How Your Softener Works - Clean Water Systems Fleck 5600 Softener Installation & Start?Up Manual

5. You do not need unions to install your Fleck 5600 control. If you need to remove it, the Fleck 5600
has quick‐release couplings that make it easy to put the softener on by‐pass and remove the filter
system from the piping.
6. The drain line tubing (not supplied) is connected to a drain from the drain outlet using flexible ½" ID
tubing. Note that the drain can run up above the Fleck 5600 control and into a drain, it does not
have to drain down, as the filter backwashes under line pressure from your well pump. Most
plumbing codes require an air‐gap connection, so that if your sewer or septic tank backs up, it cannot
cross connect with the drain tubing.
How Your Softener Works
See Fig 1. In the softener, the water enters the top of the tank and flows down through the media and up the
distributor tube. Hardness minerals are drawn to the resin beads in the softener. During backwash, the
water flow is reversed and water flows down the distributor tube and up through the media, lifting and
expanding the softening media, and removing any trapped particles in the media. After the backwash stage,
salt brine automatically drawn in from the brine tank and slowly rinses through the softening resin for 1 hour,
which allows the hardness minerals to be swapped out with harmless sodium or potassium ions. This entire
automatic process, called 'regeneration' takes about 90 minutes. Typically the softener filter is set to
regenerate every 14‐21 days, during the middle of the night when no water is being used.
Fig 1
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Fleck 5600 Softener Installation & Startup Guide
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Rev 031714