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
Profile ™
7178935

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.
2
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
3

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION.
READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING.
4
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.
5

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service
SPECIFICATION GUIDELINES.
6
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)*
90
Water supply maximum clear water iron (ppm)*
5
Water pressure limits (min-max psi)
20–125
Water temperature maximum (°F.)
120
Water supply minimum flow rate (gpm)
3
*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
7
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.
8
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 up through 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
Drain
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.
2
1
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
SR 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
9
SELECT
RECHARGE TONIGHT
RECHARGE NOW
TOUCH
HOLD
or TIME
HARDNESS
SmartWater Softening System
Profile
Set Present Time of Day
Timer Settings Required

Safety InformationOperating InstructionsTroubleshooting TipsCustomer Service
About the water softening system.
10
NOTE: If 15 and HARDNESS (factory default) do not show in the
display, press
SELECT until they do.
Press the UP or DOWN button to set your water hardness
number in the display. DOWN moves the display down to 1.
UP moves the display up to the maximum setting of 90.
NOTE: Each press of a button changes the display by 1 between
1 and 25. Above 25, the display changes 5 at a time…25, 30, 35, etc.
Holding a button in changes the numbers twice each second.
When the water hardness number shows, press SELECT to set.
You can get the grains per gallon (gpg) hardness of your water
supply from a water analysis laboratory, or call and ask your
local water department, if you are on a municipal supply.
2
1
Set Water Hardness Number
NOTE: RECHARGE TIME and a flashing 2:00 AM (factory default)
should show in the display. This is a good time for regeneration to
start (over in about 2 hours) in most households because water is
not in use. HARD WATER is bypassed to house faucets during
regeneration. See the
Automatic Hard Water Bypass During
Regeneration
section.
Press the UP or DOWN button to set the desired regeneration
start time.
NOTE: Each press of the buttons changes the time by one hour.
Holding the buttons in changes the time twice each second.
Be sure to observe the AM or PM as you did when setting
the time of day.
Press the
SELECT button once more.
The display shows the present time of day and
RECHARGE
TONIGHT
.
2
1
Set Regeneration (Starting) Time