Water Softeners

There are several factors that come into play when choosing a Fleck valve. Factors include water hardness, size of the home, number of bathrooms, and the size of the pipes.

Usually if you have a home less than 3,000 square feet, a Fleck 5600 / 5600 SXT valve would be more than sufficient regardless of pipe size; any larger an installer would probably recommend getting a Fleck 7000 SXT.

Another factor is the size of the pipes, we typically recommend homes that have a 3/4" CTS (Copper Tube Standard) or 1" CTS to use a Fleck 5600 or Fleck 5600 SXT. Homes with larger than 1" CTS may want to consider a Fleck 7000 SXT.

It's best to try to get a Fleck valve that matches the pipe size and flow rate of the home. Fleck 5600 & 5600 SXT valves have a continuous flow rate of 20 GPM and a max of 27 GPM; a Fleck 7000 has a continuous flow rate of 27 and a max of 35.5 GPM.

Softeners are shipped in several boxes. Our systems come unassembled to prevent any damage to the unit.

1) Tape the distributor tube and place the funnel on the mineral tank.

2) The bags of media are pre-weighed and bagged. Pour the gravel first, then all the bags of resin.

3) Be sure that the upper screen (yellow cone shaped piece) is securely attached to the valve. Remove the funnel and tape, and screw the valve onto the tank.

4) The brine tank itself is typically fully assembled when shipped and there is nothing needed to be done to the tank itself. Use the brine fitting kit included in the plastic bag to attach the brine tank's tubing to the valve.

5) You are now ready to plumb the actual lines to the system (feed, output and drain).

6) Follow the programming included in manual.

(6a) For Fleck 5600, programming is very easy. All you need to do is pull the right dial up towards you and turn the number to the white dot. The number indicates the number of gallons it will go through before it regenerates. Typically 21 is sufficient for most homes. Then change the salt level according to the size of the tank. The salt setting is on the back of the valve and is visible once you remove the cover. For a salt conservative setting, choose 6 lbs of salt per cubic foot - or change the salt level to your softness liking.

(6b) For the Fleck 5600 SXT and 7000 SXT, change the time to 12:01 PM then press the UP and DOWN button simultaneously to enter the master programming. Most of the settings are already set and you only need to change 3 settings: hardness (H), capacity (C), and brine fill (BF). Change these settings to match your tank size and water hardness. The brine fill (BF) is the salt level indicated in minutes. To calculate salt, locate the sticker on the valve. It will indicate how many pounds of salt per minute. For a salt conservative setting, divide 6 by the pounds of salt per minute (located on the stick) multiplied by the number of cubic feet in the mineral tank. For example: a 48,000 grain system is equal to 1.5 cubic foot. A Fleck 5600 with a 0.5 lb of salt per minute will have a formula like this : 6 / 0.5 * 1.5 = 18 minutes for the BF setting. If you would like a softer feel of water, you can increase the number or decrease if it feels too soft.

There are two ways to calculate this.

1) You can calculate the size of the softener by how many grains you go through in a week. This will ensure that you maximize the use of the softener resin. To use this method, you would need to know the hardness level of your water. The forumla to figure the size out is : hardness x number of people x 100 x 7 or 14 days = softener capacity. Example: 10 hardness x 4 people x 100 x 7 = 28,000 grains.

2) Another method is by the size of the home. A lot of installers use this method. Using this method ensures that there is minimal pressure drop and enough media for contact time to remove the hardness soto ensure that the home always has soft water no matter what flow rate. An easy method way to think of it is a 1 CF can have a service flow of 15 GPM and for every additional CF, you'll get an extra 5 GPM more. Large square footage homes may want to consider getting a Fleck 7000 with a system larger than 2 cubic foot to get the value out of the softener as Fleck 5600 / 5600 SXT flow rates typically max out around 20 GPM for continous flow.

Fleck 5600 / 5600 SXT come in stainless steel and noryl plastic. Both are very durable and make great bypasses. If you have galvanized plumbing, consider getting noryl plastic over stainless steel to prevent future "galvanic corrosion".

Fleck 7000 SXT comes in either brass or plastic. Brass is a great durable plumbing method. If you are personally plumbing this system and would like to make plumbing easier on yourself, consider using plastic with some kind of flexible stainless steel connector. This way you can avoid all the hassle of trying to sweat/weld the pipes.

The percentage of crosslink determines how durable the resin is against chlorine. 8% crosslink is very standard and is very typical in nearly all softener purchases. It's pretty uncommon for someone to purchase 10% and most likely unnecessary unless someone has a high chlorine level. Either way, we always recommend getting some kind of carbon filtration to remove the chlorine and increase the life of the resin if that is the case.

Yes. Most city plumbing codes allow for a 1/4" change in pipe size and the pressure drop differential is very minor and will not be noticeable.

A softener's salt usage is dependent on the salt setting but typically it's anywhere between 6-9 lbs per cubic foot. The water usage is usually about 150-300 gallons depending on the size of the system.

The standard 18" x 30" tanks can easily hold about 250 lbs of salt in the tank.

You'll start to notice scale build up if you dont check on your system. It's better to just check on your system once every two months and periodically add a few bags of salt.

Salt bags come in either sodium chloride or potassium chloride. Sodium technically works better than potassium and is 1/4 the cost. Potassium is safer on your health and plants. If you don't need to, save your money and get the sodium. Most people are concerned with plants and grass dying from the salt, but as long as you are not over salting the system, your grass and most plants should be okay. You may want to try one bag as a trial and error before pouring all your bags of salt in the tank.

The only way is to get a water hardness test done. You can check with your city to see if they have a water report which they should already have. Keep in mind that those reports are taken at the plant. When the water reaches your home, the hardness may change. You can also give us a call and we will send you free testing strips.

If your system is several years old, most likely you'll need to replace the seal and spacer kit. Over time the seals become brittle and could crack or deform. Once they begin to deteriorate, they allow water to pass through and go down the drain.

If you just installed the system, make sure you have salt in the brine tank and that you regenerated the system. If you JUST installed it, give if a few days as the pipes still have a few hundred gallons of water it needs to push through before you'll start feeling the full effects.

You can turn the salt level down.

1) On the Fleck 5600, you can open the back of the valve and with a flat head screw driver you can lower the salt level.

2) On the Fleck 5600 SXT or 7000 SXT, enter the master programming mode and skip to the "BF" cycle. Lower the BF time and exit the programming. Give it a week for it to readjust and see how you like the new setting.

Most of the time, you may have something called a salt bridge that clogs the bottom of the brine well. Grab a stick and start breaking up the salt at the bottom of the tank. When this happens, salt bridging will also occur right where the air check valve is in the brine well. Pull the brine assembly out of the well, and locate the air check ball at the bottom. You may notice that the ball is stuck or does not move freely. Check and remove any build up of salt. While you are cleaning it out, you may want to clean out the nozzle to ensure that there is no blockage.

Sometimes the valve's turbines may be stuck.

1)Place the unit in bypass and place the unit in a regeneration mode to decompress it.

2) Remove the valve from the bypass and remove the turbine (connected by a wire).

3) Exit the regeneration mode and see if there is an obstruction in the turbine - remove anything if there is. While the wire is still connected to the turbine and the meter is on, blow through the turbine and see if the gallon counter is counting down. If it is not, then most likely the circuit board or turbine needs to be serviced.

The programming typically holds on the valve so you won't need to reprogram it, except for the time.

This typically means that there is some kind of obstruction in the resin bed or valve itself. You can probably fix this by removing the DLFC (drain line flow control) in the drain line and throw the system in backwash mode. Hopefully, it will resolve the problem. If it does not, you may need to change the resin bed completely.