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SECTION
2
HOW YOUR
WATER
SOFTENER
WORKS
2B.
SOFTWATER
SERVICE AND REGENERATION
SERVICE
When
the softener
is giving
you soft water,
it is
called
"Service".
During
service,
hard
water
comes from the house
main water
pipe into the
softener.
Inside
the softener
resin
tank
is a bed
made up of thousands
of tiny; plastic
resin beads
(FIG. 4). As hard water
passes
through
the bed,
each
bead
attracts
and
holds
the
hardness
minerals.
This
is called
ion-exchanging.
It is
much
like
a magnet
attracting
and
holding
metals.
Water
without
the
hardness
minerals
(soft water)
flows out of the softener
and into the
house
soft water
pipes.
After
a period
of time,
the resin beads
become
coated
with hardness
minerals
and they have to
be cleaned.
This cleaning
is called
regeneration
or recharge.
Regeneration
is started
at 2:00 a.m.
by the electronic
timer
(see page
13). It takes
place in 5 stages
or cycles. These
are:
E_
FILL
F]
BRINING
_]
BRINE RINSE
[]
BACKWASH
_]
FAST RINSE
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE
SOFTENER
IN SERVICE
soft water
hard water
OOT I ,N
salt storage
_
l
L
_
tank (salt.
not shown)
'_
brine valve
i
i
resin tank
resin bed
REGENERATION
[_
FILL: Salt, dissolved
in water,
is called
brine.
Brine
is needed
to clean
the hardness
minerals
from the resin beads.
To make the brine,
water
flows
into the salt storage
area during
the
fill stage
as shown
in FIG. 5. Fill cycle length
depends
on
how
much
soft
water
making
capacity
you have used
since the last regenera-
tion. As you use more water, fill time increases
so
more brine is made.
The greater
amount
of brine
cleans
more
hardness
minerals
from
the resin
bed.
WATER FLOW THROUGH
THE
SOFTENER
IN FILL
soft water
hard water
OOT ! 'N
salt storage
tank
brine valve
\,
fill water
11
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