Water Softener Question

maddy · #1 12/05/14, 01:14 PM

I'm kind of new to water softeners and despite having read a bunch of articles on the internet about how they work, I still have a very basic question.

When the display reads "X percent soft water available," what does that mean? Obviously the softener tank is not full of soft water that runs out like a water heater tank does. So when it reads, for example, "78 percent soft water available," this is 78 percent of what?

This morning I filled up the bathtub and noticed that afterward the display was reading "0 percent soft water available." Is it telling me that it needs to go through a full regenerating cycle tonight before there will be any more soft water? Very confusing! Thank you in advance for your help!

~Maddy

Crisste · #2 12/05/14, 02:51 PM

Hi Maddy,

I'm going to do my best to answer your question but there are some limitations to my knowledge about your specific circumstances.

The only reliable way to measure water hardness that I know of is by using a reactive titration test. One of the standards in the industry is made by Hach company called model 5B. I use one to test my own water regularly.

There are many types of water quality measurements. Conductivity and resistivity measure ion concentrations, p.H, silt density, as well as a few others can all be done electronically. That said, I know of no way to measure hardness electronically. It has to be measured chemically.

So, to that end, I would venture a guess that your water softener has a water meter on it that measures volume (gallons) used and your "Percent soft water" readout is generated using that volume meter.

So, when your water softener gets a fresh charge, the microprocessor resets and says you have 100% soft water. Now, that 100% is probably going to correspond to a preset number of gallons that was determined by the installer. How many gallons would probably be determined by the size of your softener (Grains of capacity) vs Water hardness (how hard your water is to start with).

So when you see 100%, it means you have full capacity. That might mean you have 100 gallons or 1000 gallons. When you see it says 50% left, that means you have only half of your starting number of gallons left. When it says 0%, your meter is waiting to recharge which probably happens in the middle of the night while you're sleeping.

My best "educated" guess.

Pepsiboy · #3 12/05/14, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddy

I'm kind of new to water softeners and despite having read a bunch of articles on the internet about how they work, I still have a very basic question.

When the display reads "X percent soft water available," what does that mean? Obviously the softener tank is not full of soft water that runs out like a water heater tank does. So when it reads, for example, "78 percent soft water available," this is 78 percent of what?

This morning I filled up the bathtub and noticed that afterward the display was reading "0 percent soft water available." Is it telling me that it needs to go through a full regenerating cycle tonight before there will be any more soft water? Very confusing! Thank you in advance for your help!

~Maddy

Maddy,
I'll try to keep this short. (GOOD LUCK) If your softener has the ability to soften 500 gallons of water between regenerations (that's what mine is) that 78% means that 78% of the total capacity is left. When it reaches 0%, it should regenerate automatically at the next preset time for regeneration. Usually that has a default setting of somewhere around 2:00AM. Check your owners manual to see if that time is preset or can be changed. Ours usually regenerates about every 4 to 6 days, depending on how many showers we take and how much we used the dishwasher. Ours uses about 1 40# bag of salt a month. (Just a reference) If it has been a while since the last regeneration, and the % available has been at zero for a while, it may take a few days after the next regeneration to notice that the water is soft again. This is normal.

I hope that I have been helpful to you.

Dave

maddy · #4 12/05/14, 04:13 PM

Great answers--thank you Crisste and Pepsiboy! That makes perfect sense--there's a certain number of gallons that the softener will process before it needs to regenerate. So a zero reading wouldn't necessarily mean that I'm completely out of soft water; only that it's time to regenerate. Just now, I looked at the display panel again, and it still says "0 soft water available," and also that it's scheduled to regenerate tonight. Very interesting. . . one more mystery solved!

Crisste · #5 12/05/14, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddy

Great answers--thank you Crisste and Pepsiboy! That makes perfect sense--there's a certain number of gallons that the softener will process before it needs to regenerate. So a zero reading wouldn't necessarily mean that I'm completely out of soft water; only that it's time to regenerate. Just now, I looked at the display panel again, and it still says "0 soft water available," and also that it's scheduled to regenerate tonight. Very interesting. . . one more mystery solved!

I would bet that you still have soft water, its just that the meter can't make that determination.

Get yourself a Hach 5B kit ($20) and monitor it every now and then.

Pepsiboy · #6 12/05/14, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maddy

Great answers--thank you Crisste and Pepsiboy! That makes perfect sense--there's a certain number of gallons that the softener will process before it needs to regenerate. So a zero reading wouldn't necessarily mean that I'm completely out of soft water; only that it's time to regenerate. Just now, I looked at the display panel again, and it still says "0 soft water available," and also that it's scheduled to regenerate tonight. Very interesting. . . one more mystery solved!

Maddy,

At the risk of being called a "SMART A&&", please TRFB that came with the softener.

Dave