I had a similar issue with the water filling up in the tank, I could hear a popping sound during the REGEN stage. It turned out to be a valve that changes the water direction at various stages in the REGEN cycle. The piston was frozen and the sound was the little motor gear skipping over the teeth on the gear that moves the valve. After several calls to support they sent me the replacement parts. I found a video on YT that showed me how to install the new parts, thank god for YT it was much better then the written instructions that came with the part. This happened within the first 3-4 months of having the water softener, now after 2+ years its been working fine. at 4:30 mins in the video you can see the white gear. on the other side under the console is small motor that was unable to turn the gear because the valve was frozen.
Hi Mike, thanks for this video, they are hard to find on this unit. I'm having the same issue and the company has run me through tons of tests, none of which seem to be working. How did you determine your media tank had a crack? As you know, you can only see about 1/2 of that tank, if not less. They asked me to wipe it dry with a paper towel, leave it for an hour, then see if I could see signs of leaks, especially at that seem that goes between the top and bottom of the tank. I can see a very tiny amount of water at that seem but it doesn't look like its leaking, more like residual water that was riding along that entire seem length. That said, there has been no water (At the seem level) in several days. This is because I drained the water down to about 2 inches off the bottom and took all the salt out. Their customer service has very nice people, but sometimes they give conflicting info. Any tips on how you found the media tank crack is appreciated. Also how long did it take to get a new unit? Sounds like a month long process if they end up giving me one. Thanks!
It sounds like the same problem I had. The top and bottom are separated by a band. The top of the tank above this band was dry and the bottom was constantly wet. I could see water flowing from under the band into the tank. It was a combination of persistence, lots of pictures, and finally getting a CSR to understand what I was saying. I picked up the new softener the next day!
I drained the water out of it and after several days noticed that the media tank was dry on top, but wet on bottom below a band. Long story short the media tank was cracked. I picked up a new one under warranty.
Go to page 14 in this manual. There are many regeneration settings. Looks like you need to select "none", and then press and hold when you need to manually regenerate. www.aosmithatlowes.com/media/1148/ao-wh-soft-350_ownersmanual.pdf
@@tylerwightman7620 No you can add water through the brine well at the back rear corner. You could probably just pour it over the salt. There is a plastic stand that keeps the salt from sitting in the water at the bottom of the tank.
Although this will fix 70+% of these problems, it didn't fix mine. After a few days I realized I had a crack in the media tank and got it replaced under warranty.
I had a similar issue with the water filling up in the tank, I could hear a popping sound during the REGEN stage. It turned out to be a valve that changes the water direction at various stages in the REGEN cycle. The piston was frozen and the sound was the little motor gear skipping over the teeth on the gear that moves the valve. After several calls to support they sent me the replacement parts. I found a video on YT that showed me how to install the new parts, thank god for YT it was much better then the written instructions that came with the part. This happened within the first 3-4 months of having the water softener, now after 2+ years its been working fine. at 4:30 mins in the video you can see the white gear. on the other side under the console is small motor that was unable to turn the gear because the valve was frozen.
Hi Mike, thanks for this video, they are hard to find on this unit. I'm having the same issue and the company has run me through tons of tests, none of which seem to be working. How did you determine your media tank had a crack? As you know, you can only see about 1/2 of that tank, if not less. They asked me to wipe it dry with a paper towel, leave it for an hour, then see if I could see signs of leaks, especially at that seem that goes between the top and bottom of the tank. I can see a very tiny amount of water at that seem but it doesn't look like its leaking, more like residual water that was riding along that entire seem length. That said, there has been no water (At the seem level) in several days. This is because I drained the water down to about 2 inches off the bottom and took all the salt out. Their customer service has very nice people, but sometimes they give conflicting info. Any tips on how you found the media tank crack is appreciated. Also how long did it take to get a new unit? Sounds like a month long process if they end up giving me one. Thanks!
It sounds like the same problem I had. The top and bottom are separated by a band. The top of the tank above this band was dry and the bottom was constantly wet. I could see water flowing from under the band into the tank. It was a combination of persistence, lots of pictures, and finally getting a CSR to understand what I was saying. I picked up the new softener the next day!
How do you run cleaner through the water softener
Wait until the levels are low and then pour it in the brine well at the rear right. Then regenerate it.
Thanks for watching! Leave any questions or comments below:
So your injector didn't need cleaning right? What fixed the problem?
I drained the water out of it and after several days noticed that the media tank was dry on top, but wet on bottom below a band. Long story short the media tank was cracked. I picked up a new one under warranty.
How do I set up the regen to manual … I haven’t set up my waste line to go to my sewage and it keeps flooding my garage
Go to page 14 in this manual. There are many regeneration settings. Looks like you need to select "none", and then press and hold when you need to manually regenerate. www.aosmithatlowes.com/media/1148/ao-wh-soft-350_ownersmanual.pdf
So there isn’t supposed to be water in the water softener ?
Not that full! There is typically a few inches in it, but if the salt is full, you won't see it. AO Smith has you prime it with 5 gallons.
@@MikeKlimekwhat happens if I forgot to prime it?
@@tylerwightman7620 If you forgot to prime it, you may still have hard water. I would prime it correctly and then manually regen
@@MikeKlimek how can I prime it correctly if I already put salt in it. Do I have to take the salt out?
@@tylerwightman7620 No you can add water through the brine well at the back rear corner. You could probably just pour it over the salt. There is a plastic stand that keeps the salt from sitting in the water at the bottom of the tank.
You never said if that fixed it
Although this will fix 70+% of these problems, it didn't fix mine. After a few days I realized I had a crack in the media tank and got it replaced under warranty.
Mine was on bypass when I took the top off... also it was FULL of salt, how do I drain all the water since it was full of salt.
You could take the top off, stick a hose down into the well (where the float is) and siphon it out