Water softener woes!

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Pezzy, Apr 18, 2019.

  1. Pezzy

    Pezzy New Member

    I got a water softener from a family friend who said he would install it for me. Plumbed it in under the kitchen sink but as soon as it was all connected and ready to go the water pressure had completely disappeared.

    He thought the resin had turned to slush which was causing a restriction so we removed the softener and put it back the way it was. Still no water pressure...

    I have a 32mm mains inlet which reduces to 22mm copper before the stop cock, 22mm after and then branches off to 15mm to the taps. What he's done is cut a section of the 22mm copoer out before the stop cock and used 15mm push fit plastic pipe and connectors. To me that seems like a clear bottleneck and the cause of the drop in pressure but he says it shouldn't make a difference.

    Is he right? Nothing else has changed so I can't see how it can be anything else.
     
  2. Severntrent

    Severntrent Screwfix Select

    may cause a slight reduction in flow but pressure will be the same. What do you actually mean when you say pressure has completely disappeared. If he installed pipe before the stopcock he must have isolated supply line with main incoming stopcock has he reopened this fully.
     
  3. Pezzy

    Pezzy New Member

    Sorry it's after the stopcock. What I mean by loss of water pressure is where the water used to come out with great force it now starts coming out strong when you open the tap and then quickly dies off to below half the pressure. And this is the kitchen cold water tap.

    Could barely shower too last night as the pressure was so poor.
     
  4. kiaora

    kiaora Guest

    Hi
    You may have a problem with blocked pipes !

    What can happen with fitting old water softeners, the resin is flushed out into the pipe work !

    It’s a bit like sand in the pipes,
    If you have removed the softener, you may have to clean out ball valves, and flush all the pipes

    Good luck
    Peter
     
  5. Pollowick

    Pollowick Screwfix Select

    Three issues which suggest the installer was NOT the best choice:

    1. It should have been after the stop tap.

    2. The installation should have been made in 22mm - the softener companies always recommend 22mm especially if the supply is that size and his change to 15mm is ridiculous. How much did it save £2?

    3. A by-pass should have been installed to allow you to turn OFF the inlet and outlet to the softener and allow direct flow.
     
  6. Pezzy

    Pezzy New Member

    I think that's exactly what happened. The filter at the bottom of the softener had a split in it which sucked up a load of resin. When we disconnected the softener, resin came back out of the pipes.

    If resin got into the pipework, how far would it have gotten? When you turn on the tap the pressure on the regulator closest to the stopcock drops to zero and then builds back up very slowly. We did take it out and gave it a clean so I'm hoping it's just that.
     
  7. Pezzy

    Pezzy New Member

    Water pressure sorted! I replaced the 15mm pipes and connectors with 22mm and a load of resin came out of the 15mm pipes. This had blocked the pressure regulator so I took it off and gave it a good clean. Pressure is now back at 3.5 - 4 bar.

    Thank goodness it was a quick fix. I'm not sure I want a water softener anymore!
     
  8. Pollowick

    Pollowick Screwfix Select

    A new one, properly plumbed can certainly improve a lot of things in a house. Had mine in for 10 years and wish I had done it 20 years before.
     

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