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question about Hague water softener, and replacement costs

Hello. I am having trouble with my Hague Maximizer Series 93 water softener. It is working fine, despite being old, but the problem we are having is that it is regenerating too frequently. It is supposed to count down (the number being hundreds of gallons left before regeneration) to zero, then regenerate, but it is counting down a few hundred gallons (seems to be measuring the water use properly) then it regenerates long before it ever reaches zero. The company that installed it can't fix it.

What I want to know is, is there a way to tell it to NEVER regenerate

- we will make it regenerate at the appropriate time? In the manual it seems like there are only two options - on demand, where it just regenerates when it thinks it should, or delayed, where you set the time that it should regenerate.

BTW, this is a residence, not a business - just a small townhouse. The company that installed it can't figure out how to fix it, and wants us to replace it - for $2300 installed. That seems insane, considering that Sears has softeners for $500-$600 and will install for just over $200. The company that gave us that estimate says the Sears units will only last 2 or 3 years. That seems unlikely. It doesn't have to be Sears - I can get a Waterboss 700 delivered to my local hardware store for about $600 and hire a local plumber to install it. So what gives??

Cathy

Reply to
Cathy
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Hi, My ~10 year old SEars unit needed a rpeair kit(gakets, O rings, ect.) for aobut 30.00 so far. Still works A-OK. I am not familiar with your unit but sounds like it is not measuring actual water useage. Measuring mechanism is not workking it seems like.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

I of course could be wrong, but it does seem like it's measuring water use fine because the numbers are counting down correctly (our water bill indicates we use about 100 gal/day and the numbers are counting down roughly one/day). Also, the company that serviced it replaced the part that measures the water and it didn't help. The numbers count down great, it just doesn't wait til it gets to zero before regenerating.

Reply to
Cathy

Similar problem with this 70s vintage Culligan. I stopped trying to fix it and just perform a manual regeneration and leave it unplugged the rest of the time. That's kept it operating fine for over 3 years... so far. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

It'll work OK unplugged? The regular softening functions don't require electricity?

Cathy

Reply to
Cathy

Mine doesn't.

I found lots of explanations of the method by which the water is softened, *none* of the actual mechanical process.

It "appears" that my brine is "pumped" through the whammerjammer via siphon. After a while the brine tank refills and I unplug it. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Hi, Can you reprogram it then? On demand unit is basically regenerate based on the hardness of water and amount of water used. My unit regenerate ~2 times a week for family of 3 adults with 4 bathrooms. Usually there is setting for how hard the water is xyz grains something like that in numbers. Maybe you should try another service outfit. Looks like one you called is interested in selling you a new one at outrageous price. My last house had a Culligan unit which lasted ~20 years. Durinn that time it needed solenoid water valve couple times. When I sold the house it was still working.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Cathy, if it has variable reserve, it may be working as it is supposed to. Have you ever seen it go to 0 gals before it regenerated?

Most softeners do not have variable reserve, but it is a nice feature. Most also do not do an immediate regeneration when the meter gets down to 0 gals remaining, they are delayed until 2 AM but some do instead of allowing hard water until the next scheduled time of regeneration, which is usually 2 AM. I sell softeners that do both.

Have you set yours for immediate, if so that will cause your 'problem'? Set it to delayed and make sure the time of day is set correctly.

Sears and the other big box brands are not near the quality they used to be 20 years ago. Their longest warranty is 3 years on the resin tank!

Industry standard softeners with an Autotrol, Fleck or Clack control valve have 5 years on the control valve and 10 years on the tanks. The big box brands usually last 2-5 years before they break.

IMO no regular sized residential softener is worth more than $1500 including installation. That would be from a local dealer, online would be half that including delivery by UPS. A softener is very easy to install, especially if you already have one.

Gary Slusser Quality Water Associates

Reply to
Gary Slusser

On May 12, 8:48 pm, Tony Hwang wrote: =

Even if I set it to a different hardness that would require less frequent regeneration, it only counts down 2 or 3 (hundred gallons) before regenerating. If the hardness setting causes it to show "11" after regen, I rarely spotted 9 before it regens. If the hardness setting causes it to show 5 after regen, then I rarely see 3 before it regens.

Also, WRT Gary, asking about variable reserve, I don't think it has that. I have never noticed it hit 00 before regen, but I never really knew how it worked until recently and never paid attention to the numbers. The manual does say it should count all the way down to zero before regen.

I am currently trying it set to regenerate when it needs to, NOT at a certain time, just to see what happens.

Reply to
Cathy

The meter may be bad and not counting gallons correctly. See if you can find a Hague dealer in your area or call Hague's home office or check their web site for a dealer near you.

Gary Slusser Quality Water Associates

Reply to
Gary Slusser

bowlesm had written this in response to

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: The problem is that someone set switch #2 to the on position. This is used to force a regen every 96 hours regardless of other settings/use. It is intended for areas with high iorn to prevent buildup. Find the dip switches on the computer board bottom and turn #2 off. That will go back to the usage regen.

------------------------------------- T> Cathy wrote:

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bowlesm

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