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You are here: Knowledge Base > General questions - Water Treatment
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Salty Water Taste in the Morning Last Updated: 06/12/2014 |
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Salty water in the morning is a common problem.
It occurs most commonly because the internal seals of the Valve leak highly salty water into the cold water lines during the regeneration cycle. Typically ( if your Time of Day is set correctly to the current time of day ) this regeneration occurs between 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. once or twice a week. If water is used in the home ( toilet flush, ice maker drawing water, etc. ) in the middle of the regeneration, then the valve may allow the salt water being rinsed through the tank to leak into the cold water line. And this super salty water is still there in the water line when you get up to make coffee, or brush your teeth in the morning. This salty water can normally be "cleared" from the lines by running the water for 1 minute. If it takes 5 or more minutes of running the water to clear up, then you have a more serious problem such as; 1) clogged injector 2) drain line 3) bad connection at the distributor tube o-ring This salty water problem is most common with Autotrol Valves ( Autotrol 155, 168, 255, or 268 models ), as they all use "flapper" valve discs that are held closed by water pressure. So, when you flush a toilet in the house, the pressure drops enough to open one valve that should be closed during the "Brine Rinse" cycle, and results in allowing some salty water to leak into the house lines. Such leakage can occur in any valve that has "worn" internal seals. Normally, if you just keep your time of day set correctly, and you don't use water in the middle of the night, you won't wake up to salty water in the morning. CUSTOMER Writes Back in reference to his Autotrol 255 valve and salty water continuing: Hello Andrew! Unfortunately I have not been able to fix the salty water problem we've been working on. To this point- 1) Timers set and offset 2) Injector and inj. screen cleaned 3) Cleaned brine float 4) Confirmed drain hose is clear 5) Replaced valve discs Anything else you can think of? ************************************************ * Advanced trouble shooting of possible causes of Salty Water It is time for you to remove the Valve from the Tank and check the RESIN level ( should be 50 - 60% full ) and the Distributor Pipe ( check for cracks in the tube ) and examine the distributor o-ring ( hole in the valve where pipe is inserted and "sealed" ). The pipe / tube should fit very snug ( even tight ) to the distributor o-ring in the opening of the valve body. It's rare, but I think the problem must be IN THE TANK ( pipe to valve connection ), if it's not something "simple" like wrong time setting, or people using the water at night ( as those are the 2 things that explain "salty water", 95% of the time ). Please send photos of the Pipe in the tank, with Valve removed, and the under side of the valve, so I can see your distributor o-ring. There is no reason we can not get to the bottom of this and solve it. Sorry it was not one of the "common" reasons, but no time to "throw in the towel" on the problem. ** Also..... What is the size of the Resin tank ( diameter and height )? And color is the INJECTOR in the Valve? If the tank is 9 or 10 inches in diameter, then you need at least a "blue" injector. And what is your water pressure range ( cut on and cut off ) of the well pump? And do you notice the pump cutting on and off after a few seconds at any time ( short cycling )? See.. beyond the "basics", it gets "tricky", as there are a few other "odd" things that could be affecting your systems "Brine Rinse" process. Normally, it sucks in 3 - 4 gallons of salty water in 20 minutes, and RINSES through the resin tank for another 30 minutes, and is followed by a fast / purge rinse, and there should be no salty water remaining when completed. Only if something is affecting the "flow" of water ( source - pump & tank, or valve - injector or drain ), should you expect any salty water to remain. The other 2 ways are: 1 ) Using water while in regeneration ( one toilet flush at 3 a.m. or a water "leak" in your house ) will "pull" salty water into the cold water lines, and give you a "taste of the Ocean" when you first run the water in the morning ( brush teeth, draw coffee water, etc ). 2 ) The pipe in the resin tank is not "sealed" at the valve distributor o-ring... or the pipe is too small ( older units used 13/16" O.D. pipe and newer valves since 1997, use large 1.05" O.D. open / distributor o-ring ), or the pipe is cut too SHORT... not tall enough to firmly engage the distributor oring.... Autotrol 155 and 255 valves REQUIRE the distributor pipe be taller than the top of tank opening. So...... dig a little deeper and let me know ( send photos ) of what you find. The answer is there, and you must find it for us, as I am too far away to help beyond these "instructions". |
