No Pressure Unless the Softener is By Passed
When do the resins in the softener tank need to be changed?
1. The average water softener will not need it's resins replaced in it's life time ( 20 + years ).
2. Water softening resins need to be replaced if the unit has developed a high level of bacteria that does not respond to a cleaning with chlorine. Odors from units left in a not working mode with no water flowing through them for months at a time can develop this problem. Also, units in direct sunlight ( Florida ) can develop a layer of algae that requires complete resin replacement.
3. An excessive amount of sand in resin tank, due to a well starting to collapse, can necessitate resin replacement.
For more Info:
Check out the Resin Replacement Guide
Can the softener cause pressure loss, if so what do I look for, and what do I need to fix it?
Yes, a softener can cause pressure loss in the home due to resistance from the resin bed caused by one of the following.
1. On well water, this is usually due to fine sand coming from the well.
2. On softeners installed in the open sunlight ( mostly in Florida ), a layer of algae can grow and thick pieces of this growth clog the lower distributor tube screen when they start peeling off the inside of the resin tank.
3. On chlorinated water supplies, sand can get into the tank from new construction or work on water lines in the area. All of these situations are rare.
4. The most common cause of pressure loss occurs on chlorinated water.
The resins can be damaged by high chlorine levels and turn to mush. This has the same effect as having fine sand at the bottom of the resin tank. Chlorine can DESTROY Resins in as little as 5 years ( I'm seeing 5 - 10 years average )
The solution for all of the above problems is to dump the resin tank, clean and rebed with new resins. One cubic foot of softening resins is enough to properly fill the average residential softener. We can calculate the amount for you, if you provide exact resin tank dimensions.
The second possible reason ( VERY RARE ) for pressure loss occurs something gets clogs or breaks in the control valves.
On Autotrol Valves, the flapper valve discs swell up when used on chlorinated water. This causes the holes in the valve to become block, resulting in pressure loss at high flow rates.
On Fleck Valves, the Main Piston can break off and get stuck ( always results in constant water flow coming out the drain hose ).
On Rotary Valves ( like Kenmore made by Ecowater, and the Erie Rotary Valve ), it is possible for the Rotor Disc to break off during regeneration, and again you would expect water to be constantly coming out the drain hose, if this was the problem.
99.5% of the time the pressure loss is the media ( resin ) in the Tank and not the Valve.
*** Distributor Failure in Bottom of Resin Tank
This time he thinks he may have lost the majority of his resin.
Can you please shed some light on possible causes for distributors to fail.
I'd like to make sure his third one lasts longer.
* Here is what I know will effect bottom distributor life.
1 ) Too much water pressure ( over 80 psi ).
If local "city" pressure is too high, a pressure regulator should be installed before water enters the house.
2 ) Not backwashing ( regenerating ) often enough. System should regenerate
at least once every 7 days.
I've run into "metered" or "demand" systems with just one or two people and
it takes them 2 - 3 weeks to "require" a regeneration.
This is too long for the resins to be "packed" down and not "fluffed up".
Reference = Frequency of Regeneration - How Often Should Softener Recharge?
Frequency_of_Regeneration
3 ) Highly Chlorinated water can break the resins down into small fragments.
These fragments get stuck in the fine slots of the bottom distributor. This
results in there being less "holes" for the water to flow through, thus
causing the pressure through the remaining holes or slots to become very
high. Eventually the pressure of the water becomes too high and the plastic
gives way. Then the larger ( normal size ) resins can get into the pipes.
Reference = Resin Replacement Guide
4 ) Too high of flow rates can be a problem. Residential size softeners (
tank diameters between 8 - 10 inches ) are made for flow rates of less than
8 gpm. And a normal home will peak around 5 - 6 gpm while filling the
laundry tub, or the bath tub. If the demand is greater than this, the system
needs to have a larger tank diameter, and a gravel under bedding should be used.
Reference RESIN Replacement Guide,
Resin_Replacement