Monday, September 21, 2009

How To Replace Media ( Carbon, Birm, Greensand, or Calcite ) in Tank

1. Turn off water, unplug control valve from electric outlet, disconnect control valve from water lines, and drain line.

2. Unscrew control valve ( may require two people ) from Tank.

3. Remove control valve and distributor tube ( the two normally can be separated at the control valve, as the pipe is only connected to the valve by an o-ring ).

********** EMPTYING the TANK

4. Now the fun part. Depending on your situation ( size and location of your tank ), you need to either dump the water and Media ( carbon, birm, calcite, and gravel ) out OR use suction to remove them ( shop vac, or other means ).

5. You can clean the inside of the tank with chlorine ( bleach ) if you feel it needs it. If you need to scrub the inside of the tank, use a clean toilet bowl brush with piece of pipe to extend the handle.

******** REFILL with NEW Media.

6. a. The next step is to replace the center distributor pipe into tank.

6. b. Then you pour a 4-6 inch layer of fine gravel ( 1/8" x 1/4" ) into the tank. Remember, you MUST have the distributor tube in the tank before you start filling with gravel. **** Be sure you cover the top opening of your distributor tube to prevent any gravel from getting inside. A plastic sandwich bag and rubber band works well.
Now you will slowly pour in the Media ( carbon, calcite, birm, etc ). The tank should be 50 - 65 % full when you are done.

7. Now do steps 3,2,1 in reverse ( put valve back on tank, screw on by hand, and reconnect pipes and power ).

8. Once reassembled you should backwash for 10 minutes using your control valve ( All control valves have some way to manually advance the valve to backwash ). You can allow the valve to run a complete regeneration cycle, but it is not needed. You are just "cleaning" or "rinsing" the "dust" off the new media.

9. With the control valve in the normal "service" position, run the water in the home for a few minutes to clear the lines of any "trapped" air or debris loosened during your repair.

10. - You're Done -

Also, SEE this GUIDE,
For Water Softener RESIN replacement

Media Replacement Guide on Softenerparts.com