Water softener fills up with water!!!

[7t9shark]

My Sears water softener has developed a habit of slowly filling up with water in the salt tank. I siphon it down to the bed, but it starts the cycle all over again. Otherwise it is working OK. I cleaned out the orfice gizmo that's located inside the tube inside the tank, and pulled the float mechanism out to see if there was anything glaringly out of place.

Anybody out there have any ideas? These things are fairly simple devices, so how tough can it be[?]

If it's not broke..you're not tryin'.

[Hube]

There are many MODELS of SEARS softeners , which one is this? Some use a computer assist to enable "Recharge Brine level".. and some use a Timer control to start a re-charge.Is this a single tank that incorporates the Brine Well and RESIN Tank in one enclosure,? or a separate Double tank set-up? Post back with more info and we will advise further. BTW, Sears Trouble Shooting # for softeners is....1-800-469-4663... or 1-800-287-0756... Hube

[linux_usr]

I had the same problem over a year ago. I cleaned the orifice as it appeared the unit was unable to draw a suction using the venturi nozzle. Also, I believe they recommend cleaning that in the manual. Anyway, I had Sears come out and they told me that I had to replace the seals. I believe there is a seal kit available. Basically some little rubber o-rings. I had Sears replace them but I am sure it would be much cheaper to do it yourself. I had the unit in operation for only 5-6 years so something tells me this is going to be a regular maintenance item that you just have to deal with.

[lampguy254]

I too have a Kenmore (old) that periodically fills up with water. I have tried cleaing the venturi and will see tomorrow (after it cycles) how well this has worked.

A suggestion...an in-line sediment filter would be a great help if you have iron and/or clay (like I do...)



LampGuy

[rnatale]

I have had exactly the same problem as you. It was NOT the venturi. It was NOT the valve. It WAS the black float seal attached to the white float. It became detached from the float and was blocking the brine suction flow. Try removing the float along with the float seal and running it through its cycle without those parts. The brine level should drop to 3"-4". Make sure the float seal is firmly attached to the float. If you remove the float assembly during the brining cycle, make absolutely sure that you hold up the float with it's seal so that it does not seal the brine intake when you insert it back into the brine well. I worked for me.
If you have any questions, e-mail me.
Good luck,
Richard

Richard

[kentry]

i have a question: i have a GE water softener that uses salt. i put it 2 bags of the salt pellets and i never see any water w/ the salt. water is in the brine tank (right?). so a friend of mine has a potassium water softener and he says he sees water along w/ the potassium in the main tank. is this just a difference between salt & potassium? is one of ours not working correctly?

thanks,
ken

[Hube]

Message to KENTRY; Except for the sodium that is in salt ,there is no difernence in the "regeneration activity" of a water softener when using either. Either one or the other will do a good job in removing any hardness that is adhereing to the resin tank.Note; Pottasium is a better choice if your on a restricted sodium diet. Depending on the tank design, most softeners will not have any water in them UNTIL its time for it to regenerate. Hube

[Dick]

I just finished dealing with problems in a Sears water softener (Kenmore automatic demand 75, 9 yr old), including the one of water seeping into the salt tank.

I stopped the seepage by treating the valve assembly (the 4 inch diameter assembly attached to the top of the resin tank) to a new set of oh rings, rotor seal and (the part I think which fixed it), the nozzle and venture seal, part # 7081764. Available by calling Sears parts at 800 469 4663.

That left me with a second problem - during the brining cycle, when the brine (ie, a solution of salt in water) is supposed to be sucked from the salt tank and into the resin tank, I had water trying to come into the tank, rather than going up the tube. The screen in the venturi assembly was clean, so it wasn't a clogged screen.

I got the answer by calling 800 426 9345, the Kenmore water line. Write this number down - I originally called the normal Sears service line and was told they no longer had a tech help line - got this number from another fixit post. I had been trying all sorts of things to fix this and was getting desparate enough to consider paying for a service call. The answer was, "Oh, you have a nine year old Kenmore? you need a new gasket (about a 1" diameter, .06" thick flexible red piece with a butterfly hole in the center), part # 7190547". Turns out they redesigned this part to be made of a different material (now black rubber, $2.99). I think the problem was that the old gasket no longer sealed up against the venturi, hence no suction was developed. Using the new gasket worked like a charm. BTW, Jackie, the helpful service person, also was ready to help with a seepage into the salt tank, with a set of seals- I think she'd heard these before.

quote:Originally posted by 7t9shark

My Sears water softener has developed a habit of slowly filling up with water in the salt tank. I siphon it down to the bed, but it starts the cycle all over again. Otherwise it is working OK. I cleaned out the orfice gizmo that's located inside the tube inside the tank, and pulled the float mechanism out to see if there was anything glaringly out of place.

Anybody out there have any ideas? These things are fairly simple devices, so how tough can it be[?]

If it's not broke..you're not tryin'.

[rnatale]

quote:Originally posted by kentry

i have a question: i have a GE water softener that uses salt. i put it 2 bags of the salt pellets and i never see any water w/ the salt. water is in the brine tank (right?). so a friend of mine has a potassium water softener and he says he sees water along w/ the potassium in the main tank. is this just a difference between salt & potassium? is one of ours not working correctly?

thanks,
ken

Richard

[PowerbyFord]

I just had a repair man work on my softener. He said that the water should not be so high in the salt tank. The mechanism on top sends water out to the tank and then sucks it back to regenerate the resin. You must have a blockage in the parts that deliver the brine to the softener resin tank. You might remove some water with a bucket so that it does not overflow. Then you need to service the system yourself by bypassing it and pulling and cleaning the valves and orifaces or call for service. I use Culligan.