My current home has a water softener and this is my first softener. My last home had city water and didn't require one. This home has a well. I've looked through the owner's manuel but it doesn't really address how often and how much salt to add to the brine tank. Is there a rule of thumb?

 

Generally when it gets down to about 6 inches or so. As long as you can't see water you basically have enough in there. The actual brine is only about that deep in the bottom of the tank; the salt above that is just sort of in reserve. If you have an average size unit it'll probably take 4-40# bags or so to fill it up. If you have a high iron content in your water, use the iron control salt (RedOut, I think, is the stuff H-D carries). Be sure to check the section in the manual on periodic maintenance involving cleaning of the nozzle & venturi. Here's a sample diagram and instructions; yours may be similar:

http://www.systemsaver.com/windsor-website/maintenance/maintenance/cleaning-nozzle-and-venturi.html

 

Best to put in only enough salt to cover the water. You'll need to take a look
in the brine tank add salt as necessary. If you fill the brine tank with unnecessary
salt the extra weight makes salt bridging and mushing at the bottom more likely.

If your softener is correctly sized then it will regenerate about once a week.
The resin is much happier at that interval and on a well there's less chance of
bacteria colonizing in the resin. So, if you check the salt once a week after the
softener regenerates then it's real EZ to remember.

If this is your first house with a well you need to understand that living with well
water is more complicated and requires maintenance than living on a municipal
water system doesn't.

When you bought this house you should have gotten the results of a complete
water test or some document stating that the water has been tested and is safe.

You are responsible for making your own water clean, nice, and SAFE. You should
get scheduled complete water tests from an independent lab and address and
problems as soon as discovered. Aside from hardness and iron and manganese
there are things that can be in well water that will ruin your day and get you real
sick. Quickie water tests from Sears and the like are not going to tell you what you
need to know.

In the beginning you might want to test the well water BEFORE the treatment and
after the softener to make sure the softener is doing its job and that there aren't
other problems that need to be treated.

 

Thanks for the replies. I've been using blocks (Morton System Saver) are the pellets better? I did have the well tested when we bought the house and everything was fine. We also use and RO system for cooking water and drink bottled water. My system also has an iron filter. Is there maintenance to be performed on it as well?

 

Pellets are more effecient than block salt. Most people find them easy to deal with as well. It also depends on the type of softener you are using. Some manufacturers actual recommend "rock" salt or don't care what quality of salt you use. Be weary of these types as they are probably not of high quality.

Many softeners use hard water for their brine mix. This can have some disadvantages in the long run.

What type of iron filter do you have? There are many different kinds and each has some kind of maintenance issues.

Andy

 

The purest salt you can use is solar salt. Salt pellets are formed using a glue-type binder. Over time the glue residue will cause problems. Solar salt is cheaper as well.

 

Salt info here from the BIG salt dog ...

http://www.softeningsalt.com/index.html