How do I program a Fleck 5600SXT water softener?

Know what a normal screen looks like first. In service, the display alternates between the time of day, the volume remaining and the days to regeneration. A flow indicator flashes whenever water is moving through the meter, which is a quick way to prove the meter works. The service icon flashes when a regeneration is queued.

Start with the clock, because every other setting keys off it. Press and hold Up or Down until the programming icon replaces the service icon and the display reads TD. Set the time with the arrows, then press Extra Cycle to go back to normal. The unit also returns on its own after five seconds without a button press.

To open user programming, hold Up and Down together for five seconds while the unit is in service. The time of day can't be set to 12:01 PM when you do this, because 12:01 PM is the doorway to master programming. Press Extra Cycle to move to the next screen. The control throws away unsaved changes and exits if you leave it alone for 60 seconds.

1. 1DO, day override. The most days the unit can go without regenerating. On a metered softener, it regenerates anyway once that many days pass. Setting it to OFF turns that safety net off, and the range otherwise runs up to 99 days. On a time clock unit, this number is the schedule itself.
2. 2RT, regeneration time. The hour a delayed, queued or day-override regeneration starts.
3. 3H, feed water hardness. Your inlet hardness in grains, from 1 to 199. A metered system uses it to work out capacity.
4. 4RC or SF, reserve. Either a fixed reserve in gallons or a safety factor, depending on how master programming is set. The default is fixed reserve in gallons.
5. 5CD, current day. The day of the week.

Press Extra Cycle after the last one to save and exit.

Enter your real water hardness in grains per gallon. Your city's water quality report lists it, and a hardness test strip works too. Well water needs its own test. The USGS scale runs from soft (0 to 60 mg/L as calcium carbonate) through moderately hard (61 to 120) and hard (121 to 180) to "very hard" above 180, and Valley tap water is typically hard to very hard. Our page on how hard Phoenix water is explains what to expect and why scale shows up so fast here.

The number matters because a meter-controlled Fleck does math with it. Pentair's manual says the control divides the unit capacity, which is the grains the resin can hold, by the feed water hardness, then subtracts the reserve. As an example, a 30,000 grain resin bed on 15 grain water gives 2,000 gallons before reserve. Set the hardness too low and the unit stretches that number, so you get hard water before it regenerates. Set it too high and it regenerates early and wastes salt and water.

The reserve is your cushion. A fixed reserve holds a set number of gallons back, and it can't be more than half the calculated capacity. A safety factor holds back a share of capacity, anywhere from zero up to half, and it moves when capacity changes. On a meter-delayed unit, the reserve covers the water you use between running out of capacity and the regeneration time.

Master programming covers everything the valve needs to know about itself. Pentair's caution is to contact a local professional water dealer before you enter it. To open it, set the time of day to 12:01 PM, press Extra Cycle, then hold Up and Down together until the Display Format screen appears. The control drops the changes and returns to normal if it sits for five minutes untouched.

The main screens, in order:

• DF, display format: gallons with a 12-hour clock, or liters with a 24-hour clock.
• VT, valve type: the regeneration sequence the valve is built for, such as downflow single backwash, downflow double backwash or filter. It has to match how the valve is built.
• CT, control type: meter delayed, meter immediate, time clock or day of week.
• NT and TS: one or two tanks, and which tank is in service.
• C, unit capacity: the resin's capacity in grains.
• Cycle step times: backwash (BW), brine draw (BD), rapid rinse (RR) and brine fill (BF), each set from 0 to 199 minutes. A step set to 0 is skipped.
• FM, meter type: the size and style of the flow meter.

The control types work differently. Meter delayed counts gallons and regenerates at your set time after capacity runs out. Meter immediate regenerates as soon as capacity runs out. Time clock regenerates on a fixed number of days. Day of week regenerates on the days you turn on, and at least one day has to be on.

Pentair gives two resets. A soft reset (hold Extra Cycle and Down for 25 seconds in service) returns the parameters to their defaults. A master reset (hold Extra Cycle while you plug the unit in) clears everything, and you then have to check every master programming choice. Write down your settings before you try either one.

Power outages are less scary. The control keeps time for at least 8 hours without power, keeps your settings in memory indefinitely and flashes the time until you press a button. If a regeneration is missed, it's queued and usually runs a day late.

### What should you do right after programming a new or rebuilt valve?

Run the start-up sequence in the manual. Hold Extra Cycle for five seconds to start a regeneration at backwash, and let the drain line run steadily for 10 minutes or until the water runs clear. Advance to brine draw and slow rinse and confirm the unit is pulling water from the brine tank, which may take a repeat. Advance to rapid rinse for five minutes or until the water runs clear. Advance to the start of the brine fill and confirm water goes into the brine tank. The brine valve cam holds the valve there so the tank fills for the first real regeneration. Then put the cover back on and add salt.

That is also a good time to check the drain line and the air gap, so nothing can back up into the softener. One start-up reminder from the manual: do not use granulated or rock salt in the brine tank. If the water stays hard after programming, see why a water softener stops working, why brine isn't drawn, or the error code list. To start a cycle by hand, see how to manually regenerate a Fleck 5600SXT. HQ Plumbing & Air gives free estimates and upfront pricing on softener service and installs.

For the bypass valve that sits on the plumbing beside the valve head, see where the bypass valve is and how to use it.