Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
4 System sizing
4.1 Recommendations
4.1.1 Injector/DLFC/BLFC-Valve configuration
Brine Tank Resin Injector DLFC BLFC
syst. Diameter volume
[in] L DF Color UF Color [gpm] DF UF
[gpm] [gpm]
3150/ 24 283 - 424 4 Green 4 Green 20.0 5.0 5.0
1800 30 284 - 425 5 Red 25.0
36 426 - 605 6 White 5 Red 35.0
42 566 - 850 7 Blue 6 White 50.0 10.0 10.0
48 851 - 8 Yellow 7 Blue 70.0
1200
54 1201 - 9 Purple 8 Yellow 80.0
1550
60 1551 - 10 Black 100.0
2000
4.2 Sizing a softener (single unit)
4.2.1 Parameters to be considered
Whenever installing a softener, it is preferable to have full water analysis to ensure the
inlet water content will not affect the resin bed.
Info
Please consult your resin manufacturer specifications to ensure that no additional
pretreatment prior to softening is required.
The below sizing method can be applied for both residential and industrial softeners.
The sizing of a softener must be based upon certain parameters:
• inlet water hardness;
• peak flow rate and nominal flow rate;
• service velocity;
• salt dosage.
The softening and regeneration reactions are driven under certain conditions. To allow
these reactions to take place, make sure that the velocity is convenient during the
different phases for proper ion exchange. This velocity is given in the resin
manufacturer specifications sheet.
Depending on the inlet water hardness, the service velocity for standard softening must
be between:
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 27 / 182
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
Service velocity Inlet water hardness °f °dH
[bed volume per hour] [mg/l as CaCO3] °TH
8 - 40 <350 <35 <19.6
8 - 30 350 to 450 35 - 45 19.6 - 25.2
8 - 20 >450 >45 >25.2
Info
Failure to respect the service velocity will lead to hardness leakage or even total
softener inefficiency.
Note that the water supply piping size may also be useful when estimating the nominal
flow rate, since the size of the piping allows a maximum flow rate to pass. Assuming
the maximum velocity of water in pipes is about 3 m/s, a good estimation for most
common pressure [3 bar] and temperature [16°C] is:
Piping size (internal diameter) Max. flow rate
[in] [mm] [m3/h at 3 m/s]
0.5 12 1.22
0.75 20 3.39
1 25 5.73
1.25 32 8.69
1.5 40 13.57
2.0 50 21.20
2.5 63 34.2
3.0 75 49.2
4.2.2 Determining the required volume of resin
When sizing a softener, make sure that the volume of resin in the tank (bed volume) will
be sufficient so that even when the peak flow rate is reached, the velocity is still
between the above values depending on the hardness. When sizing a softener, always
choose the resin volume and tank size based on the peak flow rate but not on the
nominal flow rate.
Info
Sizing on the nominal flow rate without taking the peak flow rate into account would
result in choosing smaller tank size and resin volume, and may lead in severe hardness
leakage during the service cycle when the peak flow is reached.
The maximum softened water flow rate that a softener can produce is given by the
following formula:
28 / 182 Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
Qservice max = Fsservice × BV with:
Qservice max: service flow rate [m3/h]
Fsservice: service velocity [BV/h]
BV: bed volume of resin [m3]
Knowing this required volume of resin, it is possible now to determine the needed tank.
Note that at least a third of the total volume of the tank must be kept as free space so
that the bed expansion during backwash is sufficient to ensure correct cleaning of the
resin.
4.2.3 Resin exchange capacity and capacity of the unit
The resin exchange capacity and capacity of the unit are two different things that should
not be confused. The resin exchange capacity is the amount of Ca2+ and Mg2+ that can
be retained by 1 liter of resin, which will depend on the resin type and salt dosage,
whereas the capacity of the unit is the capacity of the system, which will depend on the
volume of resin and resin exchange capacity.
Knowing the required volume of resin, it is possible to determine the exchange capacity
of the unit. The capacity of the unit can be expressed in different ways:
• the mass capacity, which corresponds to the weight in equivalent CaCO3 that can
be fixed on the resin, expressed in kg as CaCO3;
• the volume capacity, which represents the maximum amount of water that can be
treated between 2 regenerations. This last capacity takes into account the
hardness of the water to be treated and is expressed in m3 or liter;
• the combined capacity, which represents the volume of water that could be treated
between 2 regenerations if the inlet hardness is 1 °f or °dH. This capacity is
expressed in °f.m3 or °dH.m3.
The resin exchange capacity will depend on the amount of salt to be injected into the
resin bed during the regeneration. This amount of salt is given in grams per liter of
resin. The next table is showing the resin exchange capacity in function of the amount
of salt for a system with standard efficiency regeneration.
Resin exchange capacity as a function of the salt dosage:
Salt amount Corresponding resin °f.m3 °dH.m3
exchange capacity in [g/
[g/Lresin] [per Lresin] [per Lresin]
Lresin] as CaCO3
50 29.9 2.99 1.67
60 34 3.4 1.9
70 37.5 3.75 2.09
80 40.6 4.06 2.27
90 43.4 4.34 2.42
100 45.9 4.59 2.56
110 48.2 4.82 2.69
120 50.2 5.02 2.8
130 52.1 5.21 2.91
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 29 / 182
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
140 53.8 5.38 3.01
150 55.5 5.55 3.1
170 58.5 5.85 3.27
200 62.7 6.27 3.5
230 66.9 6.69 3.74
260 71 7.1 3.97
290 75.3 7.53 4.21
To calculate the system mass capacity:
Mcapacity = Vresin × Cresin ex with:
Mcapacity: system mass capacity [g as CaCO3]
Vresin: volume of resin [L]
Cresin ex: resin exchange capacity [g/Lresin as
CaCO3]
To calculate the system combined capacity:
Ccapacity = Vresin × Ccor resin ex with:
Ccapacity: system combined capacity [°f.m3 or
°dH.m3]
Vresin: volume of resin [L]
Ccor resin ex: corresponding resin exchange
capacity [°f.m3/l or °dH.m3/l]
To calculate the system volume capacity:
Vcapacity = Mcapacity / THinlet with:
Vcapacity: system volume capacity [m3]
Or Mcapacity: system mass capacity [g as CaCO3]
Ccapacity: system combined capacity [°f.m3 or
°dH.m3]
Vcapacity = Ccapacity / THinlet
THinlet: inlet water hardness [mg/L as CaCO3 or
°f or °dH]
CAUTION
If a mixing device is set on the valve before meter, TH = THINLET - THOUTLET.
Having determined the previous capacity allows the operator to know the service cycle
duration.
30 / 182 Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
4.2.4 Valve configuration
Knowing the volume of resin, tank size and specifications of the resin, it is possible to
determine the required valve configuration. The resin specification will give the
backwash velocity, as well as the brine draw and slow rinse velocity that must be
respected in order to ensure a proper regeneration of the unit. From this data,
determine the required backwash flow rate as well as the brine draw and slow rinse
flow rate. In most cases, the fast rinse flow rate will be the same as the backwash flow
rate, however for certain valve types the fast rinse flow rate will be the same as the
service flow rate.
To determine the backwash flow rate:
Qbackwash = Fsbackwash x S with:
Qbackwash: backwash flow rate [m3/h]
Fsbackwash: backwash velocity [m/h]
S: Tank cross section area [m2]
The DLFC installed on the valve has to limit the backwash flow rate to the above
calculated flow rate.
To determine the injector size:
The velocities to be respected for brine draw and slow rinse are given on the resin
manufacturer specifications. Generally speaking, the injector has to allow a flow rate of
about 4BV / h (corresponding to the flow rate of brine being drawn added to the flow
rate of raw water passing through the injector nozzle to create the suction effect).
QInj = 4 x BV / h with:
Qinj: total flow rate passing through the injector
[L/h]
BV: bed volume of resin [L]
Info
This value does not correspond to the brine draw flow rate but to the total flow rate
passing through the injector. Then refer to the injector diagrams at the inlet pressure
in order to check if the injector will give a correct flow rate. See chapters Salt amount
definition [}Page 34] and 1800 Injector flow rates [}Page 34].
4.2.5 Cycle time calculation
From this point, the volume of resin, the tank size, the capacity of the softener and the
valve configuration are determined. Next step is to calculate the regeneration cycle
duration, which depends on the valve configuration and once again on the resin
specifications.
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 31 / 182
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
Info
Preprogrammed cycle times are only factory default programming that need to be
adjusted to fit the system requirements.
For cycle time calculation the valve configuration must be known, which depends on:
• the tank size;
• the resin specifications for the velocity for backwashing the resin bed;
• the velocity of water for brine draw, slow rinse and fast rinse.
Further information needed for cycle time calculation are:
• the resin volume previously determined;
• the salt amount used per regeneration;
• the volume of water to use for backwash, brine draw, slow rinse and fast rinse.
To calculate the backwash duration:
Tbackwash = (NBVbw × BV) / QDLFC with:
Tbackwash: backwash duration [min]
NBVbw: number of bed volume for backwash
BV: bed volume [L]
QDLFC: drain line flow controller size [L/min]
Info
The typical value of the volume of water to be used for backwash is between 1.5 and
4 times the bed volume, depending on the inlet water quality.
To calculate the brine draw duration:
Knowing the injector draw flow rate at the working pressure:
Tbrine draw = Vbrine / Qdraw with:
Tbrine draw: brine draw duration [min]
Vbrine: brine volume to be drawn [L], see Refill
calculation
Qdraw: injection draw flow rate [L/min]
Info
Multiply the amount of salt in kg by 3 to get a approximation of the brine volume to
draw.
32 / 182 Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
To calculate slow rinse duration:
The volume of water to be used for slow rinse is given in the resin manufacturers
specifications. Generally speaking, it is advised that between 2 and 4 BV of water is
used to perform the slow rinse after brine draw. The slow rinse cycle allows brine to be
pushed slowly through the resin bed, allowing the resin to be in contact with brine for
sufficient time and therefore to be regenerated.
Refer to the injector curve at the common working pressure to determine the slow
rinse duration.
Tslow rinse = (NBVsr x BV) / QSR with:
Tslow rinse: slow rinse duration [min]
NBVsr: number of bed volume for slow rinse
BV: bed volume [L]
QSR: injector slow rinse flow rate [L/min]
To calculate fast rinse duration:
The fast rinse is aimed at eliminating an excess of salt in the resin bed and also
recompacting the resin in the tank.
Depending on the valve type, the fast rinse flow rate is controlled by the DLFC or it has
about the same flow rate as in service. The fast rinse velocity can be the same as the
service velocity, and the volume of water to be used for the fast rinse is generally
between 1 and 10 BV depending on the salt dosage.
Tfast rinse = (NBVfr x BV) / QDLFC with:
Tfast rinse: fast rinse duration [min]
NBVfr: number of bed volume for fast rinse
BV: bed volume [L]
QDLFC: drain line flow controller size [L/min]
To calculate the refill duration:
The refill flow rate is controlled by the refill controller (BLFC). The relation between the
BLFC size, the tank size and the resin volume is given in the valve specifications.
To calculate the refill duration:
Trefill = VWB / QBLFC with:
Trefill: refill duration [min]
VWB: Volume of water to be refill to prepare the
brine [L]
QBLFC: BLFC size [L/min]
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 33 / 182
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
VWB = DSalt x BV / Ssol with:
VWB: Volume of water to be refill to prepare the
brine [L]
DSalt: Salt dosage per liter of resin [g/L]
BV: Bed volume [L]
Ssol: 360g/L - Solubility of salt per liter of water
Info
When calculating the time required to draw the brine, take into account that the volume
of brine [Vbrine] will be 1.125 bigger than the volume of water refilled.
4.3 Salt amount definition
The salt settings are controlled through the controller programming. See Resin
exchange capacity and capacity of the unit [}Page 29].
4.4 1800 Injector flow rates
The following tables and graphics represent the injectors flow rate as a function of the
inlet pressure for the different injector sizes.
INJECTOR 5
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
34 / 182 Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
INJECTOR 6
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
INJECTOR 7
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
INJECTOR 8
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 35 / 182
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - System sizing
INJECTOR 9
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Draw
Rinse
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
INJECTOR 10
Total
Flow rate [l/min]
Rinse
Draw
Inlet pressure [bar]
36 / 182 Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019
Installer manual Fleck 3150 NXT/NXT2 - Installation
5 Installation
Mandatory
It is strictly forbidden for not qualified personal, to accede to system’s internal parts to
perform any kind of technical action. Be sure to disconnect the electrical power, close
the water inlet and depressurize the system before opening the front cover to access
internal parts.
5.1 Warnings
The manufacturer will not be held liable for any damages to people or properties
resulting from an improper use of the device not compliant with the following
instructions.
Whenever this guide doesn’t clarify all doubts about installation, service or
maintenance, please contact the technical support of the company that has installed
the device.
Device installation must be done by a qualified technician according to the current
standards and regulations, using tools compliant with a device for a safety use and
referring to that technician also for device maintenance.
In case of out of order or malfunction, before performing any kind of action on the
device, please ensure to have disconnected the transformer from the power source, to
shut off inlet water supply to the valve and to drain water pressure opening a tap down-
line of the valve.
1. Be careful when removing the valve from the box and during subsequent handling,
weight is liable to cause damage to property and persons in case of accidental
impact.
2. Before sending the water on the valve, make sure that all plumbing connections
are tight and properly implemented in order to avoid dangerous leaks of
pressurized water.
3. Use caution when installing welded metal piping near the valve, the heat may
damage the plastic body of the valve and the bypass.
4. Be careful not to let the full weight of the valve on fittings, pipes or bypass.
5. Make sure that the environment in which the valve is installed does not reach
freezing temperatures of the water, the valve may be damaged.
6. Make sure that the tank containing the resin is vertical; otherwise the resin could
enter in the valve and damage it.
5.2 Safety notices for installation
• Observe all warnings that appear in this manual;
• only qualified and professional personnel are authorized to carry out installation
work.
Ref. MKT-IM-010 / C - 18.10.2019 37 / 182