Hello Everyone,
We’ve been in our new (28 yrs old) house for about a year and it seems the water conditioner needs to be serviced. I say this because we’ve had two pin hole leaks in the past six months and the water tested acidic with a litmus strip.
Anyway, as a contractor I do a lot of stuff for other people so servicing a water conditioner shouldn’t be too hard, right? But what needs to be done?
I’d greatly appreciate it if someone could shed some light on what needs to be done to service this equipment.
And yes I did pull out the recent issue of FH with the overview of PEX piping. It’ll be read thoroughly as I get ready for our kitchen renovation this winter.
Thanks,
Bart
DAP Cconstruction, LLC
Pittstown, NJ
Replies
replace all the copper pipe
Actually, that's the plan. Things have to keep working though while I get the plan together so I've got to get the thing serviced. Also, laundry doesn't do so well with acidic water so regardless of what pipe I have I still need the conditioner.
Thanks,
Bart
Well, I assume you know that it contains a chemical that needs to be replaced occasionally. Generally it's something like calcite or limestone, though there may be a few that use something like sodium hydroxide.
I don't know much about the system. I moved out here about a year ago from an area that had city water which doesn't generally need water conditioning to make things right.
If there's smoke and mirrors to contend with I may just call my plumber and let him sort it out but I suspect it's a lot easier than that.
Thanks,
Bart
The basic system, as I understand it, is just a bed of calcite (a type of limestone) that the water filters through. The calcite is dissolved by the acid in the water and neutralizes it.I gather that some (most?) systems have a timer and backflush valve, simply to keep the thing from clogging up with silt. This would work similar to backflush on a water softener, only simpler. If the backflush failed you'd probably notice that the thing was getting clogged and reducing your water pressure.Basically, all you should need to do is fill the unit with calcite from time to time. Don't know what a typical time period would be, but I'd guess a couple of months. If the backflush valve malfunctions you'd probably install a kit of new gaskets and seals, but I'd guess that it should be good for 5-10 years between such failures.There should be a way to tell how much calcite is in it. Some units are semi-transparent and you can shine a flashlight through them to check the level.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
My conditioner (sears kenmore) has all the service info in the manual...that I downloaded from the internet.
About every 6 months I clean it out. Mostly because I should have a filter inline but don't.
What kind do you have?
The one's commonly installed here are ion-exchange units, used to remove dissolved iron, calcium, and magnesium. They need to be charged with salt pellets every once in a while.
Some people have sulfer, which makes the water acidic and can be hard on copper. I don't know if the ion-exchange units work on it, but I'm no expert.
That's a water softener. Won't do a thing for acid water.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
well, I've done enough research today to tell all y'all I definitely don't have a salt based water softener. My system may be softening the water but I think it's more of a filter/conditioner for the acidic water we have here in Western New Jersey.
It's an Amtrol system so I've got an email out to them asking for more information. We'll see what happens.
Thanks,
Bart
Maybe you'd better describe this "water conditioner", as it sounds like you're not quite sure what you have. Look at it and see if it matches any of these descriptions.
An acid neutralizer system would generally be a tank about 3 feet high and 8-12 inches in diameter, with a timer valve on top. The tank is pressurized, and there's a way to turn the timer valve so you can depressurize it to add calcite through an access hatch.
A water softener would be a similar-looking tank combined with a larger brine tank (maybe 18-32 inches in diameter, or possibly rectangular). The brine tank has a lid through which you add salt. Usually the small tank is placed inside the brine tank for compactness, ease of shipping/installation, and neat appearance.
A simple "media" particle filter is generally a cannister about 10-12" high and 4-8" in diameter. There may be a valve on top that allows the cannister to be depressurized (for changing the filter) without cutting off the water supply. The filter "medium" (cartridge) is changed by unscrewing the bottom part of the cannister.
There are "lifetime" particle filters available that consist of essentially a sand filter bed and a backflush timer valve (similar to an acid neutralizer or water softener). These probably look a bit like a small acid neutralizer.
There are also iron removal systems, alkali neutralizers, reverse osmosis systems, etc. And many of the above systems have more complex configurations (eg, two-tank softeners, chlorinators, UV sterilizers, etc).
I'm getting close. I think it's an Amtrol Provectr System though I don't know the size or capacity. I have an email into Amtrol to see if there's a service book I can get access to. The website doesn't make it seem like the system needs servicing but I think my pH test earlier today showed that the water is certainly acidic.
Here's a pic and if anyone has anything to add I'll certainly appreciate it.
Regards,
Bart
DAP Construction, LLC
Pittstown, NJ
Supposedly there's an air injector on the system (feeding into the small tank) that could malfunction. Also, though they make it sound like the filter media is permanent, it probably needs replacing at intervals.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Did you see the Instruction on this page,Lower Right.http://www.amtrol.com/provectr.htmBut I would have a full test run on the water. It might have changed and you need more or different treatment.
I didn't see that page but I did get the manual from the Amtrol Tech service department which is a great bit of customer service on their part.
The Provectr seems to be the unit I have and it does also seem to be servicable so I'll put it on the list and try to get to it as asoon as possible.
thanks for the help. i really appreciate it.
Bart
You have an acid neutralizer. Since the tank has no fill hole the only way to recharge it is to remove the timer head. If done improperly you will spew particles into the system that will clog every fixture in the house. I'd suggest get a plumber to do it. Watch him carefully and decide for yourself if you really want to try it.
PS... switching your pipes to cpvc will not solve your problems. Fixtures are made of brass and many contain lead which will leach out in acid conditions.