Need some expert help please.

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GMJim

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Oct 30, 2018
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Waterdown, Ontario
Hello all. This is my first post and I hope someone can help me out. I'm a 40 year auto mechanic and can do the plumbing I need to do but don't know how to go about it.

I moved from the city and bought a country home with a drilled well and a water softener. Never had to deal with either until now. While trying to figure out why the water softener wasn't working properly I discovered it was plumbed in backwards by the previous owner or his plumber. Water coming out where it should go in and well you know the rest. Anyway I had a plumber come in to look at the system and he said it all needed to be redone. I'm able to do the work but need to know how to lay things out. At the moment the main line in from the well pump goes first to the pressure tank then to a sediment filter then a charcoal filter then to the water softener. From there to a UV unit then to the water heater and cold water supply. The plumber tells me the filters should be after the water softener not before? Is there a standard layout for these systems? I realize there could be different code requirements in different places but I'm hoping for some direction.
Thanks
Jim
 
I have never heard of a filter after softener. Will not hurt having 1 after unit. But You wanna keep the sediment from grinding on the valves inside softener head. you want to start by catching your big sediment then working down. I use a 3 stage filter. Then water softener. Just be careful which side you plumb into. The new softeners will throw all the brine in plumbing system if plumbed backward. Pics would help but not necessary.
 
James
Thanks for the reply! Makes sense to me to have the filter before the softener. I'll try to get some pictures up today.
Jim
 
I'm not a fan of plastic pipe but this is Super PEX and is supposed to be the best of it's kind. I'm 65 so I think it will outlast me?
 
I dunno what super pex is. There is type a,b,c. B is stiffest but still flexible. Yes it will put last you. Lol. I would brag on it. They did a top notch job with the pex work. So it all looks good to me. Take a pic of top of softener head looking down. If it’s backwards then you maybe out of brine in the brine tank. Can you physically lift it? Empty weighs roughly 30 lbs. full should be about 55-75lbs. Hard to lift straight up. Focus phone when that close by tapping middle of screen then hit shutter. I getting ready to tell ya to just swap in and out. But wanna be sure. Most are like a water heater. Standing looking straight at unit the inlet should be the right side and out should be left side. But a few jap made ones have made a fool of me.
 
Jamesplumbing06 said:
I dunno what super pex is. There is type a,b,c. B is stiffest but still flexible. Yes it will put last you. Lol. I would brag on it. They did a top notch job with the pex work. So it all looks good to me. Take a pic of top of softener head looking down. If it’s backwards then you maybe out of brine in the brine tank. Can you physically lift it? Empty weighs roughly 30 lbs. full should be about 55-75lbs. Hard to lift straight up. Focus phone when that close by tapping middle of screen then hit shutter. I getting ready to tell ya to just swap in and out. But wanna be sure. Most are like a water heater. Standing looking straight at unit the inlet should be the right side and out should be left side. But a few jap made ones have made a fool of me.
Click to expand...


Super Pex is made by Bow. They make all kinds of plumbing pipe and fittings. As I understand it Super Pex is a second or third generation Pex. The early days of Pex didn't have a good reputation and I guess the word Super makes it much better! My brine tank is fine but some say it has too much water in it. The salt level is sufficiently above the water level and seems to be working ok. I called the manufacturer of the softener and they confirmed it's hooked up backwards but they seem confident that when hooked up correctly and flushed and back washed it should be ok. Once hooked up correctly they say the volume meter and water in the brine tank should correct them selves.
 
Ok then yeah just swap the in and out. I don’t see a need for filter after softener
 
Could be that the head is clogged if it was piped in incorrectly to start with.
 
Yeah when hooked up correctly and backwashes. That will clear the head of any obstruction.
 
Thanks Sheplmbr and James. The manufacturer told me to flush it before hooking it back up to the house system then back wash for about 1/2 hr then do a regen. I bought some replacement filters from a water store and he recommended removing the control head from the softener then slide the sleeve up to see the level of the resin??? If too low I need to add resin or replace the softener?? He also recommended I leave the white sediment filter where it is and move the Big Blue filter to the other side of the softener. Now I'm getting a little over my head. I'm thinking I'll replumb the softener and see how it goes.
Jim
 
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