Kenmore 625.348321 User Manual

OWNER’S

MANUAL

MODEL NO.

625.348321

Caution:
Read and Follow
All Safety Rules and
Operating Instructions
Before First Use of
This Product.

Solid State Water Softener

z Warranty
z Start Up / Setting Timer

If you have questions when
installing, operating or main­taining your softener, and
when setting the timer, call
this toll---free number...

1---800---426---9345

SAVE THIS MANUAL

Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 USA

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

z How It Works
z Care Of / Troubleshooting
z Specifications
z Repair Parts

Use plastic bag and tie provided, to hang manuals nearby

the softener for future reference.

WARRANTY

SEARS RESIDENTIAL WATER SOFTENER

FULL ONE YEAR WARRANTY ON WA TER SOFTENER

Foroneyearfromthedateofpurchase, whenthiswatersoftenerisinstalledandmaintained
in accordance with our instructions, Sears will repair, free of charge, defects in material or
workmanship in this water softener.

FULL TEN YEAR WARRANTY AGAINST LEAKS

For ten years from the date of purchase, Sears will furnish and install a new current model
water softener tank or salt storage drum, free of charge, if either the tank or drum develop
a leak.

TO OBTAIN WARRANTY SERVICE, SIMPLY CONTACT THE NEAREST SEARS SERVICE
CENTERTHROUGHOUTTHEUNITEDSTATES.Thiswarrantyappliesonlywhilethisprod­uct is in use in the United States.

Thiswarrantygivesyouspecificlegalrights,andyoumayhaveotherrightswhichvaryfrom
state to state.

Sears, Roebuck and Co., D/817 WA, Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Ifyou want yourwater softener professionallyinstalled,talk to yourSears Salesman. Hewillarrange
for a prompt, quality installation by Sears Authorized Installers.

SEARS INSTALLATION POLICY

All installation labor arranged by Sears shall be
performed in a neat, workmanlike manner in
accordance with generally accepted trade prac­tices. Further,all installations shall comply with
all local laws, codes, regulations, and ordi­nances.Customershallalsobe protected,during
installation, by insurance relating to Property
Damage, Workman’s Compensation and Public

In addition to any warranty extended to you on
the Sears merchandiseinvolved, which warran­ty becomes effective the date the merchandiseis
installed, should the workmanship of any Sears
arranged installation prove faulty within one
year, Sears will, upon notice from you, cause
suchfaultstobecorrectedatnoadditionalcostto
you.

SEARS INSTALLATION WARRANTY

Liability.

FACTS AND FIGURES TO KEEP

Fill in the blanks below and keep this book in a safe
place so you always have these facts.

Water Softener Model No.†
Serial Number
Date Installed
Water Hardness Grains Per Gallon
Iron Content Parts Per Million

*pH Taste And/Or Odor
Water Pressure Pounds/Square Inch
Water Flow Rate Gallons Per Minute

† The model number is on the rating decal, located

on the rim, under the salt hole cover.

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

NO.

SECTION 1 SOFTENER START UP

A. SAFETY GUIDES 4
B. CHECK LIST OF STEP-B Y-STEP GUIDES TO INSTALL 5
C. PROGRAM THE TIMER 6
D. SANITIZING THE WATER SOFTENER 7
E. FILL THE STORAGE TANK WITH SALT 8

SECTION 2 HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

A. FACE PLATE TIMER FEATURES 9-10
B. SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION 11-13

SECTION 3 CARE OF YOUR SOFTENER

A. SALT: REFILLING STORAGE TANK, SALT BRIDGE 14
B. KEEPING THE WATER SOFTENER CLEAN 15
C. KEEP THE SOF TENER FROM FREEZING 16
D. HELPFUL HINTS CHECKLIST 17

SECTION 4 OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

A. HOW TO “FINE-TUNE” YOUR WATER SOFTENER 18-20
B. DIMENSIONS/SPECIFICATIONS 21

SECTION 5 SERVICE TECH INFORMATION

A. ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 22
B. REGENERATION CYCLE TIMES 23
C. TROUBLESHOOTING 24-26
D. ROTARY VALVE SERVICE 27
E. WATER FLOW THROUGH THE SOFTENER VALVE 28-30

SECTION 6 REPAIR PARTS 32-35

3

SECTION 1

1A. SAFETY GUIDES

WATER SOFTENER START- UP

Y Read all steps, guides and rules carefully be­fore installing and using your new water softener.
Followall steps exactly to correctly install. Failure
to follow them could cause personal injury or
property damage.Readingthisbookwillalsohelp
you to get all of the benefits from your water soft ­ener.

Y Your water softener will remove hardness min­erals and “clear water” iron from water, up to the
limits shown on page 21. It will not remove other
types of iron, acids, tastes and odors, etc. It will
not purify polluted water or make it safe to drink.

Y Protect the softener and piping from freezing.
Damage from freezing voids the softener warran­ty. See page 16.

CAUTIONS

PLEASE READ AND COMPLY WITH THE FOL­LOWING GUIDES TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO
THE SOFTENER OR OTHER PROPERTY,
PERSONAL INJURY, OR POSSIBLE FATAL
SHOCK.

Y THIS SOFTENER WORKS ON 24 VOLTS
ONLY. BE SURE TOUSE THE TRANSFORMER
INCLUDED, AND PLUG IT INTO A 120V OUT ­LET.

Y Unplug the transformer right away if the
power cable should become damaged or
frayed. Make repairs before plugging back
into the power outlet.

Y Always unplug the softener from electrical
power before removing outer valve covers.

4

SECTION 1

1B. CHECK LIST OF ALL STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES TO INSTALL

Refer to the Installation Manual, part no.
7159931, for step-by-step guides.

To be sure you have done all the steps to install
the softener, read the following list. Page num­bers referred to are in the Installation Manual.

n Is the house water flow going INTO the soft-

ener valve INLET? Trace piping to be sure.
See pages 10 and 11.

n Is the plumbing bypassvalve(or3valves)set

forSERVICE?Bypassvalve(s)shouldalways
remain in soft water service position. Posi­tion in “bypass” only if needed for softener
repairs. See page 18.

WATER SOFTENER START- UP

n Is the valve drain hose connected the right

way, and without sharp bends or kinks that
couldstoporreducewaterflow?See page16.

n Is the softener power cable connected to the

transformer, and is the transformer plugged
into an inside, 120V-60Hz electrical outlet?
See page 20.

n Be sure to restart the water heater. See page

20.

3--valve

brass

Bypass
Valves

plastic

Water
Heater

Note, for installations in the State of Massachusetts:

Plumbing codes of Massachusetts shall be adhered to.
Consult with your licensed plumber.

5

SECTION 1

1C. PROGRAM THE TIMER

FIG. 1

WATER SOFTENER START- UP

PRESENT TIME
RECHARGE TIME
RECHARGE DAY

SET THE TIMER

Whenthetransformerispluggedintotheelectri­cal outlet, 12:00 AM, SUnday began to flash in
thetime display.Set thetime of day andpresent
day of week as follows:

A. SET TIME OF DAY

1. Press the PRESENT TIME AND DAY button

¡ once. The hour display continues to flash.

2. Press the SET/CLEAR button £ until the
presenthour of the day shows in the display.
Be sure AM for morning hours, or PM foraf­ternoon and evening hours shows.

NOTE:

Press SET/CLEAR and quickly release to move
the hour display ahead 1 at a time to the correct
hour. Or, hold the SET/CLEAR button to move
the display ahead 2 hours each second, to the
correct hour.

3. Press button ¡ once to steady the hour dis-
play, and minutes begin to flash. Repeat step
A2 to set the correct minutes.

4. Press button ¡ again to steady the minute
display (day will begin flashing). Figure 2
shows the timer set at 3:30 PM. See step B to
set the present day.

SET / CLEAR

ON / OFF

VACATION

HOLD RECHARGE NOW

Solid State Water Softener

B. SET PRESENT DAY OF WEEK

1. Press the SET/CLEAR button £ to set the
present day of the week in the display.

NOTE:

Press SET/CLEAR and quickly release to move
the day display 1 at a time. Or, hold the
SET/CLEAR button to move the day display
ahead 2 days each second.

2. Press the PRESENT TIME AND DAY button
¡again to steadytheentiredisplay.Figure2
shows the timer set at TUesday.

FIG. 2

PRESENT TIME AND DAY

1

RECHARGE TIME

2

RECHARGE DAY

3

SET / CLEAR

4

ON / OFF VACATION

5

HOLD

RECHARGE NOW

TU

.

.

PM

EXAMPLE: This drawing
shows 3:30 PM as the
present time of day, and
TUesday is the current
day of the week.

No other settings are needed after installing
yourwatersoftener. Thesoftenerisfactory set to
regenerate every Monday, Wednesday and Sat­urday(beginning at2:00AM).Formostfamilies,
this gives enough soft water for their needs.

However, if you want the softener to regener­ateata differenttime,or ondifferentdays, orto
set for the most efficiency, see “Fine-Tuning
Your Water Softener,” page 18.

SEE PAGE 9 FOR OTHER TIMER CONTROLS AND FEATURES.

6

SECTION 1

1D. SANITIZING THE WATER SOFTENER

WATER SOFTENER START- UP

Care is taken at the factory to keep your water
softener clean and sanitary. Materials used to
make the softener will not infect or contaminate
yourwatersupply,andwillnotcause bacteria to
form or grow. However, during shipping, stor­age, installing and operating, bacteria could get
into the softener. For this reason, sanitizing as
follows is suggested¡ when installing.

1. Lift the salt hole cover and use a pail or hose
to fill the salt storage tank with at least 3
gallons of water.

2. Remove the brinewell cover (FIG. 3) and
pour about 3/4 ounce of common 5.25%
household bleach (Clorox, Linco, BoPeep,
White Sail, Eagle, etc.) in the softener brine­well.

3. PresstheON/OFF-HOLDbuttonand holdfor
3 seconds to start a recharge. This first re-

charge does several things.
— It draws the bleach into and through the

softener to sanitize it.

FIG. 3

Brinewell

Cover

(remove and add

about 3/4 oz. bleach)

Water,

About 3 Gallons

— Itfillsthesalttanktothewaterlevelneed-

ed.
— It gets all the air out of the resin tank.
— Itmakes the resinbed (seepage 11)ready

for service.

NOTES:

This recharge takes about 2 hours.

You can sanitize the softener with or with­out salt in the storage tank.

¡ Recommended by the Water Quality Association. On

some water supplies, the water softener may need
periodicdisinfecting.Sanitize withor withoutsaltin the
storage tank.

7

SECTION 1

1E. FILL THE STORAGE TANK WITH SALT

WATER SOFTENER START- UP

Brine(saltdissolvedinwater)isneeded for each
and every regeneration. The water for making
brine is metered into the salt storage tank by the
softener. However,you must keep the tankfilled
with salt.

Fill the tank with NUGGET or PELLET water
softener salt. DO NOT use rock salts, as they
have dirt and sediments that will stop the
softener from working.

Before filling, be sure the brinewell cover is in
place on the top of the brinewell. Salt storage
capacity is shown on page 21.

NOTES:

In humid areas, it is best to fill the storage tank
half-full,and to refillitmoreoften.Saltbridging
(seepage14)occurs moreoften when conditions
are humid.

WA TER SOFTENING SALT WITH IRON RE­MOVING ADDITIVES — Some salts have an

additive to help the softener handle iron in the
water supply. Although this additive may help
to keep the softener resin clean, it may also
release corrosive fumes that will weaken and
shorten the life of some softener parts.

FIG. 4

SODIUM INFORMATION: Water softeners us­ing sodium chloride for regeneration add so­dium to the water. Persons who are on sodium
restricted diets should consider the added so­dium as part of their overall sodium intake.

For example, if your water supply is 15 grains
hard, you would have to drink 3 quarts of
softened water to consume 335 milligrams of
sodium. That is equivalent to eating 2-1/2 slices
of white bread.

Personswho are concerned abouttheir drinking
water should consider a Sears Drinking Water
System that will remove or reduce in excess of
90% of the sodium and other drinking water
contaminants.

YOU HAVE NOW FINISHED THE WATER SOFTENER START UP. AFTER THE SANITIZING RE­CHARGE, ON PAGE 7, THE SOFTENER WILL BE GIVING YOU SOFT WATER.

8

SECTION 2

2A. FACE PLATE TIMER FEATURES

HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

RECHARGE NOW — If you have guests visit­ing, or other times when you use more water
than usual, you could begin to run out of soft
water. If the softener is not scheduled toregener­ate for another day or 2, you would get hard
water until then. If this happens, or you think it
might happen, press and hold in the HOLD-RE­CHARGE NOW button ¤ for 3 seconds until
RCHG shows. RCHG will flash in the display
during the regeneration, which lasts under 2
hours.

NOTE:
Avoid using HOT water while the softener

regenerates, because bypass hard water will
refill the water heater (see “Automatic Bypass,”
page 13).

VACA TION— Thedayyouleaveonvacation,or
other long absence, press (do not hold in) the
ON/OFF VACATION button ¤. VAC begins to
flash in the display (FIG. 6). The timer will keep
time, but the softener will not regenerate to
waste water and salt.

FIG. 5

PM
RCHG

FIG. 6

PRESENT TIME AND DAY

1

RECHARGE TIME

.

.

2

RECHARGE DAY

3

SET / CLEAR

4

ON / OFF VACATION

5

HOLD

PRESENT TIME AND DAY

1

RECHARGE TIME

2

RECHARGE DAY

3

RECHARGE NOW

NOTE:
Whie in VACATION, the softener will go

througharegenerationif the RECHARGE NOW
feature is used (see above).

To shut off the water supply to the softener, use
the plumbing bypass valve(s), FIG. 16, page 21.

WHEN YOU RETURN, press the VACATION,
buttonagaintoreturnthesoftenertoservice,and
thecorrecttimeofdayinthedisplay.Remember

to do this or the softener will not regenerate
and you will soon have hard water.

ERRORCODE— Anerrorcodecouldappearin
the face plate display if a problem occurs in the
softener electronics. If you see an error code
insteadofthepresenttimeofday,please callyou
local Sears Service Department for service.

SET / CLEAR

4

ON / OFF VACATION

5

HOLD

RECHARGE NOW

Continued

9

SECTION 2

2A. FACE PLATE TIMER FEATURES

HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

TIMER “POWER -OUTAGE MEMORY” — If
electrical power to the timer goes off, the
“memory” built into timer circuitry keeps all
settings for 6 hours (minimum) or more. The
display is blank and the softener will not
regenerate.Whenelectricalpowercomeson,1of
2 things will happen.

1. The present time of day will show, meaning
the timer memory has kept all settings.

NOTE:

Ifthesoftenerwasinaregenerationwhenpower
was lost, it will now finish the cycle.

2. The display will show a time, but it will be
flashing.Thetimermemory did not keepthe
timesettings and theymust be reset(page6).

The flashing display is to remind you to reset
the timer.

NOTE:

When power comes on, the flashing display
returns to a time of 12:00 AM Sunday, then
begins to keep time again. If you do not reset all
timesettings, the softener will regenerate3 days
each week. However, regeneration will most
likely be on the wrong days and at the wrong
time.

Ifthesoftenerwasinaregenerationwhenpower
wentoff,thevalvewill returnto service position
without finishing the regenerationcycle. If your
water tastes salty:

-- use RECHARGE NOW (see page 9) to start

another regeneration, or

-- open1ormoresoftwaterfaucetsandallowto

run until the salt taste is gone.

10

SECTION 2

2B. SOFT WATER SERVICE AND REGENERATION

HOW YOUR WATER SOFTENER WORKS

SERVICE

When the softener is giving you soft water, it is
called “Service”. During service, hard water
comes from the house main water pipe into the
softener. Inside the softener resin tank is a bed
madeupofthousandsoftiny,plastic resinbeads
(FIG. 7). 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
(softwater)flowsoutofthesoftenerandintothe
house soft water pipes.

After a period of time, the resin beads become
coated with hardnessminerals and they have to
be cleaned. This cleaning is called recharge, or
regeneration.

Regeneration is started at about 2:00 a.m. (facto­ry setting) by the timer. It takes place in 5 stages
or cycles. These are:

REGENERATION

¡FILL: Salt, dissolved in water, is called brine.

Brine is needed to clean the hardness minerals
from the resin beads. To make the brine, soft
water flows into the salt storage area during the
fill cycle as shown in FIG. 8.

The length of the fill cycle is factory set to
providesofteningcapacityforanaveragefamily.
You can reset this time when “fine-tuning” the
water softener, pages 18 through 20.

FIG. 8 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN FILL

soft water

OUT

salt storage

tank

hard water

IN

FILL

1

BRINING

2
3

BRINE RINSE

BACKWASH

4
5

FAST RINSE

FIG. 7 WATER FLOW THROUGH THE

SOFTENER IN SERVICE

soft water

OUT

salt storage

tank (salt

not shown)

brine valve

hard water

IN

resin tank

resin bed

brine valve

fill water

11