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Valve Operations and Lights

Overview

All DROP treatment valves use the same DROP valve control board. They are used to control the various DROP water treatment valves. All DROP treatment valves have one or more motors, have a water meter to monitor flow of treated water and have four lights used to communicate general status of the unit. During normal use the DROP valves direct water through the treatment media. This normal flow state is referred to as the service position. All DROP treatment valves have the capability to shutoff water to the house and to bypass water around the treatment tank. Currently, these are the available types of DROP treatment control valves:

  • Softener
  • Backwashing Filter
  • Backwashing Filter with aeration
  • Single Tank Aeration Filter
  • Cartridge filter

Valve Settings

Treatment valve devices are set up from the factory with some default values that need reviewed and adjusted according to your water quality and personal schedule. If you have not yet connected your valve device to the system, please see the section “How to Add Your Devices.”

System Settings

The first settings that need to be reviewed are in the System settings. Choose “System” on the left navigation menu and you will see the System Status page. The items in the “System Settings” section need to be reviewed; these are Regeneration Time and System Water Source.

Regeneration Time

The Regeneration Time applies to valve devices that contain treatment media that requires regeneration and/or backwashing. This includes softeners and all various forms of backwashing filters. This setting controls the time of day when the system will begin to regenerate those devices. While a device is in its regeneration cycles any water used in the house or system will not be treated. Therefore, it is important to choose a time of day where water use is least likely. It is also important to understand how long the regeneration of your system will take. For a softener with standard settings it will take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes. A standard backwashing filter typically takes 30 minutes. Aeration type backwashing filters typically take 45 minutes or longer depending on the air draw cycle time. Some DROP installations will require multiple stages of treatment (for example, a backwashing filter and a softener may be installed). These stages can require regeneration on the same day and would occur one after the other starting at the regeneration time. You should select a regeneration start time that would take these times into consideration along with your water usage schedule.

System Water Source

The system water source setting is used by the DROP system to know how to respond to power outages. It can be set to Private Well or Municipal Supply. If your water supply is not one of these choices, if your water supply is dependent on power to be available (i.e. it is supplied by an electric pump) set it to Private Well, otherwise set it to Municipal Supply.

Softener, Water Hardness Setting

If you have a softener as a part of your DROP water management system there is one other setting that must be reviewed, the water hardness setting. To set the water hardness, select “Devices” on the left navigation menu and then select the softener from the devices list. You should then be viewing the Softener, Status and you will be able to adjust your water hardness setting.
The water hardness is a measurement of mineral content (calcium and magnesium) in the water and is measured in grains per gallon. A water test should have been done on your water to determine the hardness measurement of your water source. Use this measurement as the value for the water hardness setting on your system. This setting impacts the efficiency of your softener as well as the ability of your softener to correctly soften your water, so it is important to set this correctly.

Note: If the water contains iron and / or manganese, multiply the total parts per million (ppm) by 4 and then add to the grains per gallon (gpg) of hardness. Use this COMPENSATED HARDNESS level when programming the hardness.

Backwashing Filters, Regeneration Frequency

If you have a backwashing filter of any type, you need to review the setting for the regeneration frequency. Generally, the default setting of six days should be adequate for a majority of installations. However, because of the various applications for filtration and treatment media types, a water test should have been done on your water to determine the incoming water quality and assess your specific usage requirements.

When that test is done, a recommendation will be made as to the equipment you should use and the settings for that equipment. These recommended settings should be used to set your regeneration frequency.

DROP Lights – Normal Operation

Your softener and/or filter will normally be in the service position. This is its normal position, allow it to treat the incoming water supply. The different valve types have different colors when they are in their service position, so they can easily be identified by the color of their lights. These colors are identified in the list below:

While observing your device, you will notice periodic purple flashes on the back lights. These indicate that it is currently communicating wirelessly to the Hub. Also, when the water meter on your unit senses water flow, the front lights on your device will alternate. The rate of alternation of the lights will give a general idea of the current flow rate. The highest frequency of the lights alternating is determined based on the highest flow registered by your system.

The lights can also change color when your device or devices are put into Bypass mode or Water Off. If your water is off, the lights on the valves will be orange. The water can be turned back on using the app or by quickly pressing the button on the Hub. If one of your valves is bypassed, its lights will be bright yellow. “Bypassed” means water will not be treated by that device while in bypass mode. This may be helpful if you want to avoid using treated water in a particular situation, such as watering the lawn.

DROP Light – During Regeneration

When a valve is in regeneration the lights will change color for each step in the regeneration process. While the valve is sitting in a step of the regeneration process, the lights will slowly fade from side to side (wobble). If the valve is moving into position, the lights will rotate according to the direction of the motor’s movement. The colors for each position are as follows:

The app needs to remain open while the firmware data is being sent to the DROP Hub.