No water flowing to brine tank

[bretts]

My water supply is fed from a well. The water pump is in the well. In my utility closet I have a water heater, a large holding tank, a large tank with a timer, twin water softener tanks, and a brine tank. The three tanks and the brine tank are Kinetico; the twin tanks are model 60 - not sure about the others. I just recently purchased this home and this is the first time I have had to the pleasure of working on a water softener. The house has three bathrooms and it is just my wife and I so we don't use too much water.

I have two problems. First the timing valving on top of the water softener tanks leaks a little when the softener is running. The second issue is that I am not sure the recharge cycle is working correctly. The brine tank is perhaps 3' tall and there is about 6 inches of water in the bottom of it. The water has a thin film of dust and smells stagnent. Therefore, I think that water softener isn't using the brine tank.

Here is a link to the diagram of my system http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~bspradli/water_softener.JPG

A few days ago I examined the system while it was running. The display on the timer indicated 'sleep rinse' (?). On the two smaller tanks there is a bypass knob between them that reads "close for water softener" which is in the open state. I closed during the recharge process but nothing changed. Last night I closed it again before going to bed and this morning when I went to take a shower there was no water. As soon as I opened it the shower started running.

What could be causing the water not to flow to or through the brine tank?

Thanks.
Brett

[jdp38]

First of all, the water level in the tank is most likely correct.....if the system is set up to use salt, it will only use a little over 4 pounds of salt per regeneration.......if the water appears to have been in the tank for a while, and the unit has been in bypass, more than likely you have some kind of failure that the previous owner didn't want to handle.....the first "tank" is most likely a backwash filter......my suggestion is to call your local Kinetico dealer...... they will sell you parts, but they will be able to diagnose the problem......as far as the water flow, there could be a broken main valve in the head or a complete resin failure......word of advise......whatever the cost......pay it.......a used unit will last a lifetime if rebuilt.......parts are going to fail, they're man made.......but that set-up is at least a 4K pricetag......use it!.......let me know :)