Clean Water Systems 5900S Installation manual

Clean Water Made Easy
www.cleanwaterstore.com
5900S Softener Installation & Start-Up Guide
Thank you for purchasing a Clean Water System! With proper
installation and a little routine maintenance your system will be
providing softened water for many years.
Please review this start‐up guide entirely before beginning to install
your system and follow the steps outlined for best results.
Watch Helpful Short Videos!
How To Program Your New Softener Valve
Questions?
Call us toll-free: 1-888-600-5426 or 1-831-462-8500
Email us: [email protected]
See more information on our website:
www.cleanwaterstore.com/resources

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 2www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:.................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Packing List for Different Size Softeners................................................................................................................................. 3
Pre-Installation ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Best Practices for Piping & Drain Installation......................................................................................................................... 6
How Your Softener Works...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Installation Instructions.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Assemble the By-pass Valve ................................................................................................................................................... 9
Assemble the Drain Line Flow Control Hose Barb................................................................................................................ 10
Attach the Brine Line Tubing to Brine Tank.......................................................................................................................... 10
Brine Tank Set Up ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Turn On Water to Softener .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Program Your Softener Control............................................................................................................................................ 12
Enter main menu by pressing the Menu/Enter button........................................................................................................ 12
Set current time of day......................................................................................................................................................... 12
To Set the Hardness Press the Set/Change Button .............................................................................................................. 12
How to Enter Master Programming Mode........................................................................................................................... 13
Exiting the Master Programming Mode ............................................................................................................................... 15
Start the First Regeneration ................................................................................................................................................. 15
Normal Operation & Maintenance....................................................................................................................................... 16
How the Battery Back-up Works .......................................................................................................................................... 16
How to Start an Extra Regeneration Cycle ........................................................................................................................... 16
Installing on Systems with Copper Piping ............................................................................................................................ 17
Troubleshooting Guide......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Brine Solution Not Being Sucked in During Regeneration.................................................................................................... 20
Error Codes:.......................................................................................................................................................................... 21

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 3www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Packing List for Different Size Softeners
Each order includes:
5900-S control valve and Top Screen, Bypass assembly with 1” connector yoke, Power supply (dual voltage
110-230V 50/60hz), Hose Barb Adaptor (5/8” OD), Drain Line Flow Control (DLFC), Media Funnel for adding
resin to tank, Drain line tubing
Softener 16K Grain 0.5 cubic foot size
6” x 35” filter tank with distributor tube
0.5 cubic foot of Softener resin media
No filter gravel needed with this size
Softener 24K Grain 0.75 cubic foot size
8” x 44” filter tank with distributor tube
0.75 cubic foot of Softener resin media
No filter gravel needed with this size
Softener 32K Grain 1.0 cubic foot size
9” x 48” filter tank with distributor tube
1.0 cubic foot of Softener resin media
No filter gravel needed with this size
Softener 48K Grain 1.5 cubic foot size
10” x 54” filter tank with distributor tube
16 lbs. Filter gravel
1.5 cubic foot of Softener resin media
Softener 62K Grain 2.0 cubic foot size
12” x 52” filter tank with distributor tube
20 lbs. Filter gravel
2.0 cubic foot of Softener resin media
Softener 80K Grain 2.5 cubic foot size
13” x 54” filter tank with distributor tube
35 lbs. Filter gravel
2.5 cubic foot of Softener resin media
Softener 90K Grain 3.0 cubic foot size
14” x 65” filter tank with distributor tube
50 lbs. Filter gravel
3.0 cubic foot of Softener resin media

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 4www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Pre-Installation
1. Your black filter tank base is not glued to the bottom of your tank. Occasionally tank bases
will become crooked during shipment. If you find that that your tank does not sit level on the
floor, you can easily adjust it by holding the empty tank and rapping it on a concrete or solid
floor once or twice to level it.
2. Review your packing list and make sure you have received all the parts before beginning
installation. Please ensure that all parts are included before scheduling a plumber or installer
to come to the site.
3. If you are going to be turning off the water to the house and you have an electric water
heater, shut off the power to the water heater before beginning installation in case water
heater is accidentally drained.
4. Pick a suitable location for your filter system on a dry level spot where it won’t be exposed to
freezing temperatures. A minimum of 30 PSI is required. Maximum pressure recommended
is 90 PSI.
5. Get all of your plumbing parts together before beginning installation. Installation typically
takes 3 to 5 hours. However after installation the Softener must be allowed to run through a
complete backwash and rinse cycle (also called ‘regeneration’). You don’t have to be
present for this first backwash necessarily, but it does take 90 minutes.
6. After the system is installed and running, your water may be discolored, or full of
sediment/rust, particularly if this is older piping that has been exposed to iron or manganese
for some time. Typically this clears up over a day or two, but can persist for weeks if the pipe
is old galvanized iron pipe that is corroded.

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 5www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 6www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Best Practices for Piping & Drain Installation
1. See typical installation diagrams on Page 5.
2. Make sure to connect the IN pipe to the 5900S inlet and the OUT to the outlet (see Fig 3). As
you face the 5900S control from the front, the water enters on the right and exits on the left.
From the back (see Fig 3) the water enters on the left and exits on the right. The inlet and
outlet are attached to the bypass valve which is marked with arrows as well.
3. Make sure there is a hose bib and working gate or ball valve before the 5900S Softener and
also one after as shown in the diagram (Fig 2). The pressure gauges are optional but a hose
bib (a faucet that you can attach a garden hose to) is strongly recommended after the
softener and before the second ball valve. This makes it easy to rinse your new softener on
start-up and gives you a place to test the water before it enters your household plumbing.
4. If you will be using copper piping, do not sweat the copper pipe directly on to the 5900S
control valve. Avoid heating up the 5900S control valve plastic with the torch.
5. You do not need unions to install your 5900S control. If you need to remove it, the 5900S has
quick-release couplings that make it easy to put the softener on by-pass and remove the
filter system from the piping.
6. The drain line tubing is not supplied. You will need flexible 5/8” ID tubing. Note that the drain
can run up above the 5900S control and into a drain, it does not have to drain down, as the
filter backwashes under line pressure from your well pump. Most plumbing codes require an
air-gap connection, so that if your sewer or septic tank backs up, it cannot cross connect with
the drain tubing.

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 7www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
How Your Softener Works
Fig. 1: In the softener, water enters the top
of the tank and flows down through the
media and up the distributor tube.
Hardness minerals are drawn to the resin
beads in the softener where the hardness
minerals are removed.
During regeneration the first cycle in the
process backwashes and cleans the softener
resin. Water flow is reversed and water
flows down the distributor tube and up through the media, lifting and expanding the softening
media, and removing any trapped particles.
After the backwash stage, salt brine is automatically drawn in
from the brine tank which then slowly rinses through the
softening resin for 1 hour, allowing the hardness minerals to be
swapped out with harmless sodium or potassium ions.
This entire automatic process, called ‘regeneration’ takes about
90 minutes. Typically the softener filter is set to regenerate
based on gallons used and time to occur during the middle of
the night when no water is being used.

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 8www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Installation Instructions
1. Wrap the top of distributor tube with black electrical tape
or blue painter’s masking tape so that no gravel or Softener
media will go down the distributor tube when adding the
media. Leave a folded tab of tape that you will be able to
grab onto to gently pull off the tape after filling the tank.
2. Next add gravel if your softener requires gravel (48K grain
size and up) and then add the softening resin using the
media funnel provided.
3. The tank will be approximately 2/3 full, however do not fill it past 3/4 full.
4. When you are ready to screw the valve head on, apply silicone lubricant to the outside of the
distribution tube, and the O-ring on the control valve where the tube goes in.
5. Remove tape from top of distributor tube. Be careful not to pull up distributor tube when
removing tape.
6. Attach plastic top screen to the
under-side of the 5900S control
valve. It may twist on clockwise or
counter-clockwise.
7. Add a small amount of silicone grease to the large O-ring on the bottom of the control valve
and screw on 5900S control valve carefully. Do not use pipe-joint compound, vegetable oil,
Teflon tape, or Vaseline or other petroleum greases to lubricate tank threads.
Insert Top Screen
Underside of 5900
Control Valve

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 9www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Assemble the By-pass Valve
1. When you remove the bypass valve from the box, the valves are in the open position. Holding
the bypass so that you are reading the In and Out (so that the words are not upside down to you
when holding the bypass), note the following:
2. The red handles are slightly arrow-shaped; the pointed
end is pointing in the direction of flow when open. The
Inlet valve (on the left) turns clockwise, from full open at
“12:00 o’clock”, to full closed at “3:00 o’clock”.
3. The Outlet valve turns clockwise from “6:00 o’clock” full
open to “9:00 o’clock” full closed. The valves are stiff
when new, so open and close them a few times.
4. Leave both bypass valves closed for now, so 5900 control
valve is by-passed.
5. Note that the yoke is already attached to the
bypass, it is not necessary to remove it.
6. Now install your water pipes to the 5900S yoke using
a small amount of Teflon tape and Teflon pipe joint
compound. Make sure inlet is installed to the 'In"
pipe connector on the bypass valve and outlet is on
the “Out” connector.

5900S Softener Installation & Startup Guide
Page 10 www.cleanwaterstore.com Rev 071218
Assemble the Drain Line Flow Control Hose Barb
Refer to the loose instruction sheet for installing your Drain Line Flow Control button. Do not apply
too much tape or paste to the barb fitting when screwing it in to the drain line fitting, or that fitting
will crack.
Connect some flexible tubing from the drain connection on the 5900S control valve to a suitable
drain such as a septic tank or drain to a sewer using an appropriate air-gap. That is, do not connect
drain tubing directly to drain, use at least 1 -2” of air, so if sewer backs up it cannot cross-connect to
the drain tubing from the softener.
It is OK to run the drain line up and over the Softener, up to 4 feet above the top of the tank. If the
drain line will be more than 20 feet, and especially if your system is a 2.0 or 2.5 cubic foot size, use
larger diameter tubing such as ¾” or 1”.
Make sure the drain tubing is firmly clamped to the barbed fitting with a hose clamp to prevent
leaks.
Attach the Brine Line Tubing to Brine Tank
Insert the 3/8” diameter tubing into the brine tank connection
(included with your order). Screw the nut with the sleeve and
Ferrell attached to prevent leaking.
On the control valve side: to connect the brine tank, begin by
sliding the plastic brine injector nut on to the brine tubing by
putting the tubing through the non-threaded side of the nut
first. Next, slide the white (or clear) compression ring on to the
tubing with the wider diameter going on first. Insert the tubing
into the brine nut and screw tight- do not over-tighten.
On the brine tank: push the brine injector nut, which now has
the compression rings inside of it, on to the threading of the
brine tank float assembly (below) and rotate the nut clockwise,
screwing it on to the brine valve. Tighten it down to finger
tight. The tubing should be firmly attached and not slide out if
pulled on.