Help ID this softener timer (fleck 3220?)

[Dick Nitro]

All,

Bought a wash with a softener that I’m trying to figure out. I can manually regen easily, but I don’t understand the timer. It seems like it may be a fleck 3220 immediate timer, but the control gear is slightly different from versions I can find online. If anyone has and info or a positive ID for this model, I’d greatly appreciate it!

 

[Blanco]

Message Buckeyehydro. He will know.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

That should be a Fleck (now owned by Pentair) 3210 metered timer in the picture, which is used on several different elctromechanical valves. Ugh. It's was a dinosaur when it was installed. Immediate Regen timers do not have a 24-hr wheel like yours does. There are a variety of program wheels (the geared wheels in the lower right in your pic) available. What size valve? Twin tank or single tank? What size tank(s)?

Russ

 

[Dick Nitro]

That should be a Fleck (now owned by Pentair) 3210 metered timer in the picture, which is used on several different elctromechanical valves. Ugh. It's was a dinosaur when it was installed. Immediate Regen timers do not have a 24-hr wheel like yours does. There are a variety of program wheels (the geared wheels in the lower right in your pic) available. What size valve? Twin tank or single tank? What size tank(s)?

Russ

thank you so much!

it’s a 1” valve and a single tank. I cannot find a capacity anywhere, just says hellenbrand. Based on what I can see about this “immediate” style timer, this might be an inappropriate setup.

The control timer is based on throughput instead of time and I don’t see any dip switches…

Do most people soften ALL water? This one is set up to soften everything except the IBAs which makes no sense to me. Thanks

 

[Dick Nitro]

Those pics I just sent were taken months apart and it just occurred to me that the arrow on the control gear is pointing to the same spot like it hasn’t moved.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Those pics I just sent were taken months apart and it just occurred to me that the arrow on the control gear is pointing to the same spot like it hasn’t moved.

very well could be. Is it going through salt?
look about shin high on the tan mineral tank. Should be a sticker from the manufacturer showing the tank size. Yours looks to be something like a 1262 or 1465 (i.e., 12" in diam and 62" tall). If nothing else, measure the tank size. From that info I can tell you how much resin is inside.

How long has that softener been in service?

 

[Dick Nitro]

very well could be. Is it going through salt?
look about shin high on the tan mineral tank. Should be a sticker from the manufacturer showing the tank size. Yours looks to be something like a 1262 or 1465 (i.e., 12" in diam and 62" tall). If nothing else, measure the tank size. From that info I can tell you how much resin is inside.

How long has that softener been in service?

No, it isn’t going through salt. The outlet hardness is 17 grains which is why I’m troubleshooting this thing. Dunno if it’s actually shot or if the timer isn’t operating… or both

The salt in the tank is multi-colored like someone put ice-melt salt in it. If so, could that ruin the resin?

I’ll check for a sticker or measure next time I’m there.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

If the valve is old, or of unknown age, it will need some maintenance. The valve may need a little, or a lot, and also the media should be replaced if over 5 yrs old if exposed to chlorinated water. The brine tank should be cleaned out at least once a year. The reason it in not regenerating is a problem with the valve/timer. At 17 gpg, you'll want to get this working sooner rather than later. For my money...this sounds like the perfect time to:

• replace the resin (called a "rebed") if old
• replace the valve with a Clack valve - especially if you're wanting to do your own maintenance on it (you can thank me later - you will love maintenance on a Clack vs Fleck dinosaurs!).

 

[Dick Nitro]

Yes! I love starting from square 1 and knowing my stuff in and out.

any particular model clack valve you like?

Is generic amazon reason ok, or is brand name worth it?

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Let's back up and make sure this softener is correctly sized for your application. How much flow (gpm) do you want this softener to treat? A 1" valve is pretty small for a carwash application. What is it you are feeding the softened water to?

Russ

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

"Generic" resin would not be my choice. There are all sorts of imported resin out there - it's a bit of a crap shoot. Are you delivering chlorinated water to the softener?

 

[Dick Nitro]

Let's back up and make sure this softener is correctly sized for your application. How much flow (gpm) do you want this softener to treat? A 1" valve is pretty small for a carwash application. What is it you are feeding the softened water to?

Russ

When I said 1” I meant the in/out pipe diameter. If that’s incorrect, please advise.

I belive the current setup is plumbed wrong. The softener outlet feeds EVERYTHING except IBA’s and toilet.

Ideally I’m going to soften water for ONLY IBAs, SS chemical blending and ROs. What could max gpm demand be? I can only guess… At max demand (both IBAs going, hydromimders/ROs batching at once) I might need 15gpm or more but 90% of the year I’d assume 5-8gpm would suffice. What’s a good rule of thumb?

 

[Dick Nitro]

"Generic" resin would not be my choice. There are all sorts of imported resin out there - it's a bit of a crap shoot. Are you delivering chlorinated water to the softener?

I will be for the moment, but I intend to put a charcoal filter in soon

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

With a carbon filter before the softener, 8% cross linked resin would be my choice.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

When I said 1” I meant the in/out pipe diameter. If that’s incorrect, please advise.

I belive the current setup is plumbed wrong. The softener outlet feeds EVERYTHING except IBA’s and toilet.

Ideally I’m going to soften water for ONLY IBAs, SS chemical blending and ROs. What could max gpm demand be? I can only guess… At max demand (both IBAs going, hydromimders/ROs batching at once) I might need 15gpm or more but 90% of the year I’d assume 5-8gpm would suffice. What’s a good rule of thumb?

The devil is in the details here. Recommend you look carefully at your demand and put pencil to paper. When you do have a higher demand, if some of the demand is for equipment where softened water is critical to avoid damage (e.g., RO system, boiler), then you should size the equipment for that higher flow. At the other end of the spectrum there is good reason to not oversize the softener. This sizing work is a standard part of the system design we do for customers.

 

[Dick Nitro]

How do I meter flow? I know the rated gpm for the automatics high pressure pumps. I can probably find the RO’s, but how do I ballpark the hydrominders?

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Bucket and stopwatch, or check the spec sheet.

Hopefully your RO system has a concentrate and permeate flow gauge - add them together and subtract the recycle gpm

 

[Dick Nitro]

Alright, this thing is my problem. It’s some type of turbine flow totalizer meter that actuates the control gear of my softener. The small plastic gears in the meter gearbox are stripped. Has anyone seen this and know a part #? All I see is LF1 stamped in the brass and don’t see exact matches online.

thanks for all the help!

 

[water guy]

mmm

 

[Dick Nitro]

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