and everything is going rather smoothly. I was wondering how many days between regens with the figures you gave me? I've got the overide set at 5 days as reccommended. Dan |
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- Posted by justalurker (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 16:21
| Should be 4 days with those settings and your water usage. If not then the 5th day is the calendar override and it will regenerate that next 2AM. With iron you shouldn't go seven days between regenerations. As I said, if you had given complete and accurate info then I would have recommended a different solution but we will try to make what you ordered work as well as it can. You really should investigate getting more flow from your well. |
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- Posted by Dantheman81 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 19, 11 at 20:59
| Thank you very much. Dan |
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