You notice your water softener regenerating like you have many times before. But you notice that your water softener is regenerating on a different day of the week than it did the last time it regenerated.
You thought that your water softener regenerated on the same day every week, is something wrong! How does your water softener know when to regenerate anyway?
A water softener will regenerate once a pre-programmed amount of time has passed or once a pre-determined amount of water has gone through the water softener.
Most water softeners will NOT regenerate at the same time of the day or on the same day of the week every week. A water softener may regenerate at different times of the day and on different days of the week, and here’s why.
Here’s What We Will Be Covering:
- How Does A Water Softener Know What Time Of Day To Regenerate?
- What Time Of Day Does An Electric Water Softener Regenerate?
- What Time Of Day Does A NON-Electric Water Softener Regenerate?
- How Does An Electric Water Softener Meter Water Usage?
- How Does A NON-Electric Water Softener Know What Time Of Day To Regenerate?
- How Does A NON-Electric Water Softener Know What Day To Regenerate?
How does a water softener know what time of day to regenerate?
What time of the day that an electric water softener will regenerate is usually programmed into the water softener when it is first installed.
The electronic computer of an electric water softener operates very much like an electric alarm clock.
The time of day that you set an electric water softener to regenerate is just like when you set an electric alarm clock to wake you up.
Once the clock on an electric water softener reaches the time of day that is set for it to regenerate, the water softener essentially “Wakes Up” and starts its regeneration process.
What time of day a NON-electric water softener regenerates is solely based on how much water has been used.
A NON-electric water softener does not have an electronic computer to tell it what time of the day to regenerate.
Therefore a NON-electric water softener will regenerate when the pre-set amount of water has been used and not at a specific time of the day.
What time of day does an electric water softener regenerate?
Ideally, an electric water softener should be programmed to regenerate at the time of day when there is the least demand for water.
Because an electric water softener will “bypass” itself during the regeneration process, water that is used in the home will not be softened while the water softener is regenerating.
This is why an electric water softener is normally programmed to regenerate at 2:00 am when there is little to no water being used in an average home.
For homes where there is a demand for water at 2:00 am, an electric water softener can be programmed to whatever time of day that there is the least amount of water being used.
What time of day does a NON-electric water softener regenerate?
Because a NON-electric water softener does not have an electronic computer to tell the water softener when to regenerate, a NON-electric water softener can regenerate at ANY time of the day.
Once a NON-electric water softener has determined that it has reached its preset amount of water that it can soften (its capacity), it will initiate its regeneration no matter what time of day it may be.
How does an electric water softener know what day to regenerate?
A “Timed” electric water softener will regenerate based on a programmed number of days.
Many basic electric water softeners work using a simple time clock along with a mechanical dial that uses movable pins to indicate which days the water softener should or should not regenerate.
The mechanical dial often has a 12-day dial in which you can move the pin in if you don’t want the water softener to regenerate on that day or move the pin out to make the water softener regenerate on that day.
Although this 12-day dial does not allow you to set your water softener by a 7-day week, it more importantly allows you to set your water softener to regenerate anywhere from every day or up to every 12 days.
A “Metered” electric water softener will regenerate based on the amount of water used.
Unlike a basic “Timed” water softener that gets set to regenerate by a number of days, a “Metered” water softener actually keeps track of how much water you use and will regenerate once a precalculated amount of water is used.
The main benefit of a “Metered” water softener is that if you use less water, it will regenerate less often saving water and using less salt. Also, if your water demand goes up, a “Metered” water softener will regenerate more often so you do not run out of softened water.
After a metered water softener regenerates, it “resets” its water meter to a predetermined number of gallons to be softened based on the capacity of the water softener resin in the water softener and the amount of hardness and dissolved iron in the water to be softened.
Once the water softener has reset this amount of water to be softened, it will then count down from that amount until it nears 0 and then regenerate on the day before the number actually reaches 0.
This allows a buffer of the capacity of the water softener resin so the water softener resin will continue to be able to remove hardness from your water without exceeding its maximum capacity.
Some “Metered” electric water softeners may regenerate even if no water is used.
Many more advanced water softeners that are highly programmable have the ability to meter your water usage but also regenerate after a preset number of days regardless of the remaining capacity of the water softener resin.
This allows the water softener to override the water metering function if less than normal water is used for a period of time.
Making sure that a water softener regenerates after a pre-determined number of days even if the maximum capacity of water has not been reached helps to keep the resin and resin tank clean.
How does an electric water softener know how much water has been used?
Most electric water softeners use an impeller that rotates as water flows through it. When you use water, the impeller turns a gear or a cable which then turns a gear in the control valve to meter your water usage.
As the gear in the control head rotates, it deducts the water being used from the capacity left for the water softener resin until the capacity has been reached and the water softener regenerates.
How does a NON-electric water softener know what time of day to regenerate?
A NON-electric water softener does not use an electric clock so it has no idea what time of the day it is when it reaches its maximum water softening capacity.
A NON-electric water softener will begin its water softener resin regeneration at whatever time of day it is that the regeneration is triggered.
How does a NON-electric water softener know what day to regenerate?
There is no set day or number of days that a NON-electric water softener will regenerate as it only knows when to regenerate when its maximum resin capacity has been reached.
A NON-electric water softener can regenerate at any time of the day, on any day of the week.
A NON-electric water softener could regenerate several times in one day or not regenerate for several days, it all depends on how much water flows through the water softener.
To Sum Up:
An electric water softener will generally regenerate at a pre-set time of day but not always on the same day of the week.
An electric water softener may regenerate after a programmed number of days have passed after a pre-determined amount of water has gone through the water softener or a combination of both.
A NON-electric water softener will regenerate at any time of the day after a pre-determined amount of water has gone through the water softener.
Why does my dual tank kinetico softener not begin the regeneration automatically? Thanks
Hello Jack and thank you for the question.
First of all, are you sure that your Kinetico is not regenerating? Are you getting hard water and have you tested your water to see if your water has become harder (more hardness in your water)?
Sometimes people think that their Kinetico water softener is not working when they experience hard water because their water has become harder and their Kinetico does not know that it needs to regenerate more often.
If you are quite sure that your Kinetico is not regenerating, it is most likely not registering your water usage due to dirt or debris that has lodged on its internal gears, impellers, or openings inside of the control valve.
If you have a 3 valve bypass plumbed in before your system, make sure that the bypass valve (usually the middle one) is off. If a bypass valve is open, water will not be routed through the water softener.
If you are a handy person, you could bypass the system and attempt to clean the inside of the valve yourself, but I generally do not recommend that as there are many intricate parts within the valve.
I recommend that you check out my article “How To Know If Your Kinetico Water Softener Is Working“, and then contact your Kinetico dealer and explain the problem.
They will likely clean the valve onsite or perhaps take the valve with them for cleaning or rebuilding. I suggest that you get upfront prices on both before you make the service appointment as a valve rebuild could cost several hundred dollars.
I hope this was helpful.
Paul