Water softener leaking through drain (not overflow)

[HPsauce]

Hello, as is common with most newbies I've arrived with a problem.
Our water softener is about 18 months old, a BWT WS355 in an insulated outside cabinet.
It's probably the third we've had - been here a very long time and always had a softener.
I installed it myself, just connecting to existing pipework to replace an old one that was failing.
It's working OK but recently I've noticed a pretty continuous slow drip/trickle of water from the drain pipe, NOT the overflow.

If I use the bypass valves in the house then the trickle stops. So, my guess is that there's a valve somewhere that's not sealing properly.
What do people think my options are, is it likely to be repairable economically or do I just have to replace it?

 

[Sione1981]

Hi, you can stop the trickle for more days using the bypass valve, but not for a long time.

 

[HPsauce]

Hi, you can stop the trickle for more days using the bypass valve, but not for a long time.

Indeed, I did mention that using the bypass stops it in my first post.
Oddly I topped up the salt bin yesterday then forced a regeneration as it was VERY low beforehand.
After that finished there was no noticeable leak, could it have been debris blocking a valve that is now flushed away?
I'll monitor for now, haven't checked since yesterday.....

 

[Sione1981]

Hi, you can stop the trickle for more days using the bypass valve, but not for a long time.

Indeed, I did mention that using the bypass stops it in my first post.
Oddly I topped up the salt bin yesterday then forced a regeneration as it was VERY low beforehand.
After that finished there was no noticeable leak, could it have been debris blocking a valve that is now flushed away?
I'll monitor for now, haven't checked since yesterday.....

Alright, as you mentioned, it's pretty standard nowadays. I also have a water softener. I've been using it for about a year. My wife and I installed it together. We had the same problem after two months of installation, but I fixed it. The same thing happened a few days later. Finally, I hired a plumber to replace the actual connection.

 

[HPsauce]

Alright, as you mentioned, it's pretty standard nowadays. I also have a water softener. I've been using it for about a year. My wife and I installed it together. We had the same problem after two months of installation, but I fixed it. The same thing happened a few days later. Finally, I hired a plumber to replace the actual connection.

Just to clarify, it's not any of the external plumbing connections that are leaking, it's the actual VALVE BLOCK in the softener. The trickle of water from that is coming out through the drain pipe on the valve block. NOT from the overflow pipe on the salt tank.

As noted earlier it's a BWT WS355 and I don't even know if it's feasible or cost-effective to replace the valve unit, or should I just get a whole replacement softener? Anyone here worked on softener repairs that can comment?

 

[HPsauce]

Just to clarify, it's not any of the external plumbing connections that are leaking, it's the actual VALVE BLOCK in the softener. The trickle of water from that is coming out through the drain pipe on the valve block. NOT from the overflow pipe on the salt tank.

As noted earlier it's a BWT WS355 and I don't even know if it's feasible or cost-effective to replace the valve unit, or should I just get a whole replacement softener? Anyone here worked on softener repairs that can comment?

Just an update on this, I managed to contact BWT, who are luckily quite local to me. They say it's actually within warranty so are sending an engineer. Not until early January, but I can keep an eye on it until then.

 

[HPsauce]

Just an update on this, I managed to contact BWT, who are luckily quite local to me. They say it's actually within warranty so are sending an engineer. Not until early January, but I can keep an eye on it until then.

Well it kept behaving the same until the engineer arrived, he knew immediately what it was and said it wasn't uncommon, just an o-ring that needed replacing. Took him half an hour in total from arrival to departure including checking over the system and settings. He replaced 3 seals in total, presumably because opening it up means some can't be reused. I can extend the warranty to cover labour for an additional 3 years, up to 5, parts having 5 years cover anyway. The cost for that is currently £180 and a single callout is a flat rate of £135 so on balance probably a risk worth taking. We've had 3 softeners over the last 30 years and this is the first fault before "end-of-life" (10 years or more?).