Fleck 5600SXT Water Softener Valve Digital Metered On Demand Replacement Head

So my fleck manual was bypassing bad water and not regenerating consistently so I had two choices, rebuild it or move into the 20th century. Glad I bought this. Mine dropped in with no tube mods. I didn’t replace resin since I did that recently. I just tested the water, 17 grain, set it at 17 and a reserve of 150 and let it go. So far after a month it cycles about 1 a week (old one did it every 3 days) and it uses way less salt. I should have done this years ago! Interface is simple if you download the manual online and you can really adjust almost anything. Best of all, it’s not some weird WiFi app I need on my phone like many things you buy today. It’s just set and forget. Best feature: the display flashes if power was interrupted so you can easily double-check the time stayed accurate. Love that!

This controller worked well but the best part about this buying it from Aplus Water is their costumer support. I had two issues over the last year, 1. one of the diaphragms got a clogged and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I contacted customer support and they walked me through finding the issue and fixing it. This issue is my fault, I need to install a sediment filter. 2. The flow sensor went bad. Again I contacted customer support and the walked me through diagnosing the problem. They sent out the sensor, no charge, and I was back up and running. Again, I cannot say enough good things about Aplus Water’s customer support.

Replaced a newer softener control head that was not metered - set # of days only. This head can be programmed many different ways, but includes metered usage. It was pretty straight forward installation, though you've got to get your own drain fitting and brass compression fitting for the brine tank. I expected them to be included but they are not. I received NO documentation in the box, but an installation manual is available off the seller's website. It is not as thorough as the manufacturer's Supplemental Service Manual (which I recommend downloading so you can see all the options available for each programmable setting), but it was functionally OK to get up and going. One problem I had was that I did not buy the original unit so was somewhat unsure of the exact size and amount of resin. I deduced these needed details from the manual that came with the old unit. Initial, unscientific observation results in this unit seemingly using a lot of salt when regenerating, but the regen cycles are less frequent now that it's metered. I had to cut down the resin tank tube about 1.25" because the old head required it to run up inside the head further. The biggest thing left out of the manual off the supplier's website is a simple explanation of the icons on the program screen. I was not sure if the "service icon" (water faucet) was supposed to be flashing or solid when in normal service mode (solid). So, since I had it set wrong, it did not regenerate when the meter said to. Have it set correctly now. I like being able to see how much usage is left before the next regeneration. Once set, the unit is pretty much "forget it." Does what I want and I'm satisfied.

I replaced an old Fleck mechanical meter with this one. The installation went good the only issue that I had was the pvc pipe in the tank was smaller than the one required for the new valve. All that I did was glued a bushing onto the end of the pipe and everything went together good. The valve works very well and the amount of salt that I am now using is significantly less and the water is soft.

Ordered this as while replacing my water softener filter media and valve head unit as troubleshooting my older, manual Fleck valve evidenced that it was not working properly such as it was not drawing from the brine tank and cause my salt bin to become a solid block of salt and hence yield hard water. Other reviews indicate what size schedule 40 (if I recall correctly) PVC to use this with if you're not using the existing one. Also, if using with a new piece of PVC, be sure to check what the length should be per the valve/control unit you use. This Fleck unit calls for having the top of the PVC pipe even with the top of the media tank. Per my research, some other brands may have you cut it below or above the top of the tank. Cutting it correctly for the valve unit ensures it won't push down on the PVC pipe too much when you thread the valve control unit on which will cause the lower basket to crack, which happened to me and turned my little project into a big one.Do yourself a favor, if you're replacing your valve unit and your filter media in your tank is over 7-10 years old, just spend the extra 60.00-100.00 to replace it as it degrades over time and reduces effectiveness of your softener. Ordered it through Amazon as it was cheaper with delivery than elsewhere on the interwebs and it was fairly easy to do.Put valve connecting your valve unit to the wall/pipes into bypass, disconnect unit from wall/ pipes, unscrew valve control unit and take off tank, remove PVC pipe with lower basket by pulling up carefully, take tank outside and either vacuum it out with a shop vac or hose it out into a bin or trash, use hose to rinse all old media out of tank and PVC pipe/basket, inspect lower basket for cracks or looseness and replace if necessary (see my review on Fleck lower basket), refill tank with the appropriate amount of media for the size of your tank (see manual or interwebs), spray some water in with hose, push PVC pipe with lower basket down into media by blowing down into the pipe with your mouth (highly technical technique) to push media out of the way, feed PVC pipe top through upper basket attached to this new valve control unit (included) and thread onto the top of the media tank, attach unit back to valve/wall, slowly put the valve on wall back from bypass to normal operation so water pressure slowly fills into tank. Follow manufacturer directions from here to set up the settings on this new Fleck valve and also for start up process to cycle it through one or two backwash and fill cycles. Best of luck on your project!Disclaimer: Due this project at your own risk and do your own research if your setup differs. I will not be held responsible for any issues you may run into. I am a DIY'er trying to help others. This is not intended to be an all inclusive step by step procedure for all setups so you should do your own research for your project. Leverage YouTube and the interwebs for videos and directions to make sure you're doing it right. This info and process is just a result from my experience and I wanted to share to help others.

Product works well and had great help with customer service