Soft Water Basics; Operating Conditions - Hellenbrand ProMate Series Owner's Manual

Hellenbrand promate series twin alt manual

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Table of Contents

hardness

Excess amounts of calcium and magnesium in

water produce hardness. A water softener removes

the majority of calcium and magnesium to produce

softened water.

Hardness is measured in terms of grains. (This

grain weight is derived from the average weight of

a dry grain of wheat.) When your water is tested

the grain hardness is calculated and expressed

as grains per gallon (gpg). This calculation, as

well as the number of people in your household

will help determine what type and size of water

softener will most efficiently soften your water.

Your water softener contains an ion exchange

media (often called resin) which removes the hard-

ness from water as it flows through each softener

tank. Eventually so much hardness collects on

the exchange media that the softener can no

longer soften the water in that tank. At this point

it is considered "exhausted". The twin alternating

function automatically switches to the standby

tank and regeneration occurs immediately on the

exhausted tank.

regeneration

To regenerate the exchange media, it must be rinsed with a brine (salt) solution. This removes the hardness from the exchange media

and replaces it with sodium. The exchange media is then ready to remove hardness from water. The hardness minerals and excess

brine solution are rinsed down the drain.

During the regeneration cycle the softening media is also backwashed. This reversing of the normal flow of water serves to remove

sediment which may have accumulated during the softening process due to the filtering action of the exchange media. Backwashing

also loosens and fluffs up the bed of exchange media to insure that during regeneration the brine solution will come into contact with all

the media.

Maintenance of Your Softener

Salt: Salt to a softener is what gasoline is to a car. Not only must a softener have salt, but it should be the proper type to insure

efficient recharging of the unit. Ask your dealer what type of salt may best suit your needs. Always have an adequate supply of salt on

hand. Check the salt level of your brine tank every couple of weeks initially to determine how much salt you use - this will depend on how

much water you use. As a rule of thumb, with 20 gpg hard water, about a 1/2 lb. of salt per person per day is used. In other words, a

family of four uses 60 lbs. of salt a month. Fill the tank approximately three-fourths full, with a minimum of 12" of salt. If your household

does not use much water, do not fill your salt keeper over 1/2 full, salt bridging may occur in the brine tank. This may result in hard water

due to ineffective regeneration. DO NOT USE Block Salt when the ProMate-7.0 control is programmed with a brine tank prefill. Block

salt does not dissolve quickly enough to provide a good regeneration.

Cleaning Salt Tank: The salt tank may require periodic cleaning. Inspect the salt tank at least once a year for buildup of insoluble

materials. It is recommended to periodically clean the salt tank no matter what kind of salt you are using. See page 19, Miscellaneous

#2 for details on cleaning.

REMEMBER:

Salt is the fuel to run your water softener. Buy the best clean salt available.

Your water conditioner has been designed to adequately

handle up to 100 grains per gallon of hardness as well as up to

2 ppm of ferrous bicarbonate iron. This is iron that is dissolved

in water and not visible to the eye in a freshly drawn sample.

After standing in contact with air, the ferrous iron will become

oxidized to the ferric state and start to precipitate as a reddish

brown floc. It can be seen and may cause discolored water. In

order for your softener to remove the iron, air (oxygen) must be

kept from coming in contact with water until after it has been