Reusing old Resins in New Tank
If you are replacing your media tank, and the RESINS from your softener are still in good condition,
you can remove them from the old tank, and pour them into the new tank.
This can be a messy job, so just dumping the old Resins and replacing with New makes sense to many people.
HOWEVER, if you want to save the Expense of New Resins, and your existing resins have not been damaged by years of exposure to chlorined "city" water,
then here is a technique a customer shared with us, to make the job a lot easier.
The problem with reusing the Resins is all the water in the Tank ( typically a tank is only 60% full of Resin, and 100% full of water ).
So....
A relatively easy way to remove the resin with minimal miss would include using a 5 gallon bucket.
Customer explanation says it all.
"I drilled a bunch of 1 inch holes in a 5 gallon bucket, then using a 40 inch hose clamp I secured a cheap pillow case inside the bucket.
The bucket holds about 0.8 cu.ft. of resin, so a second pillow case may be needed, or a second bucket could be helpful.
Just pour the Resin in, let it drain. "
You could then pour the Resins into the new tank ( FUNNEL recommended ),
or this method could be helpful, even if you were just going to throw your old resin away.
NOTE: You should do this with 2 people, so that one can hold the tank UPSIDE Down, and the other Rinse the INSIDE of the tank with a Hose to get out the few remaining beads that normally "sticks" to the walls of the tank.
Resins are similar to "mud" due to the high moisture content.
If anyone else has a better idea, please share it with us, and we will add it to our knowledge base of DIY information on our website.