Flooded Salt Tank - Kenmore Water Softener ...

[S Rao]

I have a Kenmore Water Softener ... Model Number: 625.348491 ... and a few days ago I noticed that my Salt Brine Tank was almost full of water.

I went to the Kenmore animations site for troubleshooting .... .and came to the following conclusions:

==> in the FILL mode ... water trickles into the float assembly thro' the brine line (as it should) ==> but when I go into the BRINE cycle .. water continues to trickle into the float assembly . If i am not wrong .. water should stop flowing thro' the brine line into the float assembly ==> so i undid my venturi valve .. and noticed the gasket and the flow plug worn out. so i replaced them. i also replaced the (2) flow plugs .. to be on the safe side. ==> but when I put the venturi valve back together .. water continues to drip into the float assembly even in the BRINE cycle (which is why it is flooding my salt tank) ==> in the BRINE cycle .. i disconnected the Brine line off the bottom of the venturi assembly. instead of feeling suction at the venturi assembly fitting .. water is coming out of the venturi assembly fitting ==> what else could be wrong; everything else in the venturi assembly looks good .. including the screens and the o-ring

would appreciate any pointers help from others ..

eb7380

[jaimie]

"==> what else could be wrong; everything else in the venturi assembly looks good .. including the screens and the o-ring"

My opinion, try to replace the o-ring if your softener over a year old. They are cheap. Even if they look good, they might be old due to the quality. I paid 150 something to Sears just to learned this lesson. Only if I can located my record to pin point the real problem I had. I remember is some kind of 1~3 dollars cheap ring turns old and let the water all over the salt.

Good luck. Jaimie

[PrecisionMachinisT]

Vacuum that brine out of there pronto and lift out all but 10-20 lbs of the salt--then re-assess the situation.

You make brine ( water goes into the salt tank ) then you charge the resin bed by vaccumming it back out of the salt tank and into the resin cannister........subsequent cycle is to flush excess salt/ debris out of the resin bed, and will rarely cause problems......

The venturi needs to suck all the brine out of the salt tank--you should be able to put your thumb over the tube during this second stage and feel suction..........If not, or if there is liquid escaping under pressure instead theres a problem with the venturi or the valve assembly, and recharge of the resin bed is gonna be happening.........

By the time this is all complete, the venturi should be only sucking air, and the very bottom of the salt tank should be pretty much devoid of any measureable liquid.

In short, it appears there is most likely still a problem with your brine intake.

[Harlen Ng]

[David Martel]

I agree with Ng that you may have a problem in the rotary valve. Dismantle it and look for signs of wear on the rotor, and the wear strip. You probably should replace the big o-ring too.

Dave M.

[S Rao]

Thank you for all your responses. Very good troubleshooting tips.

I did solve my problem. I had to dismantle the main rotary valve (the bulky one being held together by the 6 screws). Inside it .. I noticed that atleast one of the gasket had mis-located. It was not in place. I slid it back into place .. put the valve back together.

And then .. i started to feel the "suction" at the bottom of the venturi valve unit. It took a few hours to empty out the water in my tank .. but now everything looks great.

Thanks

SRao

[Harlen Ng]

I replace all the rubber gaskets inside the rotary value unit and the special gasket every 5 years. I order the part from Sears. I also had to replace the rotary valve once. The unit is still working.

-Harlen

S Rao wrote: