No brine draw -- old Fleck softener

[bigjws]

Have an old (possibly Fleck 9000?) softener, brine is not drawing in. Checked the assembly in the brine tank, everything is clear -- can blow/suck through it, marble floats like it's supposed to. Not getting suction through the line, but am getting water back out to the tank when it's time to refill (although it's pretty slow.) I assume it's a clogged valve, thought MEP or someone might be able to point me in the easiest way to check, and which valve it probably would be..?

 

[MEP001]

It's probably an issue with the upper seal/spacer assembly. Sometimes the seals get misaligned, usually from the plastic spacers collapsing, then it can't create a suction to draw brine. There should be a fairly strong suction on the tube during the brine cycle. It can end up pretty expensive to repair, not likely as much as a new head, although if it's eroded where the seals sit it's not worth fixing.

 

[cantbreak80]

I think it might be a Fleck 2850.

A recent no brine draw service call had me checking the seals and spacers on an OLD 2850. The valve body was eroded and required a replacement.

I installed a new Clack i515P composite valve with flow meter. Not inexpensive but it sure works nicely. It no longer regenerates needlessly.

 

[water guy]

Who's the rep for that clack valve ? Just curious never seen a Clack valve with that design in the front.

 

[cantbreak80]

I'm a dealer for Impact Water Products.

 

[bigjws]

After googling the 2850, that's exactly what it looks like cantbreak80. Definitely no suction, and when I took the grey hose loose at the top in the first pic, water was shooting out -- I'm assuming that's what it's supposed to do, some sort of venturi effect to create the suction? MEP, where are the seals/spacers that you're talking about, and how in depth is the replacement of them?

 

[MEP001]

There are screws that hold the plate to the head, you just remove them and pull the plate away and the pistons cone out. The gray tube will also need to be disconnected from the brine valve. The seals are behind it, half the lower seals are serviced through an access plate from the rear. Assuming you can bypass the softener and leave the wash in service, you'll need to see the condition of the pistons and the shafts that come through. Sometimes the seals leave a mess in the head which is a pain to clean out. One of the hardest parts is reinstalling the lower seals without dropping any into the tank.