Softener location

[Tjawill3]

This might be a little lengthy, I’m sorry. It might already be on here somewhere also sorry. Quick rundown, recently bought a home in Oklahoma. We’re on a well which is located on the south side of our property. I’m not a plumber but the basics of our plumbing in our home is everything is pretty much towards the middle of our house. The front outside faucet the rear outside faucet, and kitchen, bathroom, hot water tank and washer a dryer is in between. My pressure tank for the plumbing system is in the garage at the north end of the house. Water softener is in the garage next to the pressure tank. My thinking is there is no way the water softener is working at all. Would seem to me the main water line would need to come in at the garage where the pressure tank is but it doesn’t. I’m guessing the main waterline is coming in around one of the outside faucets meaning it’s stubbed off of it and runs to the garage for the pressure tank to pressurize the system. Then someone put the softener in on the same line as the pressure tank? The softener is all new. So if the softener wasn’t even in, with the well location and the basic plumbing for the home and the pressure tank location, would that make the plumbing system work? I hope someone out there understands where I’m coming from on this. And if so, what can be done to make the softener functional?

 

[jeng]

i thought the main waterline initially comes from the street and into your house. can you call the water company and find out exactly where the main water line enters the house? that would give you a more definitive answer.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Make a diagram of what you think the pipes are doing.

It is very unlikely that the softener is doing nothing.

Close all the softener valves.
Then if your water stops flowing at the faucets, you know that the softener is ahead of them, and should be fine.

Of course, you have to keep the tank full of salt.

Return the valves to proper settings, well water in, soft water out, bypass valve closed.

 

[Tjawill3]

i thought the main waterline initially comes from the street and into your house. can you call the water company and find out exactly where the main water line enters the house? that would give you a more definitive answer.

Jeng, we are out in the country. We are on out own well....

 

[Tjawill3]

Make a diagram of what you think the pipes are doing.

It is very unlikely that the softener is doing nothing.

Close all the softener valves.
Then if your water stops flowing at the faucets, you know that the softener is ahead of them, and should be fine.

Of course, you have to keep the tank full of salt.

Return the valves to proper settings, well water in, soft water out, bypass valve closed.

It’s almost like to me...the plumbing has one line that probably runs about 30 foot to the garage for the pressure tank. Then someone else who may not have known what they were doing installed the softener in the same line as the pressure tank. Here is a pic of what’s in my garage. There is only one waterline for the pressure tank...but the softener is spliced into it.i marked the lines as they are hooked up to the softener.

 

[TomFOhio]

Show the softener piping up above too...

 

[TomFOhio]

Is your well water coming into that red handled valve beside your blue tank??

 

[Tjawill3]

Show the softener piping up above too...

The one marked i is going in to the softener....the one marked o is coming out, nothing much more to see there. The red valve is the only water line there. That’s why I said in the above post I think it’s stubbed off just for the pressure tank. Could that be the case?

 

[TomFOhio]

If you shut that valve off does that shut the water off to the whole house??

 

[Jeff Handy]

You need to pull way back and post wider angle pics.
Up down left right all around.
Show everything, more pics is more better.

Meanwhile, from what is showing, it is common to have one line giving softened water, sometimes only to the water heater, or could be serving all interior faucets.

Then another water line with just straight hard water, usually to outside hose sillcocks.