system Water Softening GE Appliances Safety Information Owner’s Manual & Installation Instructions Proper installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Installation Instructions GNSF39A01 GNSF48A01 Drain connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Important recommendations . . . .4 Installation instructions . . . . . . . .4-6 Planning and location . . . . . . . . . . .5 Programming the control . . . . . . . .9 Sanitizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Specifications and dimensions . .
GE & You, A Service Partnership. IMPORTANT! Fill out the Consumer Product Registration Card. Two easy ways to register your appliance! ■ Through the internet at www.geappliances.com ■ Complete and mail the enclosed Product Registration Card FOR YOUR RECORDS Write the model and serial numbers here: # # You can find them on the back of the control head. Staple sales slip or cancelled check here. Proof of the original purchase date is needed to obtain service under the warranty.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION. READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE USING. WARNING! For your safety, the information in this manual must be followed to minimize the risk of electric shock, property damage or personal injury. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ■ Check and comply with your state and local codes. You must follow these guidelines. ■ Use care when handling the water softening system. Do not turn upside down, drop, drag, or set on sharp protrusions.
Installation instructions. CAUTION: Certain plumbing skills are needed for installation. If you are unsure about any part of the installation of this product, consult a professional plumber. Unpacking and Inspection Be sure to check the entire softener for any shipping damage or parts loss. Also note damage to the shipping cartons. Contact the transportation company for all damage and loss claims. The manufacturer is not responsible for damages in transit.
Plan How You Will Install the Softener You must first decide how to run in and out pipes to the softener. Look at the house main water pipe at the point where you will connect the softener. Is the pipe soldered copper, glued plastic, or threaded galvanized? What is the pipe size? WARNING: Use only lead-free solder and flux to prevent lead poisoning. See Typical Installation Illustration, Fig.1. Use this as a guide when planning your particular installation.
Installation instructions. Typical Installation Illustration Fig. 1 Soft water MAIN WA TER PIPE Hard water Hard water to outside faucets CROSS-OVER Use if water supply flows from the left. Include single or 3-valve bypass. Union (2) (not supplied) 120-volt outlet Hard water Retainer (2) Clips (2) 24V transformer Soft water Copper tube, 1” (2) O-rings (2) From softener outlet Venturi nozzle To softener inlet INLET NOTE: See Drain Hose Connections section.
Step-by-step installation instructions. • Turn off the gas or electric supply to the water heater, in the possibility that the water heater may be drained while draining pipes. Fig. 3 Clips • Turn off the water supply to pipes to be cut and drain the house water pipes. O-rings • Open both hot and cold faucets. 1 Install bypass valve: • Remove plastic shipping plug and retainer from valve outlet. Fig.
Step-by-step installation instructions. 5 Install the brine tank overflow fittings and hose: Fig. 5 • Insert the rubber grommet into the 3/4″ diameter hole in the brine tank sidewall as shown in Fig. 5. • Push the end of the hose adapter elbow into the grommet as shown in Fig. 5. • Attach a length of hose to the hose adapter elbow. Use a hose clamp to hold it in place. • Locate the other end of the hose at the drain point. DO NOT ELEVATE this hose higher than the elbow on the brine tank.
Touch or Hold button RECHARGE TONIGHT RECHARGE NOW TOUCH or Up (+) button HOLD SET TIME HARDNESS Set button Down (–) button Display DATA REMAINING CAPACITY FLOW RATE GPM GALLONS TODAY AVG. DAILY GALLONS Data button Excel Programming the Control Set water hardness number Timer settings required—upon installation and after an extended power outage. NOTE: If 15 (factory default) and HARDNESS do not show in the display, press the SET button until they do.
Step-by-step installation instructions. Sanitizing Procedures To complete the installation, do the following sanitizing procedures. Care is taken at the factory to keep your water softener clean and sanitary. Materials used to make the softener will not infect or contaminate your water supply and will not cause bacteria to form or grow. However, during shipping, storage, installing and operating, bacteria could get into the softener. For this reason, sanitizing as follows is suggested when installing.
Specifications/Dimensions—See rating decal, located on the Water Softening System. Rated Capacity* GNSF39A GNSF48A Amount of high capacity resin (lbs/cu. ft) 54.6/1.05 67.6/1.30 Resin tank nominal size (in., dia.
About the water softener system. Service 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 hard minerals. This is called ion-exchanging. It is much like a magnet attracting and holding metals.
Breaking a Salt Bridge Sometimes, a hard crust or salt bridge forms in the salt storage area. It is usually caused by high humidity or the wrong kind of salt. When the salt bridges, an empty space forms between the water and salt. Then salt will not dissolve in the water to make brine. If the brine tank is full of salt, it is hard to tell if you have a salt bridge. Salt is loose on top, but the bridge is under it. The following is the best way to check for a salt bridge.
About the water softener system. Cleaning the Nozzle and Venturi Assembly A clean nozzle and venturi is needed for the water softening system to work properly. This small unit makes the suction to move brine from the salt storage area to the resin tank during regeneration. If it becomes plugged with sand, dirt, etc., the water softening system will not work and you will get hard water. To get to the nozzle and venturi, remove the water softening system top cover.
Normal Operation, Timer Display During normal operation, the present time of day and AM or PM show in the control display area. When the demand computer determines a regeneration is needed, RECHARGE TONIGHT begins to flash in the display along with the present time. RECHARGE TONIGHT flashes until the next regeneration start time, then changes to RECHARGE NOW, which flashes until the regeneration is over. The display also shows the current cycle in the regeneration process.
About the water softener system. Feature/Service: Automatic Electronic Diagnostics The timer computer has a self-diagnostic function for the electrical system (except input power and water meter). The computer monitors the electronic components and circuits for correct operation. If a malfunction occurs, an error code appears in the timer display. The chart on Error Codes shows the error codes that could appear and possible defects for each code.
Timer/Softener, Service Checkout Procedure If you are not getting soft water, and an error code is not displayed, use the procedures below to find the problem. First make the following visual checks.
About the water softener system. Service: Manually Initiated Electronic Diagnostics 1 On To enter diagnostics, press and hold the DATA button until the display appears as shown. NOTE: If the softener is in the middle of a regeneration, top part of the display shows the cycle of regeneration and minutes of the cycle remaining. If two cycle names are flashing, the valve is in transition between the cycles.
Service: Manually Advance Regeneration Check This check verifies proper operation of the valve motor, brine tank fill, brine draw, regeneration flow rates and other controller functions. First, make the initial checks and the manually initiated electronic diagnostics. NOTE: The face plate display must show a steady time (not flashing). 1 Press the TOUCH or HOLD button and hold for three seconds. RECHARGE NOW begins to flash as the water softening system enters the fill cycle of regeneration.
About the water softener system. Service: Regeneration and Heavy Duty Backwash NOTE: Each of the following functions has a factory set default value. The defaults are: Regeneration start time –2:00AM ; Maximum days between regenerations –0 (display shows dY–); Heavy duty backwash –OFF. The defaults are suitable for most installations. However, depending on water supply quality, household peak water use hours, etc., adjustment is available to meet specific needs. To make a change, read and do the following.
Setting: Model Code, 12 or 24 Hour Clock and Gallons or Liters Measured Model Code: The timer must have the right model code set to operate the water softening system correctly. The correct code setting for the GNSF39A is A-31. The correct code setting for the GNSF48A is A-39. If is flashing in the display, do steps 3, 4, 6 and 8 below. To check for the correct code setting for your model, and to reset it if needed, do steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 below.
Care and cleaning of the water softening system. Checking the Salt Storage Level and Refilling Brine (salt dissolved in water) is needed for each and every regeneration. The water for making brine is metered into the salt storage area by the water softening system valve and control. However, you must keep the tank supplied with salt. When to refill with salt: Check the salt level a few weeks after you install the water softening system and every week after that.
Before you call for service… Troubleshooting Tips Save time and money! Review the chart on this page first and you may not need to call for service. NO SOFT WATER – Most Common Problems: Check the following before calling for service • Salt in softener...at least 1/3 full. • By pass valve in “Service” position. Knob should be in the OUT position. • Check hardness setting in control. Verify hardness of supply water. Water hardness can vary throughout the year (see Programming the Control section).
Before you call for service… Troubleshooting Tips Problem Possible Causes What To Do Water hard sometimes Using hot water while the water softening system is regenerating • Avoid using hot water during water softening system regenerations because the water heater will refill with hard water. See Automatic Hard Water Bypass During Regeneration section. Control hardness number setting too low • Press and release the SET button until HARDNESS shows in the display.
Problem Possible Causes What To Do Salty tasting water after installation Insufficient backwash and rinse time •Increase backwash time. See the Service: Regeneration and Heavy Duty Backwash section. Low water pressure •Check pressure; should be minimum 20 psi. Restricted drain hose •Clean and reconnect hose. Resin beads showing up in drinking water and sink Cracked distributor •Call for service. Sounds you might hear Running water from the unit into a drain •This is normal.
Parts list.
16 12 15 17 4 14 37 13 11 6 19 18 56 20 21 22 55 3 7 { LITERA TURE 999 29 23 8 10 36 24 30 28 9 26 27 35 34 31 33 32 25 5 27
Parts catalog. REF. #. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 55 56 101 103 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 28 CAT. #.
REF. #. 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 130 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 143 144 145 146 147 148 150 151 998 999 CAT. #. PART DESCRIPTION WS22X10021 WS03X10017 WS15X10027 WS03X10018 WS03X10019 WS15X10025 WS03X10020 WS22X10029 WS35X10020 WS22X10030 WS03X10025 WS03X10035 WS03X10033 WS26X10008 WS26X10009 WS26X10007 WS02X10015 WS26X10006 WS02X10016 WS60X10007 WS03X10037 WS60X10008 WS28X10009 WS19X10008 WS19X10009 WS03X10024 WS15X10026 WS35X10021 49–50020-3 PLUG, FILL FLOW, .
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Consumer Product Ownership Registration Dear Customer: Thank you for purchasing our product and thank you for placing your confidence in us. We are proud to have you as a customer! Follow these three steps to protect your new appliance investment: 1 2 3 Complete and mail your Consumer Product Ownership Registration today. Have the peace of mind of knowing we can contact you in the unlikely event of a safety modification. After mailing the registration below, store this document in a safe place.
GE Water Softening System Warranty All warranty service provided by our Factory Service Centers, or an authorized Customer Care® technician. For service, call 800-GE-CARES. For The Period Of: GE Will Replace: One Year From the date of the original purchase Three Years From the date of the original purchase Ten Years From the date of the original purchase Any part of the Water Softening System which fails due to a defect in materials or workmanship.
Service Telephone Numbers. GE Answer Center® 800.626.2000 The GE Answer Center® is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. OR Visit our website at: www.geappliances.com. In-Home Repair Service 800-GE-CARES (800-432-2737) Expert GE repair service is only a phone call away. Special Needs Service 800.626.2000 800-TDD-GEAC (800-833-4322) GE offers, free of charge, a brochure to assist in planning a barrier-free kitchen for persons with limited mobility.