When car washes were first introduced, they used three things: soap to clean the car, water to rinse it off and towels to dry it. However, this simplistic approach cannot be used in car washes today. Because of customer demands and changing technology, car washes now offer additional features to enhance their service.

One feature that constantly is in high demand is a spotless car wash. Customers will pay extra to have a spot-free car, whether it is sold as an option at a full-service wash or turned on at the final rinse of a self-serve wash. Either way, the driver expects to pull away without a single spot on the car.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Even though washing with soap and water removes debris off of a car, using normal water for the final rinse leaves residue that forms spots because of the naturally occurring minerals in the water. To avoid these deposits, it is important to have a spot-free rinse as the final step in a car wash. The only problem is figuring out how to consistently achieve this result.

Weighing the Options

When it comes to a spot-free car wash, the name of the game is reducing dissolved materials in water. Two main technologies can accomplish this goal—reverse osmosis (RO) and de-ionization (DI). These means to the spot-free end are quite different.

Before the advent of RO, DI exchange was the technology of choice. While the quality is as good or even better with DI, the technology has a significant capacity limitation. The DI tank can remove materials to a certain extent but after that point it no longer provides the quality that a car wash needs. This leaves car wash owners with two choices: regenerate on site, which is a meticulous process involving hazardous chemicals, or set up a tank exchange where a fresh tank is delivered when needed. Although the initial capital investment may be small with the exchange option, over the course of a year, the cost of replacement tanks quickly adds up.

Regenerating on site poses a different problem because of the risk involved with the chemicals. Since DI uses hazardous chemicals, this leads to a dangerous environment that is not suitable for the typical car wash owner. Most car wash operations do not deal with hazardous chemicals, so they have neither the background nor desire to handle them. Without the right mechanical skills and knowledge to properly use these chemicals, DI can be unsafe.

Due to the principles of operation, RO technology does not use chemicals, which eliminates a potentially harmful situation. In addition, the technology has become more accepted during the past 15 years as people have become more familiar with RO. In a maturing industry where people are sometimes wary of new technology, the gradual adoption and proven history of RO technology has created a comfort level for the technology.

 

Getting Started

A lot has changed since RO was first brought to the car wash industry. When first introduced, machines were not only complicated but expensive as well. Today, car wash owners are looking for inexpensive solutions to remove spots. As a result, a typical RO machine in a car wash is relatively basic, making it as cost effective and easy to operate as possible.

When adding RO technology to a car wash, the required equipment is relatively simple. The owner needs only to install an RO machine and membranes to be on the spot-free path. For the most part, an RO machine could last 10 to 15 years since the only item needing attention and occasional replacement is the membrane element that removes material from the water and, when maintained correctly, the membrane elements last two to three years.

Once the equipment is in place, the RO system uses the car wash’s standard water source (generally city water) as well as two common pretreatments—water softening and activated carbon. Although most car washes already have softening installed since it produces a better reaction with soap, activated carbon is required to remove chlorine and protect the membrane. While generating the spot-free water is one thing, correctly applying it to the vehicle to make it spot-free is another story. More specifically, the car wash needs to do an effective job of replacing the standard rinse water on the vehicle with spot-free water. By combining the right amount of water volume and pressure to get enough water on the vehicle, the standard rinse water is washed away and is replaced by the spot-free water, resulting in a spotless car.

 

Examining the Benefits

The main advantage to using RO is a spot-free car wash and, as a result, a more satisfied customer. The cost of the technology also is a benefit. Since many customers will pay extra to have a spotless car, the system typically pays for itself in about a year, providing a fast return on the initial investment. In addition, the technology is safe and easy to use and maintain. Once an RO system is installed, aside from some minimal routine maintenance, it is for the most part trouble free. Another benefit for full-service car washes is that the car does not have to be wiped off, which eliminates the need for towels and additional personnel to dry cars at the end of the line.

While there are many advantages, the use of an RO system has a key disadvantage—water usage. The end result of RO is that the car wash always is generating a concentrate stream. Even though it is possible to reuse this water, those who choose not to will see that they do use more water to create a spot-free rinse.

Factors To Consider

All of these benefits do not come without concerns. As pure water is generated with RO technology, a concentrate stream also is generated to insure that the membrane does not fail. On one side there is the spot-free water and on the other is the concentrate stream, which is two to four times the volume of its counterpart. Given this additional flow of concentrate water, the end user must consider the option of reusing this resource. If this water is not reused, car washes can go through an excessive amount of water. Fortunately, in the car wash environment, that water generally is captured and reused to wash vehicles.

Temperature also is a factor to take into consideration. Membrane systems will produce less water with lower temperatures. In order to keep a consistent water flow, RO systems are all rated at 25° C or 77° F. While maintaining this temperature throughout the year is possible in certain regions, it is not an option for cooler climates. Fortunately, this problem easily is fixed by installing a larger machine to accommodate the climate. This will allow the system to generate sufficient water regardless of the temperature, keeping cars spot-free year round.

One particular environment where RO is not applicable is where the water source is of exceptionally high quality. In some mountain locations, for example, the source water contains virtually no mineral deposits to begin with, and RO is largely unnecessary. It is important to keep in mind that the temperature and the quality of the water are different in every city. That is why each car wash needs to adjust to these conditions so that the parameters are met.

There also are some applications where RO is not the best solution for creating spot-free water. For example, if a car wash has zero discharge environment, wash and rinse water is constantly reused. Because of this, it does not have the ability to capture the concentrate stream. Another place where RO is not a good fit is if a car wash wants to use reclaimed water to feed the RO. Both of these applications can cause problems since car wash wastewater is being used in the RO system. If the membrane system is not properly designed and configured by experts, it can lead to membrane failure. While car wash owners want to reuse this wastewater in the RO machine, the end result shows that it may be a good fit.

There are many factors that need to be considered before a car wash application can begin to produce spot-free results. Fortunately, applying RO technology can help to set a car wash in the right direction.

BY JOHN RICKERT, OSMONICS

 

Question:  Why isn’t my softener drawing brine?

Answer:  Assuming your softener is regenerating and going through all the cycles but still not pulling the brine solution up from the brink tank, here are the most common causes:

1. Drain line flow control (DLFC) is plugged.  Check the drain line and the retainer fitting on the back of the control valve.
2. Injector or injector screen may be plugged.  Check and clean if necessary.
3. Line pressure too low.  Feed pressure must be at least 20 PSI.
4. Internal control leak.  Check condition of seals/spacers, piston and replace if necessary

Question:  Help, my brine tank is overflowing!

Answer:  Again assuming your softener if able to regenerate and move through all the cycles on it’s own but still overflow the brine tank, below are a few things to check:

1. Plugged DLFC.  Check that drain line and drain fitting/retainer on back of control valve for debris
2. Plugged injector system.  Clean the injector and screen.
3. Damaged or blocked brine valve.  Inspect the brine valve and replace if necessary.
4. Foreign material in brine line flow control (BLFC).  Take apart the BLFC and look for debris and clean.

Question:  Why isn’t my water soft?

Answer:  If you’re not getting soft water out of your water softener here are the first things to check for:

1. Make sure the bypass valve is set to service and not bypassing the softener.
2. Make sure there is salt in the brine tank and the control valve is getting constant electricity
3. Inspect and clean BLFC to ensure sufficient water flow to brine tank
4. Inspect distributor tube and baskets and replace if necessary
5. Check seals and spacers and piston assembly for damage or wear.  Replace as necessary.
6. Check viewing window on timer motor to ensure the motor hasn’t burnt out

More softener troubleshooting questions and answers here!

 

 

The long awaited Filtersorb SP3 Test Kit is now available.  Lack of in home testing is no longer a challenge with saltless anti-scale systems.  Kits are available for order that that include a mini-filtersorb unit and reagent for 30+ testes.  Call today for more info.

Two Test Types Included:

1.  Color Test – Dirty dark yellow appears in hard water while SP3 water is a clean clear yellow
2.  Turbidity Test – Power easily dissolves into SP3 water while hard water suspends the powder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Local officials continue to move forward on banning you from buying a water softener in your own home – which could mean sending “wrench police” with search warrants to your door to enforce their ban.

But it’s not too late to stop this invasive and unneeded government action.

Below please find a short fact sheet that gives you the truth about salinity, water softeners and Inland Empire. For example, did you 95% of salinity comes from sources other than softeners? You may use this information in your discussions with local officials and your neighbors.

We are doing our part, too. The Water Quality Association and Pacific Water Quality Association have met with municipal officials to talk about why a ban is wrong and unnecessary.

Speaking with one voice, together we can help bring real solutions to the issue of salinity and stop the government from intruding into your house.

Fact Sheet:
Inland Empire and Water Softeners
Only about 1 in 20 houses in Inland Empire use customary water softeners according to a recent study by the Awwa Research Foundation, 5.35% of homes have selfregenerative water softeners. (Source: “Characterizing and Managing Salinity Loadings in reclaimed Water Systems,” 2006, AwwaRF.) By way of comparison, this is five times lower than the market penetration in Santa Clarita and four times lower than penetration in Phoenix, Arizona. Clearly, the salinity contribution by softeners in Inland Empire is smaller than other areas facing the issue.

Softeners contribute only about five percent of salinity in the water

According to news reports, the Inland Empire Utility Agency estimates that about 25 milligrams of salt per liter in recycled water are released by softeners. Current total salt amounts are somewhere below 500 mg per liter. Therefore, around 95 percent of salinity comes from other sources. This makes it even more crucial for a comprehensive solution to be found.

The softener ban history suggests IEUA will fail with its ordinance

In nearby Santa Clarita, a ban similar to the IEUA ordinance is being attempted, and the results are discouraging. Despite promises, the softener ban did not do nearly enough to resolve local salinity issues, even though the percent of homes with softeners in Santa Clarita is almost five times higher than in Inland Empire.

The benefits of softeners to the environment will be lost with a ban

Hard water significantly harms pipes and appliances, which means bigger landfills and more energy consumption. For example, gas water heaters using soft water maintain their original factory efficiency rating over a 15-year lifetime, but using hard water can lead to the loss of almost a quarter of the efficiency in water heaters.

In fact, soft water is absolutely necessary for the operation of tankless water heaters. It has also been shown that clothing and household linens are harmed by hard water. Further, two new independent studies show consumers using soft water can cut back on dish and laundry detergent use by 50 percent or more and can lower washing machine temperatures from hot to cold just by using softened water.

 

Residential softeners and filters may work wonders when conditioning water, but they will eventually need service. Diagnosing and repairing residential point-of-entry water conditioning systems need not be a profitless, multiple trip ordeal that results in an exasperated service technician and a befuddled customer.

Completing repairs in a timely manner on the first trip will enhance your com-pany’s credibility; leave the customer with a smile; and should provide a good margin for profit. Typically, residents have made a significant initial investment for their treatment system and will be anxious to have it returned to proper operating condition. Let’s look at some ways to make efficient repairs a reality.

The Basics

Start by arriving on time, or at least let the customer know if you are delayed. Because service repair people have a reputation for being late, it will make a great first impression when you actually arrive near the scheduled time. The service vehicle does not need to be brand new, but it must be neat and organized. A sloppy vehicle leads to an unprofessional appearance, wasted time and unneeded return trips. Because you do not want to pay for steam cleaning an expensive driveway, park on the street if your vehicle leaks fluids or if you may otherwise stain the property.

Be prepared with your own rudimen-tary equipment such as ladders, garden hose, tools and cleaning supplies. Maintain a supply of all the most common repair parts that may be needed. This of course will vary with the types of systems being serviced, but here are a few examples: internal valve parts, motors, gears, transformer, base gravel, resin, carbon, media extractor, distributor, seals, float components and various hardware items. Stocking complete control valve assemblies can be quite advantageous for replacement of the existing controller, or in a pinch to “borrow” a needed part. In any case, being properly prepared is a vital step toward a successful service repair job.

A methodical diagnosis begins with observations and keeping your hands off the equipment. Be sure to document all of your findings because memories quickly fade and the information may be very valuable as you progress through the troubleshooting process.

For softeners, use an accurate test kit to determine the hardness of the untreated water, plus the treated hot and cold water inside the home. If either shows hardness, check the effluent right out of the softener. Before touching the system, note the time of day, meter setting, days or gallons until regeneration, as well as other pertinent information. Make sure there is an uninterrupted electrical supply, paying special attention to any possible switches that might control the outlet in question. Note the salt and brine levels, using a chart if needed to confirm the proper brine volume for a given brine tank size. Performing a thorough overall visual inspection of the equipment and installation will provide an excellent foundation for the subsequent tasks.

The Hard Water Mystery

If you find soft water at the system and in the house, but the customer complains of intermittent or continuous hard water problems, try testing other areas in the home. Many homes have confusing pipe schemes with multiple inlet connections. It is possible that the softener does not feed the entire home. You can turn off the water from the softener and confirm that water does not continue to flow in any locations that should be softened. A system that runs out of softening capacity prior to regeneration will cause intermittent hard water, so check the settings to confirm it is regenerating at the proper frequency. Do not use an arbitrary capacity estimate such as 30,000 grains per cu ft, because this number is based on an unrealistic and wasteful salt setting. You should expect the following approximate capacities per cubic foot of resin based on the noted salt settings.

Look for about 14,000 grains at 4 lb, 20,000 grains at 6 lb and 24,000 grains at 10 lb. The resin charts and manufacturer’s specifications may show higher capacities, but we are not talking about laboratory conditions. Keep in mind that resin loses capacity capability as it ages and a small percentage is lost during each regeneration. A five-year old system may have lost 25% or more of the original capacity capability through fouling and attrition. In most applications, the customer should keep the salt level at or above the water level in the brine tank. Regenerating with a poor brine solution can result in hard water for a week or more.

The hard water problem could be one of perception only. To solve this, instruct the customer how to use a test kit and leave one with them. Let them check the water in real time to determine if it really is hard or soft. There are many other potential causes for hard water, many of which will be addressed as we proceed.

Troubleshooting

The customer states that the unit has not been using salt and a little investigation shows the softener is producing hard water. Asking what is wrong is like calling an auto mechanic and asking why your car engine is running rough. There are a lot of potential causes, but following a systematic plan will help you quickly narrow down the cause of the problem.

First, we need to understand the basic operation, which will help us to identify potential problems. As hard water passes through the resin bed, positively charged hardness minerals, like calcium, are chemically attracted to the resin beads. The calcium trades places on the resin beads with sodium until the system is significantly loaded with hardness ions. This ion exchange process continues until the resin nears exhaustion, which is indicated by an increase of effluent hardness leakage. It is near this point that the system must be regenerated. System regeneration essentially floods the resin bed with a concentrated brine solution, overwhelming the calcium ions, which are flushed to the drain. The softener is again ready to exchange sodium for calcium and produce soft water. Provided the resin is in proper working order, hard water problems will likely be caused by failure of a concentrated brine solution to flush through the resin, the water failing to contact the regenerated resin or bypassing in the controller assembly. Let’s explore these three primary areas of concern.

The brine solution results from water refilling the brine tank right after the previous regeneration or shortly before the anticipated regeneration. Each gallon of water will dissolve about 2.5 to 3 lb of salt. Thus a 1.5-cu ft softener will generally refill the brine tank with about 3 gal of water. Check the brine tank to confirm the correct water level. Charts are readily available to calculate the amount of saturated brine in a brine tank, which can vary drastically based on size, salt dose and the use of a salt grid. As a general example, an 18-in. diameter brine tank without a grid and with dry salt above the water level will contain approximately 1 in. of water per pound of dissolved brine. In other words, 9 in. of brine works out to be about 9 lb of salt.

If you find significantly less water in the brine tank, look for a refill restriction or incorrect setting. Many systems use a brine tank refill shortly before the regeneration begins, so the brine tank may be without water simply because it was not yet time for it to refill. If you find the brine tank significantly overfilled, look for an incorrect setting causing too much refill or a leaking refill controller. Too much water in the brine tank on its own will not cause hard water, though it can cause intermittent salty water to service following the regeneration.

The most common cause of an inordinately high water level in the brine tank is from the system not drawing the brine out during the previous regeneration cycle. Most systems will simply refill whether or not the water from the brine tank was removed during the previous regeneration. The water will build up in the brine tank, usually until a mechanical float halts the progression near the top. This indicates a failure of the unit to draw the brine from the brine tank. To draw the water from the brine tank, controllers commonly rely on an injector assembly to create a vacuum that will pull the water from the brine tank into the resin bed. The motive flow is directed to a venturi where it accelerates and creates a vacuum. A restriction on either side of the injector assembly or within the venturi itself will result in poor performance. The venturi has a relatively small port shaped like a funnel that can become clogged, causing partial or complete loss of vacuum.

Possible Clogging

Proper brine concentration is a function of many factors that include the injector size, motive flow pressure, brine concentration and injector efficiency. Watch out for a salt bridge where the salt sticks to the sides of the brine tank and prevents contact of the salt with the refill water. Check the brine concentration, preferably using a salinometer. We take a 26% full-strength brine solution, typically dilute it to about 10 to 12% with the injector and hopefully move this solution equally throughout the resin bed at an optimum rate. The draw rate can vary widely depending on salt dose and other factors, but in general, you should expect to remove the brine from the brine tank in approximately 10 to 15 minutes. All of this is good, but has little to do with hard water problems. Even an inefficient or poorly configured injection system will still produce soft water. The capacity will not be great, but if you achieve contact between the concentrated brine solution and resin, the ion exchange process will take place. Detailed brine injection efficiency is most important when targeting capacity or hardness leakage issues. For our purposes, we will concentrate on brine contact and concentration.

The injector incorporates one or more components that work to create a vacuum and draw the brine solution from the brine tank. The relatively small opening of the injector almost encourages clogging. Poor brine draw is often caused by simple clogging of the assembly. Cleaning or replacing the injector may be all that is needed. It is important to replace or thoroughly clean not only the injector, but also the related components and surrounding areas to make sure the cause of the clog is extracted. If you still have poor brine draw, check for a flow restriction in the drain line. A partially restricted drain line flow control will prevent proper suction.

A Poor Resin Bed

A more difficult symptom to diagnose is a deteriorated resin bed. You must physically core sample the resin to determine the condition. Inspecting the resin, you may find that the top section of the resin bed is soft or mushy. New resin is firm and flows through your fingers when squeezed. If the resin is not in good condition, back pressure from the broken down resin bed can prevent proper injector operation. This can also cause channeling of the regenerant and/or service flow resulting in poor brine contact. This, of course, causes lousy capacity and poor soft water results. A poor resin bed can leave salt pockets that fail to rinse adequately, resulting in intermittent salty water to service. Do not try to replace only the top portion of the resin that appears to be causing the problem. I can almost guarantee that you will regret this attempt to save a little time and money.

When in the brine and rinse cycle, there should be a strong suction at the brine pick up tube. If you have good suction strength at the injector, but are not drawing from the brine tank, then you need to inspect the brine pick up and float assemblies. Don’t spend too much time on this inspection. These are good parts to replace as a matter of preventative maintenance. Brine draw is dependent on the valve sending water throughout the internal porting properly. Thus you may need to overhaul the controller’s internal parts to fix the problem. Again, these parts are preventative maintenance items and should be replaced if in doubt. The last thing you need is to have to redo something you should have done properly the first time.

Ion exchange is wholly dependent on the brine solution contacting the resin. If the brine is drawn into the mineral tank but does not pass through the resin bed, you will still have hard water. Check this by first confirming you have a strong brine solution in the salt tank. Put the system into the brine and rinse cycle and confirm that the brine is being removed from the brine tank. Go to the drain line and taste the water coming from the drain line. In a properly functioning system, you will expect to first taste relatively fresh water at the drain. This is the displaced water from the mineral tank.

Next, you should taste a strongly bitter solution. This signifies that the hardness minerals are being driven out of the system. Once the bulk of the hardness has been removed from the resin, you should notice a salty taste that occurs when the brine solution no longer has a significant amount of hardness to remove. If within about five minutes you find that the water to the drain line is salty, shut the system down and check the riser pipe connection. You will want to replace any related seals and the distributor assembly. If the connection between the bottom of the controller and the distributor pipe is not properly sealed, the brine water will enter the mineral tank and as always, follow the path of least resistance. This path will bypass the resin bed, leading directly back through the controller and to the drain line.

Resin-to-Service

Resin-to-service is usually discovered when strainers in the home begin to clog, or you may find resin beads in the toilet tank. If your system is losing media to service, check to see if they are whole beads or smaller particles. If the loss is of whole resin beads, you can count on finding a problem with the distributor assembly. It is important to transport loaded point-of-entry (POE) systems in a vertical position. Putting them into a horizontal position tends to place the weight of the media across the length of the distributor pipe. This can bend and pull the pipe out from the correct position in the bottom of the valve. When set back to vertical, the pipe may damage the seal on the bottom of the controller and may not sit back in the proper position at the bottom of the mineral tank. If there is a gravel base, the rock may slide under the screen of the bent distributor tube. When placed upright, the screen will rest higher than originally intended—on the gravel rather than the bottom of the tank. This essentially makes the pipe too long and can make it jam into the bottom of the controller. This can lead to a distributor failure from the constant pressure exerted on the pipe and screen caused by the shorter area available.

Want a migraine? Have a distributor failure that allows the resin to pass into a home. Not only do you have to repair the system, but the real entertainment is trying to get all the resin out of the house. The resin likes to settle in the water heater, but when you open the drain valve, the resin will stir up and only partially drain from the valve. You have to wait for the resin to settle again to the bottom and repeat the process until the resin is extracted. Transport the system in a vertical position or load the media on site to avoid a world of frustration. If you find that the resin beads to service are consistently very small, check for a system that is plumbed in backwards. Don’t be a hard head and insist that it is plumbed correctly. Water flowing up flow to service will lift the resin fines up to and through the slots of the top screen and into the service flow.

Calculating Water Flow

Hard water is often intermittent. You may find soft water after a system regenerates, but hard water before the calculated regeneration takes place. Last time we covered how to make reasoned, realistic capacity calculations. If all your calculations make sense and everything checks out from an operational standpoint, take a look at another possibility. Hopefully we are no longer using time clock softener systems initiated by a set number of days; these are anathema except in a few specific applications. Most modern systems use a flow meter to count the volume of water used in order initiate the regeneration, at least in theory, just before exhaustion of the systems capacity occurs. Most residential systems can count water flows down to about 0.25 gal per minute (gpm). This seems perfectly adequate, as not many water flow demands fall under this parameter. However, a small leak in a toilet float, faucet or any of a number of other water devices can lead to a huge water flow disparity. A continuous leak of just 0.05 gpm will result in a loss of 72 gal per day of softened water. This is like adding an extra person to the family and not counting their water use. Put on your Johnny Dollar detective hat and correct any small leaks. If you don’t take this extra step, the user will look to you for answers as to why the softener does not maintain soft water at the expected capacity.

Practice these troubleshooting steps and watch your return calls diminish, while your customer service satisfaction and profits increase.
By Jerry Horner, CWS-VI, CI

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