Water Softeners and Air Filtration Systems - Clogged Softener?

I am a newbie here so be gentle. I need some insight into replacing or repairing my current water softener. Back around 1987 I had a home demo from a Rainsoft dealer and was really impressed until I got the $3000 price (I'm a cheap SOB). I decided to look around and bought a unit from Home Depot that I think was a Star brand they sold at the time and I think it had a Fleck valve. I installed it myself and it worked for about 10 years but started to not recycle by itself, so I went back to HD and bought a GE Smartwater single tank GXSF39 single tank and installed it myself also. It lasted with a few problems until last week.

I noticed that the flow rate was diminished and thought it was my whole house filter (also HD from GE) and changed the filter. It helped for a while but as the water flows, it gets progressively slower. While filling the washing machine it slowed to a trickle. I switched the GE WS bypass valve to bypass setting and the flow jumped up to where it should be so I figured the resin in the WS was clogging the flow somehow.

I also had problems about 8 months ago with the Pot Chloride salt I use turning into a rock at the bottom of the brine tank and not allowing the unit to regen right and the water got hard even when I manually regenerated several times. I drug it out in the driveway and emptied the salt and brine out. I laid it over on its side and slid the resin tank out to clean out the solidified Pot Chloride (I took the valve apart on the top of the resin tank and removed it). After washing out the tube and float and cleaning the brine tank, I re-assembled everything and added Pot Chloride and recycled several times. The water was soft and it worked for about 6 months when another salt rock happened again and I repeated the process of cleaning it by laying the media tank on its side to remove it from the brine tank and it worked fine for a month or 2 when the flow rate decreased. I switched back to regular softener salt (NaCl?) after the 2nd cleaning when the low flow happened.

Sorry for the long dissertation but I'm an Engineer and can't help myself. http://able2know.org/static/images/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Now for my question. I went back to Home D and they carry a newer model of the GE but I wanted to look around for maybe a better unit. I went by Sears tonight and the Kenmore units there have the same control head as my GE has. I found a place on eBay that sells GE Logix, 2 tank units. So is there hope for my old clogged GE and what could cause the low flow? I have not cleaned anything on the unit like the venturi and nozzle.

I have been doing some research on the web and have read about problems with the big box stores using the GE/Kenmore valve and I wanted to see if getting a new softener with a Fleck valve would be better than trying to resurrect this old GE unit.

My house was built in 1976 and has galvanized pipes that have failed a couple of times by rusting from the inside out which I have replaced with PVC (still have 80% galv pipe in house). I plumbed the softener with PVC and have a filter in the inlet line to keep out the rust, so what do you guys/gals think? Repair or replace?

I first thing you should do is get the Fleck back. LOL Fleck will outlast ANY unit out there. Your low flow could be coming from the resin going bad. Are you on city water or maybe have chlorine in your water? If so, chlorine will reduce the life of the resin.

Not knowing much when I had trouble with the Star/Fleck and needing room in the garage after a few years of it just sitting there so I tossed it in a dumpster a couple of years ago. Now the replacement GE is dead or dying.

I am on city water (suburb of Houston) and need to call on Monday to the local water MUD to get the report on the hardness and amount of iron in my water so I can see what size softener to get. It's just me and the wife and our max monthly water usage from a bill was 7.1 GLS (1000's ??). The GE is a 39000 grain unit but as I understand softeners, the tank and valve are the same size and the only difference is the amount of resin.

I have been considering a Fleck 7000SXT, or a Fleck 5600SXT, or a Fleck 2510SXT from QualityWaterForLess (anyone dealt with them before?) and wonder which would be good. The 7000 seems to flow quite a bit and is cheaper than the 2510. The 5600 is the cheapest and has a bypass valve that looks like my original judging from the pictures where you rotate one lever to bypass.

Another question is what to do with my old GE unit? It looks like I could buy resin for around $120 or could I contact a local softener service guy and have them refurbish the GE so I could give it to my in-laws in South Texas. A brand new GE at HD is around $600 so I don't want to spend much to refurbish.
TIA

I'll ask another question while I'm thinking about it. My current drain hose goes into the drain for the washing machine with the hose for the washer in it too. I know this probably breaks all rules for an air gap, but I couldn't figure out another way. The softener cabinet sits in the garage by the water heater. The drain line goes through a sheet-rock wall into the utility room where the W&D sit and the total drain hose length is less than 10 feet. I didn't want to tear out any sheet-rock where the washer drain is, so I just stuck the hose in. The elevation of the drain is about the same as the WS where it starts.

So is there a way that the pros do it to tap into a drain? I'll probably need a P-Trap cut in below the washer inlet so the washer rinse water doesn't back up to the WS drain. Is there a place on the web where I could see a picture?

Can I leave the drain as it is? Or would this have shortened the life of the WS?

They make a devise to hook up to the WD drain that has an air gap. The drain itself already has a pee trap so no need in cutting in one.

It sounds as though the resin is bad. Chlorine in the water will degrade the resin causing it to pack down and restrict the water flow through the unit.

I have sold, serviced or installed the Fleck 5600 the most. I prefer this model over all others. I do not like computors on water softeners. Seen to much trouble with them.

Thanks for the tip on the 5600. My house is old and my Washer Drain comes out of the flat sheet-rock wall at a 45° angle. The hot and cold just stick out of the wall at 90° since there is no box. I did look at an air-gap plumbing piece here: Product Information (http://www.abetterairgap.com/productinfo.htm) and could put in a 45° on my existing drain to make it sit straight up.

If I do tear my old GE apart and look at the resin beads, what should they look like? I'm thinking little spheres?