There are a few quick and easy checks you can perform on your softener to confirm is it performing correctly. Because all water supply compositions are different, we recommend walking through these steps rather than judging the 'soft' feeling of the water.
1. Bypass. Check that your unit is not bypassed. The bypass valve allows water to come in and out of the unit, so we want to make sure this is open. Depending on how your unit was installed, you should see one of the following valves - single bypass (left) or 3-valve bypass (right).
2. Hardness. You can find the Hardness programming by scrolling through the menu using the Program/Select button. Confirm your programming is correct with our Hardness Worksheet.
3. Water Flow. Is your unit metering water usage? To check:
a. Hold Program/Select until '000' appears on the screen.
b. Turn on a hot water faucet and leave it running. Come back to the softener. Are the numbers counting up?
i. YES; your unit is functioning properly and will perform automatic recharges, based on your water consumption. You may also wish to remove the top cover here and verify there are no external leaks when the unit is under pressure. Continue to question 4.
ii. NO; your system is not metering water usage, so it will not recharge automatically. Please visit our Failure to Meter Flow article for troubleshooting.
4. Salt Level
We recommend keeping the salt level between level 2 and 5 on the brinewell number scale. Depending on how long your unit has sat idle, you may want to check for a Salt Bridge as well.
5. Check if your softener has a blending valve on the bypass assembly (pictured). If it does, visit our Bypass Valve Operation article for instructions on making sure this is closed.
6. Test
Run a manual recharge cycle (hold the Recharge button until the motor kicks on). A recharge cycle lasts around 2 hours. After the cycle has concluded, test your water at several faucets with a hardness test strip. 0-3 gpg or 0-50 ppm is considered soft.
Comments
3 comments
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. All of our comments go through an approval process to ensure content and language is appropriate for public view. We are closed on weekends, but our team is hard at work responding to inquiries as quickly as possible. We did create a ticket for your case earlier today - please check your email for more information. A representative will be contacting you soon via email to find a solution and help troubleshoot.
Is there a kit I can use to find out if my Rheem is working appropriately?
Joe, thanks for your comment. This article is a good start to determining if it is working properly. If you have questions as you run through these steps, please reach out to us for additional explanation or direction. Thanks!
Please sign in to leave a comment.