GE PNSF31Z01 User Manual

PNSF31Z01

GE Appliances

GE Answer Center®800.626.2000

Owner’s Manual

Part No. 215C1002P002 Pub. No. 49-5800

Water Softening System

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Congratulations! You Are Now Part of the GE Family.

Welcome to the GE family. We’re proud of our quality products and we are committed to providing dependable service. You’ll see it in this easy-to-use Owner’s Manual and you’ll hear it in the friendly voices of our customer service department.

Best of all, you’ll experience these values each time you use your water system. That’s important, because your new system will be part of your family for many years. And we hope you will be part of ours for a long time to come.

We thank you for buying GE. We appreciate your purchase, and hope you will continue to rely on us whenever you need quality appliances for your home.

Important!

Staple sales slip or cancelled check here.

Proof of the original purchase date is needed to obtain service under the warranty.

Write the model and serial numbers here.

You can find them on the back of the control head.

Customer ServiceTroubleshooting TipsOperating InstructionsSafety Information

GE & You, A Service Partnership.

Inside you will find many helpful hints on how to use and maintain your water system properly. Just a little preventive care on your part can save you a great deal of time and money over the life of your system.

Read this Manual

Ask any GE appliance owner and they will tell you we stand behind our products with unmatched quality service. However, did you know that most questions result from simple problems that you can easily fix yourself in just a few minutes? This Owner’s Manual can tell you how.

You’ll find many answers to common problems here. If you review our chart of Troubleshooting Tips first, you may not need to call for service at all.

Review the Section on Troubleshooting Tips

If you do need service, you can relax knowing help is only a phone call away. A list of toll-free customer service numbers is included in the back section. Or you can always call the GE Answer Center

® at

800.626.2000, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If You Need Service

Safety Information . . . . . . .4, 5

Specification Guidelines . . . . . .6

Operating Instructions . .6–16

Care and Cleaning . . . . . . .17, 18

Troubleshooting Tips

Before You

Call For Service . . . . . . . . .19–21

Customer Service

Warranty Information . . . . . . .27

Service Telephone

Numbers . . . . . . . . . .Back Cover

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION. READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING.

For your safety, the information in this manual must be followed to minimize the risk of electric shock, property damage or personal injury.

■Check with your state and local

public works department for plumbing and electrical codes. You must follow these guidelines.

■

Use care when handling the water softening system. Do not turn upside down, drop, or set on sharp protrusions.

■

Water softening systems using sodium chloride (salt) for regeneration add sodium to the water.

Persons on sodium restricted diets should consider the added sodium as part of their overall intake.

■

The water softening system works on 24 volt-60 Hz Electrical power only.

Be sure to

use only the included transformer.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

WARNING!

Customer ServiceTroubleshooting TipsOperating InstructionsSafety Information

This water softening system must be properly installed and located in accordance with the Installation Instructions before it is used. If you did not receive Installation Instructions, you can receive one by calling us toll-free at the GE Answer Center

800.626.2000.

PROPER INSTALLATION

■

Install or store where it will not be exposed to temperatures below freezing or exposed to any type of weather. Water freezing in the system will break it. Do not attempt to treat water over 100°F.

■

Do not

install in direct sunlight. Excessive sun heat may cause distortion or other damage to non-metallic parts.

■Properly ground to conform

with all governing codes and ordinances. Follow details in Installation Instructions.

■Use only

lead-free solder

and flux

for all sweat-solder connections, as required by state and federal codes.

■

The water softening system requires a minimum water flow of three gallons per minute at the inlet. Maximum allowable inlet water pressure is 125 psi. If daytime pressure is over 80 psi, night time pressure may exceed the maximum. Use a pressure reducing valve if necessary. (Adding a pressure reducing valve may reduce the flow.)

WARNING:

Discard all unused and packaging material after installation.

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service

SPECIFICATION GUIDELINES.

Rated capacity

See rating label located on the softener.

Amount of high capacity resin (lbs/cu. ft)

41.6/.8

Resin tank nominal size (in., dia. x height)

10 x 35

Service flow rate (gpm)

See rating label located on the softener.

Water supply maximum hardness (gpg)*

Water supply maximum clear water iron (ppm)*

Water pressure limits (min-max psi)

20–125

Water temperature maximum (°F.)

120

Water supply minimum flow rate (gpm)

*Determined by water analysis from a qualified water testing laboratory.

44”

36-1/4”

14”

35”

24”

3-3/8”

11-1/2”

INLET - OUTLET

INLET

OUT

About the water softening system.

Customer ServiceTroubleshooting TipsOperating InstructionsSafety Information

For emergency needs, hard water is available to the home during the regeneration cycles.

However, you should avoid using HOT water because the water heater will fill with the hard water.

Automatic Hard Water Bypass During Regeneration

When the water softening system is providing soft water, it is called “Service.” During service, hard water flows from the house main water pipe into the water softening system. Inside the water softening system resin tank is a bed made up of thousands of tiny, plastic resin beads. As hard water passes through the bed, each bead attracts and holds the hardness minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is much like a magnet attracting and holding metals. Water without the hardness minerals (soft water) flows from the water softening system and to the house pipes.

After a period of time, the resin beads become coated with hardness minerals and they have to be cleaned. This cleaning is called regeneration, or recharge. Regeneration is started at 2:00 AM (factory setting) by the water softening system timer, and consists of five stages or cycles. These are

FILL,

BRINING, BRINE RINSE, BACKWASH

and

FAST RINSE

Service

Salt dissolved in water is called brine. Brine is needed to clean the hardness minerals from the resin beads. To make the brine, water flows into the salt storage area during the fill stage as shown.

Fill

Soft water

OUT

Salt storage tank (salt not shown)

Brine valve

Hard water IN

Soft water

OUT

Hard water IN

Resin tank

Resin bed

Salt storage tank

Fill water

Brine valve

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service

About the water softening system.

Brining

During brining, brine travels from the salt storage area into the resin tank. Brine is the cleaning agent needed to remove the hardness minerals from the resin beads. The hardness minerals and brine are discharged to the drain.

The nozzle and venturi create a suction to move the brine, maintaining a very slow rate to get the best resin cleaning with the least salt.

Brine Rinse

After a pre-measured amount of brine is used, the brine valve closes. Water continues to flow in the same path as during brining, except for the discontinued brine flow. Hardness minerals and brine flush from the resin tank to the drain.

Backwash

During backwash, water travels upthrough the resin tank at a fast flow rate, flushing accumulated iron, dirt, and sediments from the resin bed and to the drain.

Fast Rinse

Backwash is followed by a fast flow of water

down

through the resin tank. The fast flow flushes brine from the bottom of the tank, and packs the resin bed.

After fast rinse, the water softening system returns to soft water service.

Hard water

bypass OUT

Nozzle & venturi

Hard water IN

Hard water

bypass OUT

Hard water IN

Soft water

OUT

Hard water IN

Brine valve

Brine

Drain

Resin bed lifted and expanded

NOTE:

If the words

PRESENT TIME

do not show in the display, press

the

SELECT

button until they do.

Press the UP or DOWN button to set. The UP button moves

the display ahead; the DOWN moves the time backward. If the

present time is between noon and midnight, be sure PM shows . If the present time is between midnight and noon, be sure AM shows .

When the present time shows in display, press

SELECT

to set.

Upon installation and after an extended power outage. See the

Program Memory

section.

■ When the transformer is plugged into the electrical outlet

12:00 AM is flashing and

PRESENT TIME

shows in the display

area. Program the timer as instructed below. If

SR- -

is flashing,

use the UP button to set the correct

code as follows:

SR22.

If you pass by the correct code number, use the DOWN button. Then, press the

SELECT

button and program the timer below.

…

If the wrong SR code shows for your model,

see

Manually Initiated

Electronic Diagnostics

section.

■ A “beeper” sounds while pressing buttons for timer

programming. One beep signals a change in the timer display. Repeated beeps mean the timer will not accept a change from the button you have pressed and you should use another button.

■ To set the timer, you will use the UP, DOWN and

SELECT

buttons.

Customer ServiceTroubleshooting TipsOperating InstructionsSafety Information

SELECT

RECHARGE TONIGHT

RECHARGE NOW

TOUCH

HOLD

TIME

HARDNESS

SmartWater Softening System

Profile

Set Present Time of Day

Timer Settings Required

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