Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Water pressure issues with my Culligan system

Three year’s ago I had a new Culligan system installed and was going great but a few months back pressure was terrible. Had new filters installed and the yearly service done. Pressure comes and goes filter went from being changed every 6 months to monthly still issue.

Woke up Monday and water pressure was terrible this is only 3 days after the second service call in 2 months.

Service manager asked how my water pressure was,it was over 40 psi and when I bypassed the Culligan system water in shower went from a drip to blasting!!

When installed I had several choices from Culligan and went with what was told their very best system and it wasn’t cheap..

Any suggestions on a better system? Was told our iron level is 9 but not what that is compared too.

Normal pressure drop across a good softener is about 1 PSI.

But if you have high iron & particulate, you really need an iron filter ahead of the softener to protect the life of the resin as it get physically fouled by the iron.

Even with an iron filter, I have to rebuild both my resin as well as my iron filter about every 3 years & I have a particulate filter ahead of the iron filter as well.

You should also check your plumbing coming from the pump to the softener as that will be plugged with iron buildup as well & greatly restrict flow.

As for the softener, bigger & oversize is always better..................just sayin'.

Also most of the everyday water service techs don't know their azz from a hole in the ground................a few do, most don't.

Find someone that actually understands your situation & how to fix it, usually an independent will be more likely to help.

YMMV

MM

12 years ago we took a chance and bought one online from QUALITYWATERTREATMENT. It's been flawless and certainly has no pressure problems. I did have a minor problem getting it programmed but a call to their tech support got me by that quickly.
They carry a number of options. You need to call them to discuss your situation.

New filters and yearly service, what filters? No filters in a Water softener, unless you’re talking about a drinking water system, or an inline sediment cartridge,
9 parts of ferrous iron is killer, if only WS serving house.

You have low pressure through out the entire house? Not just one area?

My system is using a Pentek DGD-5005-20, 155358-43 Polypropylene Water Filter Cartridge.

The filter is after the Water System, this services the house. two baths, kitchen and laundry.

Today after much discussion and 5 or 6 phone calls the tech came and swapped out the resin tank now pressure is excellent again back to were it was when the system was installed three years ago!!

It's been at least 4 months that they had tried other fixes before they relented and swaped the tank.

The tech hauled the old (3 year old) tank to the shop were they will refurbished it and return to sway out the temporary tank..


I will push for a pre-filter before they bring back and reinstall my refurbished tank..

Run from the well to house is 75 feet under ground, well was put in years before I purchased the property so I have not a clue on where it was run.

Do you know of anyway of flushing the lines from well to house? Due to a high water table my home as well as my neighbors are built on piers, only folks that have basements get flooded when we have heavy rain. We are on top of one of the highest mountains around yet I live in a wet land...go figure.

Those 20 inch filters are typically considered to be pre-filters, upstream of the WS,

Not trying to judge or anything, maybe things are done differently in your state due to water conditions.

But the fact remains you clogged a new WS in 3 years. Not cool.

Are you sure the filters are post and not pre WS?

definitely post..

It is a Pentair Big Blue

the water line goes from the pump pressure tank/switch to the Culligan water softner to the big blue filter then to the house..I asked why there is no pre filter but am told they don't usually do that...

Other than mechanically rodding it out, I don't know of any other way.

My well run into my house is about 6' & I recently had my well surged & a new pressure tank put in. That run is 2" pipe & it was clogged with iron buildup such that only about a 1" hole was left. That was over 20+ years.

Insist, at a minimum, that you get an iron filter put in ahead of your softener & a sediment filter ahead of the iron filter. You're paying for it, so why allow then to quibble?

The iron filter will re-generate every day but uses air to oxidize & remove iron (so there's no real maintenance required) & I change / clean the sediment filter about once per month.

A sediment filter like or similar to the one in the link below is fine, but you need a 200-250 mesh screen. You can simply brush the screen in water then soak it in Iron Out or similar until clean. I keep several screens on hand & usually let the screen soak for several hours to clean. You can buy the filter & various home improvement stores as well..............but do not use the 60 mesh filter that comes with most of them as you will completely blind it over in a few days & have no water.

Sediment Filter.

I hope this helps.

MM

Sounds like you need to call the Culligan Man.

I talk to them weekly trying to get this issue fixed

Our system started not doing a good job after about 7 years,
I tore the head apart to see what might be wrong. Found orange sludge, and cleaned it up. (We aren't supposed to have iron, but we must have a touch.)
It didn't change anything.

Tried to buy resin beads to redo the resin bed.
The water contractor mafia put the kibosh on that.

Then I remembered an old family friend who had owned numerous water businesses.
Bernie was a huge fan of Iron Out.
Said everyone with a softener should use at least a little of it.
To keep the bed clean.


I bought a bottle, treated the brine according to the directions(heavy) and forced a regen. Then repeated it everyday for several.

It started to work.
That was 2008, ish.

Ours takes 50#salt blocks.
Every block that goes in gets about a tablespoon of Iron Out on top of it.
When it sinks into the brine the brine gets dosed.


We have had soft water and no issues since

We use the green bag pellet salt - takes the iron out.

The tech replaced the resin tank yesterday and I had the best shower in 6 months this morning !

With the way the water flowed it would take 6 minutes for hot water today it seemed like seconds!!

Will push for a pre filter

Most definitely faulty P trap sensors

Helps, but does not even come close to taking the place of an iron filter in cases that genuinely have high iron.

Accomplishes the same thing as adding Iron Out to the brine well weekly.

MM

Spent a lot of time troubleshooting lo pressure problems in customers homes, put a pressure gauge on outside hose bib then turn on inside faucet and watch gauge always a restriction in the line , a valve restricted , water softner, corrosion in the line but some type of restriction. Pretty easy to show that to the water softner installer.