Your water test provides a base hardness value, but the number entered into a controller can change when iron is present or a manufacturer uses a model-specific rule. Convert ppm to grains per gallon here, then choose your brand or check the manual before programming the unit.
Enter the hardness of the untreated supply. Selecting a control family applies that manufacturer's documented rules; leaving it unselected returns the converted hardness and nothing more, which is the honest answer when the equipment is unknown.
Showing a worked example for 250 ppm with no model selected.
14.6 grains per gallon — base hardness, not a controller setting
This is a base hardness value, not a universal controller setting. Check your model’s manual before programming it.
Two things vary between manufacturers, and both change the value you type in.
The iron adjustment. Whirlpool instructs adding 5 to the hardness number for each 1 ppm of clear water iron, and works the example: 20 gpg hardness plus 2 ppm iron times five gives a hardness number of 30. Pentair, sizing a system rather than programming one, uses a factor of 4 gpg per ppm of iron. Those are different numbers for different tasks, published by different companies. We have found no source that reconciles them into one universal rule, so this calculator will not apply either one to a controller it cannot identify.
The salt type. Whirlpool instructs increasing the hardness setting by 25 percent when potassium chloride is used instead of sodium chloride, giving 25 for a 20 gpg supply. Whether that adjustment applies to another manufacturer's control is a question for that manufacturer's manual.
The controller needs the hardness of the water going in, not the water coming out. Take the sample from an untreated tap ahead of the softener, or use the figure from your utility's water quality report. Whirlpool's programming article asks for two values: hardness and clear water iron. On a private well it suggests taking a sample to a treatment facility; on city water, calling the supplier and asking for both.
Clear water iron is the kind that is clear in the glass when drawn and turns yellow or brown as it stands, usually within 15 to 30 minutes, as air oxidises it. Whirlpool states that its softeners reduce moderate amounts of this type, but will not remove ferric (red water), bacterial or colloidal iron. Adding those to the hardness number does not make the softener remove them.
| Setting | What it controls | When not to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | How much hardness the control assumes each gallon carries, and therefore how much treated water it expects before the resin is exhausted. | Do not raise it to chase softer water. Change it when a test shows the supply has actually changed, or when the value was wrong to begin with. |
| Time of day | When a scheduled regeneration starts. Whirlpool lists an incorrect time as a documented cause of water that is hard only some of the time. | Set it after any power loss. A flashing clock means the control does not know the time. |
| Regeneration time | The hour the cycle begins, usually set for when nobody is drawing water. | Whirlpool's cycle runs about 2 to 2.5 hours, so avoid a start time that overlaps normal household use. |
| Salt type | Whether the control assumes sodium chloride or potassium chloride, on the models that offer the option. | Do not set it to KCl unless you are actually using KCl. Whirlpool notes this screen exists on select models only. |
| Model code | Which configuration data the control uses. Whirlpool shows L30P for a WHES30 and L33P for a WHES33. | Do not change it experimentally. Whirlpool states that an incorrect model code makes the softener operate on incorrect configuration data, and lists it as a cause of intermittently hard water. |
After programming, Whirlpool and Kenmore both describe the same verification: run a regeneration, wait for it to finish, then test at several faucets with a hardness strip. Both describe 0 to 3 gpg, or 0 to 50 ppm, as soft. GE adds that after a correction you should allow a day or so for soft water to flush through the water heater, so a hot tap tested immediately can still read hard even when the fix worked.
Each of these covers a different control. Open the one that names your model or your valve, and read its hardness section before changing a value — the arithmetic above gives you the number, not the keystrokes.
Whirlpool
Water Softener Owner’s Manual — Models WHES30 and WHES33 PDF
Contains the specification table, the hardness and recharge programming steps, the salt bridge procedure, the troubleshooting table and the error codes. The model code shown in diagnostics is L30P for the WHES30 and L33P for the WHES33.
Whirlpool
The ppm-to-gpg conversion, the clear water iron multiplier and the potassium chloride adjustment, as Whirlpool states them.
Whirlpool
Covers time, hardness, recharge time, salt type and salt level. Whirlpool does not list model numbers on this page and states some steps are for select models only, so check it against your own owner’s manual.
Kenmore
Fleck (Pentair)
Fleck 5600SXT Upflow Service Manual PDF
Upflow and downflow are separate documents with different programming chapters. Confirm which configuration your valve is before following either.
Fleck (Pentair)
Fleck 5600SXT Downflow Service Manual PDF
Upflow and downflow are separate documents with different programming chapters. Confirm which configuration your valve is before following either.
Clack
Water Specialist WS1 and WS1.25 Operation and Instruction Manual PDF
Clack states on the cover that this document is for OEM use only and is not the complete system manual. A Clack valve is fitted to a system someone else built, so tank size, resin volume and programme come from that system builder, not from Clack.
Each link goes to the manufacturer or organisation that published it. We do not host copies.