Routine Maintenance; Refilling With Salt; Breaking A Salt Bridge - Viessmann VS 34 Owner's Manual

REFILLING WITH SALT

If the softener uses all the salt before more is added,
hard water will result. Lift the brine tank lid and check
the salt level frequently. The softener can also be pro-
grammed to display a Low Salt Alarm a certain number
of days before salt is estimated to run out (See Page
13).
Be sure that the brinewell cover is on when adding salt.
After adding and leveling salt, always set the salt level
on the electronic controller, as described on Page 13.
NOTE: In humid areas it is best to keep the salt level
less than half full and refill more often.
RECOMMENDED SALT: Use salt which indicates it
complies with European Standard "EN 973".
SALT NOT RECOMMENDED: Rock salt high in impuri-
ties, block, granulated, table, ice melting, or ice cream
making salts, etc., are not recommended.
SALT WITH IRON REMOVING ADDITIVE: Some salts
have an additive to help a water softener handle iron in
the water supply. Although this may help keep the resin
bed clean, it may also release corrosive fumes that will
weaken and shorten the life of some water softener
electronic parts.

Routine Maintenance

BREAKING A SALT BRIDGE

Sometimes a hard crust or salt "bridge" forms in the
brine tank. This is usually caused by high humidity or
the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges, an empty
space forms between the water and the salt. Then salt
will not dissolve in the water to make brine. Without
brine, the resin bed is not recharged and hard water will
result.
If the storage tank is full of salt, it is difficult to tell
whether there is a salt bridge. A bridge may be under-
neath loose salt. The following is the best way to check
for a salt bridge:
Salt should be loose all the way to the bottom of the
tank. Hold a broom handle, or like tool, up to the sof-
tener, as shown in Figure 83. Make a pencil mark on
the handle 3 - 5 cm below the top of the rim. Then,
carefully push it straight down into the salt. If a hard
object is felt before the pencil mark is even with the top,
it is most likely a salt bridge. Carefully push into the
bridge in several places to break it. Do not try to
break the salt bridge by pounding on the outside of
the salt tank. You may damage the tank.
Push Tool into
Salt Bridge to
Break
3 - 5 cm
Pencil
Mark
Broom
Handle
23
Salt
Salt
Bridge
Water
Level
FIG. 83