I use a water softener that was installed in our home when we purchased it. I'm wondering if I can use the Calcium Hardness part of my test kit to get an idea if the softener is set to the right setting? I know that hardness is not just Calcium. Is there a proxy I can use to estimate total hardness or a way to modify the test using reagents in my K-2006 kit to test total hardness? And how does the conversion to grams of hardness work? Thanks!
Water Hardness
- Thread starter PianoMan4:
- Start date
- May 23, 2015
- 25,695
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You can try doing the test with and without the R-0010 buffer to see what the difference is in the raw water supply. Magnesium hardness is much, much lower than calcium hardness and so the numbers should not be too far off. To see if your softener is working, simply measure the calcium hardness. If the CH is below the testing minimum (one drop of R-0012), then your softener is working fine.
1 grain of hardness is equal to 64.8 milligrams of calcium carbonate. 1 grain per gallon of water is equal to 17.14 ppm CaCO3
1 grain of hardness is equal to 64.8 milligrams of calcium carbonate. 1 grain per gallon of water is equal to 17.14 ppm CaCO3
Thanks JoyfulNoise!
I ran the test with a 25ml sample for the higher accuracy and my well water appears to be around 260 CH, and without the R-0010 buffer it's about 290. The calcium test is the one that, for me, is the toughest end point to confirm as the colour change isn't sharp and distinct like the FC or CA tests, but I'm fairly confident on those tests. I went back to my last well water test, which I did using a 10ml sample and I measured CH as 250-275 then, so today's 260 fits. The water after the softener read 0 both with and without R-0010 - it was initially blue with no change with a drop of reagent.
Based on the grains per gallon conversion ratio, I should have the softener set to around 15 grains (give-or-take). I found a manual for the softener online which says I should set it for grains plus an adjustment for iron (which I don't know if I have or not). I looked in the settings on my softener and it was set to 35 - seems higher than necessary, so I've dropped the setting to 15 and will retest after the softener in a couple days.
I mentioned to a friend that my softener eats salt like crazy - we currently go through almost 2 bags of softener salt (40lbs each) a month - and he said that was quite a bit higher than his, hence my research. The price has shot up and availability has been scarce for softener salt around here recently, so using less would be a good thing as long as it still softens the water enough.
Am I doing the math right and what else should I consider? Thanks!
I ran the test with a 25ml sample for the higher accuracy and my well water appears to be around 260 CH, and without the R-0010 buffer it's about 290. The calcium test is the one that, for me, is the toughest end point to confirm as the colour change isn't sharp and distinct like the FC or CA tests, but I'm fairly confident on those tests. I went back to my last well water test, which I did using a 10ml sample and I measured CH as 250-275 then, so today's 260 fits. The water after the softener read 0 both with and without R-0010 - it was initially blue with no change with a drop of reagent.
Based on the grains per gallon conversion ratio, I should have the softener set to around 15 grains (give-or-take). I found a manual for the softener online which says I should set it for grains plus an adjustment for iron (which I don't know if I have or not). I looked in the settings on my softener and it was set to 35 - seems higher than necessary, so I've dropped the setting to 15 and will retest after the softener in a couple days.
I mentioned to a friend that my softener eats salt like crazy - we currently go through almost 2 bags of softener salt (40lbs each) a month - and he said that was quite a bit higher than his, hence my research. The price has shot up and availability has been scarce for softener salt around here recently, so using less would be a good thing as long as it still softens the water enough.
Am I doing the math right and what else should I consider? Thanks!
Last edited:
- May 23, 2015
- 25,695
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Your math is right but I think your settings are off. A water softener is sized based on the number of grains of hardness it can remove. That is fixed by the size of the resin tank and how much resin is in the tank. It’s a fixed number. For example my softener has a total capacity of 52,000 grains. You set the regeneration rate based on the volume of water that the tank processes.
What is your softeners capacity in grains? It should be a number in the tens of thousands.
What is your softeners capacity in grains? It should be a number in the tens of thousands.
The manual gives three rated softening capacities so I'm not sure. It's a Miracle Water MW-30 that was installed when we bought the house.
It works well, just goes through what seems like a lot of salt - but perhaps it's normal and I should leave it alone
Grains @ Pound Salt Dose
14,700 @ 2.9
25,400 @ 8.0
30,100 @ 13.1
The default setting is 25 grains according to the manual. Mine was set to 35.
I don't think I have a test for iron. I do get lots of floaters in the CH test, so that would indicate metals I believe.
It works well, just goes through what seems like a lot of salt - but perhaps it's normal and I should leave it alone
Grains @ Pound Salt Dose
14,700 @ 2.9
25,400 @ 8.0
30,100 @ 13.1
The default setting is 25 grains according to the manual. Mine was set to 35.
I don't think I have a test for iron. I do get lots of floaters in the CH test, so that would indicate metals I believe.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 7,809
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
There may be a difference in programming between the Fleck and Clack valve systems.
I have a 60k grain tank. My Fleck valve allows setting the hardness - in grains - of the unsoftened water. My wa
ter is about 17 grains and I set the softener to 19 grains to provide a little headroom.
There are also ways to set the Fleck valve system for better efficiency. This may involve more frequent regeneration, but using less salt per regeneration cycle. As I recall, mine is set to regen after about 47k of usage. It uses a bit more water over the course of time, but quite a bit less salt.
Here's a thread on the Terry Love plumbing forum I started when I installed my softener.
terrylove.com
There are a good number of other water softener setup threads there as well.
I have a 60k grain tank. My Fleck valve allows setting the hardness - in grains - of the unsoftened water. My wa
ter is about 17 grains and I set the softener to 19 grains to provide a little headroom.
There are also ways to set the Fleck valve system for better efficiency. This may involve more frequent regeneration, but using less salt per regeneration cycle. As I recall, mine is set to regen after about 47k of usage. It uses a bit more water over the course of time, but quite a bit less salt.
Here's a thread on the Terry Love plumbing forum I started when I installed my softener.
Fleck 5600SXT 64K Settings Help Requested
Requesting help setting up my softener for best efficiency (balance of salt/water use each regen). Fleck 5600SXT 64k - 12x48 tank 2.0 ft3 10% resin (per dealer) Brine tank - 14.5x14.5x34 Hardness runs 5-20 grains, avg 16.5 (city report) City water BLFC - 0.5 gpm Salt - 1.5# min DLFC - blank...
terrylove.com
- Feb 6, 2015
- 7,809
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Look at the grains vs salt (pounds) used.
More available grains for softening between regens uses more salt per regen versus less grains but more frequent regens.
As an example:
14,700 grains @ 2.9 poinds of salt.
Two regens will yield 29,400 grains while using 5.8 pounds of salt.
Compared to 25,400 grains @ 8.0 pounds of salt.
Of course, two regens will use 2x the amount of water.
It's a balancing act and finding what works best for you.
Maybe have a look around at the forum link I posted and possible ask there for other options.
Thanks! I'll have a look around that site as well.
I've gone through the manual for my softener and don't see any settings for that grains @ pound salt dose thing (or anything for fleck rror clack).
Settings include:
Thanks for the suggestions and ideas.
Interestingly, I looked up the water quality report from the nearest public water system, and it says hardness average of 13.5, so my calculation of 15 sounds about right.
I hope the efficiency feature makes a difference. I'd be happy to trade more water for less salt. Well water is cheap. Salt currently costs about $8 per 40lb bag.
I've gone through the manual for my softener and don't see any settings for that grains @ pound salt dose thing (or anything for fleck rror clack).
Settings include:
- Time
- Water Hardness Number (grains per gallon) - default is 25, it was set to 35, I changed it to 15 but will raise it to 35 again and adjust the efficiency instead so I'm just changing one variable at a time
- Recharge (Regeneration) time - currently 2am
- Salt Efficiency (on/off) - default is off, currently off - I will turn this on
- Adjustable backwash (minutes)
- Adjustable fast rinse (minutes)
Thanks for the suggestions and ideas.
Interestingly, I looked up the water quality report from the nearest public water system, and it says hardness average of 13.5, so my calculation of 15 sounds about right.
I hope the efficiency feature makes a difference. I'd be happy to trade more water for less salt. Well water is cheap. Salt currently costs about $8 per 40lb bag.
Last edited: