Plumbing Water Softener Troubleshooting/Repair

[russ_watters]

TL;DR Summary

My water softener is stuck in "recharge/vac" mode. Help?

I have an older Morton System Saver water softener, model MSS20B. It's similar to THIS (pdf manual), but the buttons are different (it's 15 years old). It is currently flashing "VAC" (vacation mode) and "RCHG" (recharge mode) and is hissing like it's doing a recharge. At this point it has been stuck that way for about 10 hours, whereas a recharge should take about two.

Things started going wrong a few weeks ago when I noticed air in my pipes/spitting out the taps. I found the water softener stuck in a recharge, and the brine tank empty (of water and salt). They use a Venturi pump to pump-out the brine tank and somehow with the brine tank empty it was sucking water into my plumbing system. I'm not totally clear how that is possible/how it is piped.

I took the brine well apart and cleaned the emergency shutoff valve, which seemed to be stuck closed. Then I took apart and cleaned the nozzle and Venturi parts (per the manual). Now it has a reasonable water level in it (but the ~20 lb of salt I put in this morning is gone), but won't stop recharging. When I plug it in, it starts the recharge (which is normal), then after a few hours it also starts flashing "VAC". As far as I can tell, this isn't a combination that you're supposed to see. The recharge can't be cancelled, but "VAC" is supposed to be cancellable by holding-in the "vac/recharge" button. Doesn't work. All I can do is unplug it after a few days of wasting water/salt.

My guess at this point is that either something is wrong with the motorized valve that switches it to recharge mode or the controller itself is toasted. All I see for the electronics is just two power wires to the valve motor and two signal wires to an end switch. I don't know what it could be doing/thinking. I'm not sure if I want to start randomly guessing and replacing the guts of this thing, but I also don't want to buy a new one and may have an issue getting it swapped out because I built a closet around it and it is between/behind my HVAC unit and water heater.

Any insights?

Troubleshooting guides:
http://docplayer.net/37717258-Troubleshooting-guide.html
https://www.best-osmosis-systems.com/water-softener-troubleshoot-and-repair/

 

[Bystander]

Summary:: My water softener is stuck in "recharge/vac" mode. Help?

(it's 15 years old).

Cut your losses; replace it and get the warranty.

 

[pbuk]

On the basis that mechanical parts are more prone to failure than electronic controllers it sounds like the control valve needs replacing. But at 15 years the resin bed is near end of life too, so I agree with @Bystander, replace the unit.

 

[Tom.G]

Or call the manufacturer's support phone number on the cover of the "Installation and Operation Manual" you linked in the OP.

 

[chemisttree]

I would think the electronic board is kaput. They kinda hate salt dust.

 

[russ_watters]

[Sigh]
I bought a new one.

The softener is in a closet with my air handler and water heater. The closet has two doors for access. Guess where one isn't...

 

[chemisttree]

[Sigh]
I bought a new one.

The softener is in a closet with my air handler and water heater. The closet has two doors for access. Guess where one isn't...

All problems start looking like nails sometimes!

 

[Averagesupernova]

My house has a kinetico and I've never bought salt for it. I'm quite happy with the quality of water just the way it is. It has a bypass valve but I'm afraid to turn it any harder so it just stays in-line. I've done a lot of plumbing in this house and the condition of the pipes is excellent so I'm sure it's not that the valve is full of buildup. Good luck @russ_watters .

 

[sophiecentaur]

My house has a kinetico and I've never bought salt for it. I'm quite happy with the quality of water just the way it is. It has a bypass valve but I'm afraid to turn it any harder so it just stays in-line. I've done a lot of plumbing in this house and the condition of the pipes is excellent so I'm sure it's not that the valve is full of buildup. Good luck @russ_watters .

I heard an opinion (Miele service engineer) that permutit needs to be recharged occasionally, if there's water running though it or the resin bed can swell up and crack the case. That sounded not implausible - particularly coming from a Miele guy. It would not be hard to take the unit out of circuit completely. Get those wrenches on the job.