Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Unfamiliar filter/conditioner system

My neighbor recently bought a used filter system for her well. She asked me to check it out to make sure she is not being taken advantage of. Her old system consisted of a water softener followed by what appeared to be an AN (calcite) automatic backwashing filter. I thought this was strange because I understand that the AN filter should go before the softener. Her water is on the hard side and has low PH. The new system consists of a softener and two other tanks with top dome filler holes. The softener is made up of two tanks (and separate brine tank) with a round control valve without electrical power or a timer. I assume it functions using water power? The other two tanks do not have a backwash control valve.
My questions are:
What is the deal with the water softener control valve that has no timer?
What could the other two tanks (with top dome filler holes and no control valve) be?

I was able to do some research and answer some of my own questions. The softener appears to be a Kinetico non electric twin tank softener. The two other tanks must be AN filters that use up-flow, so they don’t need to be backwashed. I still don’t understand why the system came with two AN filters. Perhaps the water supply they where originally installed on was very acidic, or one of them is not an AN filter?
Regarding her current system, should the AN filter be located before the softener? I thought that softeners worked best with close to neutral PH.

Hello HomerJ

The name of the company should be on the valve in raised letters.

Yes, an acid neutralizing filter should be placed before the softener. I find it strange that it would be in the reverse. I have not seen where it is necessary to ahve TWO calcite filter. If one is unable to raise the pH to an appropriate level, I don't see where two would.

It is possible the other filter has a different media in it but they way it is set up, I would hate to hazard a guess. These filters are often designed to have their media replenshed. There is either a refill cap near the top of the tank or the distributors are meant to disassemble easily. looking inside, you may be able to determine if one of the filters is something other than calcite which is an off-white, depending on the quality of water.

The AN filter should go before because with acidic water it is often naturally soft (and corrosive) as it has not crossed through a limestone/marble base in the earth. You say it is on the "hard side", but how hard is that? By neutralizing the acidic water with calcite, for example, the water will gain hardness. Then that softener will bring that water back down to >1gpg.

The way it is set now, makes no sense and should be reversed.

When you say "she bought a used system" what do you mean exactly? Was it transported to her location or she bought it "as is"? Who installed it, local plumber, friend? Was the system tested, replenished, or cleaned before installation. Something sounds strange here. Get back with us and give us more detail so the we can make the necessary adjustments to get that system working at its optimum.

Give us, if possible, raw water details such as hardness, pH, iron, TDS, chlorides, sulfates, etc. Testing can be done at a local lab or water treatment facility.

Andy

Andy,
Thanks for the reply. My neighbor bought the system from one of the contractors working on her house. They told her that it was used for less then a year before they switched to city water and no longer needed it. The system looks to be in very good condition and I think she got a good deal at $1,800. She is going to have a professional plumber install the system. The water was tested by a filter service company who confirmed what was needed (AN filter and softener), but she does not know all of the test results. I’m just trying to look out for her, as she is a young woman living by herself.

One common mistake with accepting used equipment, no matter how new or in what condition, is that the equipment (or its settings) doesn't match the water in the new location. Worse yet, it was provided by a person who is not in the water treamtent industry. In other words, short cuts have been taken.

The first thing you need to to do is have the raw water tested for hardness, iron, TDS, pH and sulfides, among others. The softener has a disk on top of the valve which will probably need to be changed according to the hardness and iron/manganese. Obviously pH in your area is a problem. Find out what that is. Anyway, get a local water treatment specialist to look at your water. Since you have a Kinetico, see if a dealer is nearby.

If the softener is less than a year old, it should be a MACH series. You can tell if the long bolts that hold the different levels together on top are recessed. If they are protruding, then it is much older than one year.

There are far too many ways to wrongly handle your water and precious few ways to correct it. Not all is lost, so don't worry. Get back with us and maybe we can help.
Andy

If she paid 1800 for everything then she got a good deal.......IF the unit is only a year old......if you have a way to photo the equipment and post it, that would be the best way.......one of the units might be an AG filter :coffee: