Water Softener Help

[dk1uk]

Hi - I hope that someone can help me out with a water softener question. Moved into my house 3 months ago and there's no manual on the water softener.

I haven't ever put salt in it. I've attached a picture.

Opened the lid today and can see that the tank is half full of water but there's nothing else in there except water.

Do you know how much salt I should put in - and do I just put it straight into the tank which is currently half full of water? Once I've put salt in do I need to then run a manual regeneration cycle - and should I not use water until it's complete?

Sorry for the obvious questions - never owned one before.

Many thanks.

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• dk1uk
• 1 Dec 2012
• 1

 

[Diyisfun]

Is there a manufacturers name on it?

 

[dk1uk]

There's a small label saying it's an Osmonics - but nothing to indicate the model. Just Osmonics.

 

[HERTS P&D]

See if this helps:

http://www.onlinewatersofteners.com/osmonics_autotrol_manuals.htm

Andy

 

[dk1uk]

Thanks - I think I'm getting somewhere.

Anyone any idea how to tell if the water softener is on bypass?

I have taken a couple more pics. That pipe with the blue/red stripes on the mains water pipe. However, I can't tell if that blue valve is on or off?

In the next pic, that grey pipe comes out of the water softener - presumably to feed softened water back into the system.

However, I don't know whether the previous owners left it in service mode or bypass mode. Is there any easy way to tell?

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• dk1uk
• 2 Dec 2012
• 1

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• dk1uk
• 2 Dec 2012
• 1

 

[dk1uk]

Hi - so having researched this a bit more, I might have a badly installed water softener on my hands.

The inlet/outlet for the water softener should be cut into the supply pipe AFTER the drinking water supply.

On this picture, there's a valve with the blue knob. The grey pipe is the inlet for the water softener. The copper pipe on the right going into the valve is the mains water supply. The copper pipe on the left going into the valve supplies various taps.

What's worrying is that there's no feed for drinking water before the mains supply reaches that valve.

Can anyone tell what that valve is doing in its current position? If I turn it, then I still get water in the kitchen (drinking water), but water in other rooms (downstairs loo for example) stops. Could it be a two-way valve - controlling water to taps and also the water softener.

I'm most worried that the kitchen tap water doesn't stop unless I turn off the stop-cock as I think that the drinking water can only be coming from the water softener which hasn't been maintained from what I can see.

Many thanks

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• dk1uk
• 2 Dec 2012
• 1