Testing and reconnecting Kinetico 2020C Water Softener After 3+ Years Unused -DIY??

sujsuj

Section62 said:

sujsuj said:

This softener has one cold mains inlet, one softened-water outlet, and one drain connection. It doesn’t require a power supply, as it operates using the kinetic energy of the water flow.

A drain in the loft should be fine, as there is already an overflow pipe from the water tank, and the connection looks straightforward. Access and lighting in the loft are also good.

It has both a drain and an overflow. Neither should be connected to the overflow of the water tank.  Firstly, the size of the overflow pipe (unless you've a very unusual setup) is too small for the drain, and the drain water needs to go to your drainage system, not allowed to overflow from the warning pipe.  Secondly, in case the outlet of the overflow pipe gets blocked up you don't want backflow from the water softener getting into your cold water storage tank.

The drain needs to go into a waste pipe connected to the drainage system, the overflow needs to go into a separate pipe which discharges outside somewhere that you will see it if the unit is overflowing.

Weight-wise, it isn't the salt you need to be worried about, it is the weight of the water in the unit when it is full.  Add that to the weight of the water in the cold water storage tank and you may exceed the load capacity of your ceiling.

OK, I will check again. As you can see in the photo, the white plastic pipe is the overflow from the tank, and it appears to be a similar size to both the waste pipe and the drain pipe from the water tank.

The only issue I can see with connecting them is that the tank overflow pipe is quite high, so it may not be possible to connect it directly from the water softener. Yes, back-flow would be a problem, and that is something that must be avoided completely, of course.

The easiest option for me would be to route Softner both the overflow and the waste pipes to the building’s rainwater gully, so the water eventually joins the wastewater connection.

As you can see the platform is handling the entire water tank weight so keeping it to a Conner of that platform will not do any harm though its danger of falling to side is there  which can be fixed.

sujsuj

Section62 said:

WIAWSNB said:

It looks as tho' it has both a 'drain' and an 'overflow' outlet, but both appear to connected via 'washing machine'-type hoses, so presumably will be very easy to route to suitable points. Also, they presumably don't require a 'fall'?

The drain pipe can go up to the discharge point, but there are limits to the height and length.

The overflow pipe has to have a fall - the brine tank isn't pressurised.  The overflow is by gravity only.

That is why connecting to the tank overflow is ruled out, due to both the height of the overflow pipe and the risk of back-flow into the tank if the overflow pipe becomes blocked, so this option is ruled out.

sujsuj

I managed to connect a hose to the inlet and started testing the unit. At first, the water coming from the outlet had a golden colour, but after about 10 minutes it cleared and now looks normal. (golden colour n the wood base is not from this test!)

I ran the water for about an hour. The only issue I notice now is that the flow rate from hose  is lower than normal mains water, so I need to see if I can increase water flow.

I tested the water at both the inlet and the outlet and confirmed that the outlet water is softened. I can see several settings on the top of the cylinder, and I need to check and test those stages checking manual. I would also like to know if there is a way to manually trigger regeneration or another cleaning/rinse stage, and I plan to do that as well. Thanks. 

Belenus

 I would also like to know if there is a way to manually trigger regeneration or another cleaning/rinse stage, and I plan to do that as well.

You need a screwdriver (probably Philips or Posidriv). Use it to depress the black section in the top of the softener. Depress it and gently but firmly rotate it clockwise (looking from above) so that you rotate the meter disk. 

Do it slowly until you hear the regeneration start. It will then go through the brine, rinse and backwash process.

I don't like the look of the yellowish/brown crud in your first photo above. You might be better off getting a softener company to refurbish this softener.

sujsuj

I found this Kinetico video very useful. The only part I am confused about is the blue SODIUM water shown separately. I believe this is the same water that sits in the area where the salt block is placed in the softener — that  waters that is used during regeneration. If this understanding is incorrect, please correct me.

Section62

sujsuj said:

I found this Kinetico video very useful. The only part I am confused about is the blue SODIUM water shown separately. I believe this is the same water that sits in the area where the salt block is placed in the softener — that  waters that is used during regeneration. If this understanding is incorrect, please correct me.

That's right.  Which is why the drain water needs to go to a foul water drain, not left to 'overflow' outside, nor connected to a rainwater drain.  And also why you never want it backflowing into your cold water storage tank via a shared overflow pipe. 

sujsuj

I assume that during regeneration I need to keep a water hose connected and running, correct?

Also, regarding the dial shown below: is the process that I push and rotate the dial, and when it reaches the red line regeneration starts? When the regeneration finishes, will the dial return to the blue line? For regeneration of the second cylinder, do I need to trigger it again? Or each stage I need to trigger ie first trigger will do BRINE RINSE when trigger again it will start BACKWASH etc...Thanks.

sujsuj

I tried a manual regeneration, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. There was no sound confirming regeneration while I was rotating the dial screw. I rotated it while the inlet was still connected. Do I need to worry, or should I connect the softener to the mains and try it out? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Section62

sujsuj said:

I tried a manual regeneration, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. There was no sound confirming regeneration while I was rotating the dial screw.

If the regeneration is working then you should have water coming out of the drain pipe... easier to spot than any sounds from the mechanism.

sujsuj said:

I rotated it while the inlet was still connected. Do I need to worry, or should I connect the softener to the mains and try it out? Any suggestions? Thanks.

The pipes you've connected for doing the testing are connected to the mains, aren't they?

sujsuj

Section62 said:

sujsuj said:

I tried a manual regeneration, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. There was no sound confirming regeneration while I was rotating the dial screw.

If the regeneration is working then you should have water coming out of the drain pipe... easier to spot than any sounds from the mechanism.

sujsuj said:

I rotated it while the inlet was still connected. Do I need to worry, or should I connect the softener to the mains and try it out? Any suggestions? Thanks.

The pipes you've connected for doing the testing are connected to the mains, aren't they?

Okay, great to know how easily regeneration can be identified—I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks.

Yes, I connected a hose to the mains, although the pressure was a bit low because I inserted the hose into the inlet pipe. I continuously tested the outlet water and confirmed that it was softened, while the inlet water tested as hard. I repeated the tests to make sure the results were accurate. So the softening is working.
Now I just need to confirm whether regeneration is happening or not. I’ll check that tomorrow using this new information. Thanks.