# Rainsoft Water Softener Repair



## kgincolumbus (Nov 25, 2009)

I have a 15 year old Rainsoft water softener that uses a 14 day timer. The unit recently developed a leak located between the 1/8” brass nipple and the 90 degree brass street elbow directly under the Tri-Guard brine control on the back side of the valve. We have a local Rainsoft dealer in town and I was able to purchase a new brass nipple, street elbow and the poppet & o-ring that fits in between the street elbow and the Tri-guard assembly. They also supplied me with a new rubber/plastic washer like item called the ‘brine refill flow control, ¼ gpm’ that goes inline where the lower of two plastic tubes attaches to the top and side of the tri-guard assembly.

After I installed these items I opened the bypass and found no leaks, but there was also no water going into the tri-guard valve. I checked operation by manually rotating the circuit timer slowly through a complete cycle, pausing at each phase till the valve motor stopped. When complete the tri-guard slowly (over an hour maybe) filled back up. Is this normal?

I then let it run through a normal regeneration. I noticed water flows from the top of the tri-guard downward during the brine draw. At the end of the complete cycle the tri-guard is empty again and it refills over the next hour. Is this correct?

Also at he very end of the regen cycle the system seems to hang. The last tab on the dial is for salt and I hear water passing through the unit for maybe a minute. It shuts off and then after a few more minutes it does this again, repeating several times. I had to manually rotate the circuit timer knob to get past this point. So maybe I have a tooth missing on the timer mechanism? Or is this possibly related to a problem with air in the brine line?


----------



## Gary Slusser (Sep 16, 2008)

I can't answer your questions but the dealer you bought the parts from should be able to.


----------



## kgincolumbus (Nov 25, 2009)

Gary,

Thanks for your input, I might give it a try. The problem is they always want to send someone out on a service call. That's $100 bucks minimum and I've been out of work all summer. The parts I picked up yesterday were less than $5. The lady I talked to on the phone and when I picked up the parts had the service tech pull the parts since I had all the part numbers from my instruction sheet and parts diagram. Not sure if she is truly knowledgeable with my unit. I guess it is worth a try.

Thanks again,
Kurt


----------



## Gary Slusser (Sep 16, 2008)

That's the problem with buying national brand equipment, it's proprietary and you can't get info or parts from anyone but the one'n only local dealer.


----------



## kgincolumbus (Nov 25, 2009)

You said it. I can't really complain to much though. In 15 years I've only had to replace the timer last December and this handful of parts this week. We had maybe 3 service calls since purchasing in '94. Once was when we simply were using more water and needed to regenerate more often. When the time does come I will likely get a Fleck 5600 metered system. The metered usage makes so much more sense then just a timer. It's bound to help us save on our water bill and the support I've found online is fantastic in comparison with Rainsoft.


----------



## kgincolumbus (Nov 25, 2009)

Just a little follow up from my original post. The problem of the tri-guard brine control taking maybe an hour to refill after the complete regen cycle was not normal. Turns out that little plastic washer like item that they supplied (the brine refill flow control) was the trouble. Actually the old piece was white in color and was still in the tri-guard and I added the new replacement piece which was black in color. With both in place it nearly choked off the flow completely. Once I realized my error, the T-G refills in about a second as it should.

As to my system sometimes "hanging" near the end of the cycle, well the culprit here was the anti-backlash pawl being badly worn. Cost for this piece, 15 cents and a trip to my local dealer. Having read several posts about Rainsoft water softeners I also learned that the index lever is another item that goes bad. And when it does Rainsoft no longer has these parts available and the timer can't be fixed without it. So when I called and ordered the other part I inquired about an index lever. They sold me one that was used but in perfect condition for $7.90. My system has been up and running for a couple weeks now and all seems normal, for now at least.

Gary, I have done a little more research into the Clack WS-1 and it does seem like a better choice than the Fleck 5600, especially when it comes to ease of repair. Do you find most DIY'ers like to use compression fittings and flex line compared to sweating ridgid copper lines in place. I have a totally different bipass valve (of course) and soldering a new bipass valve in place is the part that bothers me. Mostly that I won't get something perfectly aligned and maybe place unwanted stress on the water line. I have sweat soldered copper line before but I am put off by this task.


----------



## Gary Slusser (Sep 16, 2008)

Most of my customers solder rather than use flex copper or SS. I don't like flex stuff myself. If they don't know how to solder they visit a link in my instructions to a windows movie about soldering and they practice for a half hour on a few fittings and take them abpart for inspection before installing their equipment. Some use sch 40 PVC or Sharkbite fittings.


----------

