KINETICO WATER SOFTENER faulty or not??

Hi,
I am looking for some desperate help as I am not getting any answers from the local Kinetico service centre closest to me.

This problem was never resolved since day one of installing the Kinetico 2020c in late 2013. It goes from softened water to unsoftened so inconsistently that I don’t know what to think.

To aid quicker understanding of my problem, I've made a PDF with clear photos for you to have a look - please see attached PDF.

Thank you!

Hi kindly note i am a user of kinetico water softner am sure there are better qualified on the forum!
From your photos salt dissolving is ok (mine does same) i have had mine for over 18/19 years and
Yes the regenaration is done by the unit and not manually unless there is malfuntion on the unit which
I believe is very very rare fyi i had similar problems as yours & had to have the unit serviced (serviced after first
Nearly 10 years)after this the unit worked as it should do also note then second service was done after over
5 years after first service with the service and parts (replacement of parts is part of service) the unit functions
Normal if you can manage to service it yourself if there is no 10 year waranty on the machine then ebay does
Have parts+ video option i hope this info helps you
Regards
Ih

What is the model of the softener? I ask because according to Kinetico - block salt is for the Premium Compact model and tablet salt for the Essentials or Ultra models. Maybe the salt blocks are incorrect in yours ?

Thanks, ih, very helpful info for a newbie like me here.

Nice F, the model is Kinetico 2020c. The salt blocks are exactly the same since day one and it's from a Kinetico dealer so it is definitely correct.

MVL you most welcome ! Am happy that the info has been helpfull
Regards
Ih

Hi guys, are the salt blocks in the Kinetico 2020c supposed to dissolve sideways? ie. from outwards to inwards rather than from bottom up? I thought it should babe the latter. See pics I've drawn (note: salt blocks are in light grey colour).

The salt is there to generate brine, used to drive the calcium salts from the ion exchange resin and replace them with (soluble) sodium salts. Any number of regenerations will not help your problem if the salt is being dissolved...and if the block gets smaller then it IS being dissolved. It really doesn't matter which block dissolves first, nor which part of it dissolves, as long as it DOES dissolve.
Regeneration is necessary once the resin is saturated with calcium salts, and a measurement is done at the installation stage to determine the volume of water that is allowed to flow before regeneration is necessary. The volume flowed is determined by means of a flow turbine, and set in the software, "installation hardness" or words to that effect. Use the chemicals and instructions left over from the installation to determine the incoming water hardness, and re-enter/correct the hardness figure in the software.
Beyond that, some softeners have a mixing control to allow 'not fully softened water' to be produced. Make sure that is set to fully soft if you have one.
If that doesn't work make a log of the times that hard water is 'detected' by you, and see if there's a pattern. This may indicate a faulty flow turbine, and is good information to convince Kinetico that your complaint is valid under warranty.

Hi MeldrewsMate, thanks for commenting - I like ur icon on porn and plumbers! LMAO!!

Agree with your first paragraph and I believe we're eon the same page. However, may point is that, if you look at my drawing, the salt will dissolve away leaving a small pillar of salt that prevents the rest of the bulk of the salt block to be submerged for further dissolution. As a result, at that point, less salt is dissolved leaving water in the household hard again.

Wish I understand your second paragraph - I'm not a plumber or anyone close to that I'm afraid.