Culligan Gold Series Water Softener
#1
12-21-04, 03:29 PM
Culligan Gold Series Water Softener
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to the area and not used to water filtering systems either. I've had a Culligan Water Gold Series Softener and a Neutrilizer for about 5 months now. I finally got the product manuals and realized that I don't think the culligan person set them up right. In fact, he originally had the Iron level set to 0 and I asked if it should be higher because I had .5PPM of iron and he said yeah, we can put it up to 1 or 2. That didn't raise my confidence.
anyway, my question is, does anyone know what the settings should be?
My water information:
Hardness: 5 GPG
Iron: .5 PPM
pH: 6.4
TDS: 132 PPM
Culligan Iron Setting: 0-5
Culligan Hard water setting: 1-108
Currently it's on Iron: 2 and Hard: 9.
Thanks.
I'm new to the area and not used to water filtering systems either. I've had a Culligan Water Gold Series Softener and a Neutrilizer for about 5 months now. I finally got the product manuals and realized that I don't think the culligan person set them up right. In fact, he originally had the Iron level set to 0 and I asked if it should be higher because I had .5PPM of iron and he said yeah, we can put it up to 1 or 2. That didn't raise my confidence.
anyway, my question is, does anyone know what the settings should be?
My water information:
Hardness: 5 GPG
Iron: .5 PPM
pH: 6.4
TDS: 132 PPM
Culligan Iron Setting: 0-5
Culligan Hard water setting: 1-108
Currently it's on Iron: 2 and Hard: 9.
Thanks.
#2
12-23-04, 08:03 AM
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I haven't seen any newer Culligan softeners lately but.. I don't know how they set the iron separately from the hardness. Are you reading off the control valve settings/programming or some paperwork?
What is the hardness after the AN filter but before the softener? They are saying the filter adds 4 gpg of hardness, hence the setting of 9 gpg. The rep is correct that the .5 ppm doesn't absoultely positively have to be used in calculating the compensated hardness, but it can be by increasing the hardness 1-2 gpg. Resin doesn't know the difference between iron and calcium etc..
Is your water soft and does it have a neutral pH (7.0 or above)?
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
What is the hardness after the AN filter but before the softener? They are saying the filter adds 4 gpg of hardness, hence the setting of 9 gpg. The rep is correct that the .5 ppm doesn't absoultely positively have to be used in calculating the compensated hardness, but it can be by increasing the hardness 1-2 gpg. Resin doesn't know the difference between iron and calcium etc..
Is your water soft and does it have a neutral pH (7.0 or above)?
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 03:11 PM.
#3
01-21-05, 08:06 AM
Hi Gary,
Thank you for your response.
1. I was reading the numbers off of the control valve and in the manual.
2. The culligan water man told me to put my water softener before the Neutrilizer, so technically, the setup is Well Water>Water Softener>Neutrilizer (for PH)>Small filter.
3. My water feels a little softer, and it should have a neutral pH of 7.0 right now. Can a water softener remove iron and manganese if the pH level is 6? Or does the neutrilizer HAVE to be before the water softener? That is my problem. The water guy told me to put the neutrilizer after the water softener so that the water would not be 100% soft (becuase I don't like the slimy feeling). However, it sounds like since he did that the water softener isn't being 100% effective.
Thanks,
James
Thank you for your response.
1. I was reading the numbers off of the control valve and in the manual.
2. The culligan water man told me to put my water softener before the Neutrilizer, so technically, the setup is Well Water>Water Softener>Neutrilizer (for PH)>Small filter.
3. My water feels a little softer, and it should have a neutral pH of 7.0 right now. Can a water softener remove iron and manganese if the pH level is 6? Or does the neutrilizer HAVE to be before the water softener? That is my problem. The water guy told me to put the neutrilizer after the water softener so that the water would not be 100% soft (becuase I don't like the slimy feeling). However, it sounds like since he did that the water softener isn't being 100% effective.
Thanks,
James
#4
01-22-05, 09:21 AM
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If you don't like the slippery feeling due to your skin being clean enough to allow its natural oils to come to the surface, then you don't want soft water. There is no degree of soft, only hard; water is either soft or hard and the hardness is capable of being measured. So really the guy didn't do you any favor selling you a softener and then telling you to install the AN filter after it! IMO you've been had.
So you either move the softener to after the AN filter and get to enjoy clean supple smooth healthy skin or live with the hard water. The pH of the water isn't critical for a softener to be able to remove iron and manganese unless you have a fair amount (>say .5) of MN. You can then add some (a grain or two) raw hard water back into the soft water but there goes a lot of the benefits of soft water.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
So you either move the softener to after the AN filter and get to enjoy clean supple smooth healthy skin or live with the hard water. The pH of the water isn't critical for a softener to be able to remove iron and manganese unless you have a fair amount (>say .5) of MN. You can then add some (a grain or two) raw hard water back into the soft water but there goes a lot of the benefits of soft water.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 03:10 PM.
#5
01-23-05, 10:03 AM
The reason for the softener was to get the hardness lower than .5. Coming out of the well it was .5. The softener is also there to lower the iron in the water. If the hardness was down to .2, then it would be better on the pipes. I wanted to get rid of the sediment showing up in my faucets.
From your message, I gather that having the softener before the neutralizer is ok since my iron level was at .5 originally.
Thanks for the mail,
James
From your message, I gather that having the softener before the neutralizer is ok since my iron level was at .5 originally.
Thanks for the mail,
James
#6
01-23-05, 04:36 PM
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Hardness isn't stated as .2 or .5, it is in gpg (grains per gallon). Iron etc. is stated in ppm or mg/l and in tenths, but not hardness. So I think you have some incorrect figures there.
I suggest you call Culligan and get their input since I am not familiar with the Gold Series at all.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
I suggest you call Culligan and get their input since I am not familiar with the Gold Series at all.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 03:10 PM.
#7
01-23-05, 07:10 PM
Hi Gary - The hardness of the water was 5gpg. I will put the original numbers before having any filters below.
Hardness: 5 GPG
Iron: .5 PPM
pH: 6.4
TDS: 132 PPM
So can you confirm that with a pH of 6.4, my water softener can still remove iron and lower the hardness rating? Or do I HAVE to put the neutralizer before the softener for it to work properly? A previous post I saw said that without having your pH at a level of 7, the water softener wouldn't be able to reduce the hardness and iron properly.
Thank you for all of your help,
James
Hardness: 5 GPG
Iron: .5 PPM
pH: 6.4
TDS: 132 PPM
So can you confirm that with a pH of 6.4, my water softener can still remove iron and lower the hardness rating? Or do I HAVE to put the neutralizer before the softener for it to work properly? A previous post I saw said that without having your pH at a level of 7, the water softener wouldn't be able to reduce the hardness and iron properly.
Thank you for all of your help,
James
#8
01-25-05, 07:48 PM
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A softener isn't effected by the pH of the water, or the pH won't effect its ability to remove hardness and iron in most cases.
The softener belongs after the AN filter.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
The softener belongs after the AN filter.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 03:10 PM.
#9
01-28-05, 05:51 AM
Thanks Gary for all of your help. I spoke with the culligan dealer and he said to put the override on the AN system for a week and see if I like the soft water. If he had told me in the beginning that the soft water would get rid of that white film on my shower and some of the white stuff in my dishwasher after I was the dishes, I would have told him to put the softener after the AN system. I'll try it this week, but I think I'm going to ask him to put it the way you said.
Thanks for all of your help,
James
Thanks for all of your help,
James
#10
01-28-05, 09:23 AM
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The white stuff can be something like chlorides and/or sulfates and not from hardness water spots. But by-passing the AN filter will show you how the soft water does but... your hot water will still be hard due to the soft water dissolving any hard water scale in the tank/coil. You might want to buy an inexpensive dip strip type water hardness test kit (at most hardware big box stores) and see how hard the hot water actually is. and the AN filter could have layed down a layer of scale in the plumbing so the soft cold water may take a few days to get all the hardness out of it.
Let us know how it goes.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Let us know how it goes.
Gary
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Doug Aleshire, Super Moderator 2
Last edited by Doug Aleshire; 03-11-05 at 03:10 PM.
#11
01-28-05, 03:26 PM
Many thanks. He told me to wait a 4-5 days to let the hard water clear out too. That will be just in time for my water test kit from Hach to arrive. I got a test kit that would test iron, pH, hardness and chlorine. This way I can test the hardness and everything at the different stages of my test.
I'll keep you posted.
I'll keep you posted.
