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Fixing a Sears Kenmore Water Softener

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By Khalid on 2004/12/15 - 21:01, last updated 2005/11/13 - 16:12

I have been struggling with the Water Softener for a few months now. I got it fixed by Sears for about 165$Cdn two years or so ago. A few months ago, it started having problems again. So I decided to try and fix it myself.

What is a water softener?

First a little background.

In North America city water is locally produced from underground water, not from a river like in Egypt. Deep under the ground there are aquifers, and the city taps into it, treats it and make it available to the inhabitants. If the bedrock has a lot of calcium, .e.g limestone, in it, then the water is often said to be "hard water".

Hard water causes a lot of problems: dishes would look cloudy, the tea kettle will have white residue in it, soap will not rinse from your hand (no squeaky clean feeling), your hair will clump if you use soap in the shower instead of shampoo, and the water heater efficiency will decrease as the calcium from the hot water precipitates on its walls. Soap and detergent use is also increased.

How does a water softener work?

So, there is a market for water softeners in places that have hard water.

A water softener works by having a tank that is filled with salt, and a tanks full of a special resin. The resin can remove the hardness from the water, but requires that it be regenerated by washing it with salt brine during regeneration. Water softener are either demand based (after a certain number of gallons have been processed), or time based (e.g. twice week). Regeneration happens in the early hours of the morning, depending on how you set it. It goes through several cycles, which are basically:

  • Fill: Water is passed to the salt tank
  • Brining: Water is left in the tank to form brine
  • Rinse: The brine is used to rinse the resin, remove the calcium that it has removed in the past, and make it able to remove calcium again
  • Back Wash: The resin tank is flushed for residues and iron deposit
  • Fast Rinse: The resin is rinsed from all the above
  • Service: This means that the water softener is serving soft water for the house

There are many brands of water softeners out there in the market. Many are rebranded. For example, Sears Kenmore, Ecoline and General Electric (GE) are the same. Culligan is also similar.

About my handyman's skills

Before I start, I should say that I am not at all handy with maintaining a house. Part of it is due to the fact that in Egypt most people live in concrete apartments, and not woodframe and drywall houses with lawns. Part of it is that I never got the hang of being mechanically adept, whether it is plumbing, carpentry, car maintenance, and such. So, fixing a water softener, which involves mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects is quite a challenge.

Symptoms

Many things can go wrong with a water softener. The basic complaint is that "there is no soft water". Another is high water level in the salt tank. Yet another is salt level that does not go down as the weeks pass.

Solutions

The manual for a water softener often has some comprehensive diagnostics that can be done to see

Start with cleaning the nozzle and Venturi. This should not require any tools, and can be disassembled and assembled by hand. Take note on how things fit before you remove them. Wash the components in water. Use some vinegar. Make sure there is no deposits, salt, rust, calcium or debris.

Then check the float in the salt well in the tank. The float should be able to move up and down, and the hose should be able to inject water in the tank and suck it again.

Then shut the water supply, drain the house (open the lowest lying faucet in the house), then disassemble the cam gear and rotor from the valve head. Check all the seals and gaskets and that there is no wear on the smooth side of the rotor.

Run the diagnostics as per the manual, and make sure that the cam gear moves well. If the motor is skipping and making a clicking sound and failing to move the cam gear, then replace it.

Replacing all the gaskets, the rotor, the cam gear and the motor should solve most problems, and only cost me 74$ Cdn. That is provided that the nozzle/venturi are clean, and that there is no obstruction to the float assembly.

Check for the formation of a salt bridge, specially in humid environment. Tap the side of the tank and see if there is a hollow sound at some spot under a solid sound. Use a broom stick to break it.

Once every six months, get a water softener cleaner (basically a sulphite powder that removes iron deposit. You can buy it at Canadian Tire or other hardware stores. It is more expensive at Sears, so avoid buying it there.

Every year or 18 months, try to remove all the salt from the tank and wash it. You can use warm water, and a wet/dry vacuum to remove it.

Conclusion

Fixing a water softener is easier than you think. Save your money and do it yourself. Get the manuals online, go buy the parts, and do it.

The morale of the story is: If I could do it, anyone can do it.

Resources and Links

Here are some useful links with more information:

  • Sears Kenmore Water Softener Manuals (PDF)
  • Sears Kenmore Water Softener Interactive Troubleshooting animations (highly recommended!). There are also some animations on how a water softener works.
  • HowStuffWorks.com: How Water Softeners Work - a shot article.
  • Some symptoms and solutions, from people who did that themselves.
Contents: 
Canada
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Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

Salty water in the morning

Sun, 2009/03/01 - 18:34

If this is happening after a re-generation cycle, try increasing the rinse cycle time to fully wash the salt out of the resin bed.

  • reply

Dan (not verified)

Water softener problem and fix

Sat, 2007/08/18 - 06:36

My Kenmore water softener was no longer using salt or softening water. I repeatedly checked for a salt bridges, there was not one - but I thought there was. The salt was moving enough to fool me for a while that I was collapsing a bridge. Eventually I came to realize that overall salt usage was essentially zero.

I looked it over myself and could find no obvious problems. I knew the basic steps the softener had to perform, but not the order in which they were done, nor the duration of each step. Since the whole process takes two hours I was never able to observe it entirely. Some softeners add water to the brine tank at the end of the cycle, and allow the water to form a saturated solution with the salt. Others add the water as the first step in the cycle, then almost immediately start using the brine. I now know the Kenmore falls into the latter category.

I was frustrated by my inability to find a tech manual on line for my softener, but the search eventually led me to Kalid's wonderful site. His link to the manuals was just what I needed. Most folk's would not have gone to the trouble he did to make the web page so complete. Thank you, Kalid.

Five minutes with the tech manual led me to disassemble and clean the venturi/eductor assembly. I removed one grain of sand and a shred of Teflon pipe thread tape about 5mm long and 1 mm wide - that was all it took to clog the throat of the eductor and one of the water orifices. I also found the brine control valve stuck in one position by another grain of sand. Complete function was restored in 10 minutes.

Thanks again.

  • reply

Anonymous (not verified)

Kenmore Water Softener

Sun, 2007/09/02 - 00:01

My salt storage tank has water in it. Does anyone know what this means?

  • reply

Anonymous (not verified)

da look up how it works. It

Sat, 2007/09/29 - 00:00

da look up how it works. It is suposed to have water to brew brine for replacement of ions in the pressure tank.

  • reply

Brendan (not verified)

Blinking display on kenmore

Tue, 2007/09/04 - 21:49

I have a kenmore softener. The display is blinking and beeps when I press anything.
This is the model:
http://www.kenmorewater.com/website/customer-assist/manuals/softeners-175-180.pdf

I think the main circuit board is shot? It's located outside. Any tips would be appreciated.

  • reply

Anonymous (not verified)

I am having the same

Wed, 2008/03/26 - 09:23

I am having the same problem, did you ever find an answer?

  • reply

Chuckie Boy (not verified)

Water softener

Thu, 2007/09/06 - 18:05

Where can I get a book for some info on a Model#625.348202 Water Softener

  • reply

louis (not verified)

you can go to any sears

Thu, 2007/10/25 - 05:38

you can go to any sears store and order the part or go to www.sears.com and look up the part you need in the water sofener section....there you can order any sofener book or part that you need....

  • reply

Larry Wilsey (not verified)

water leak

Sat, 2007/09/15 - 14:12

I have softner mod #625.348591. My nut-ferrule part #1202600 is broken. How and where do I get it replaced? I can't find anyplace to order parts on this website.

  • reply

Jeff (not verified)

Parts for kemore water softner mod #625.348591

Tue, 2007/09/18 - 17:10

You can order 'nut-ferrule part #1202600' for kemore model #625.348591 from www.sears.com. It's listed as
$4.18.

  • reply

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