We purchased a Culligan Water Softner system in Oct 98 for $2600. On April o-rings failed in the control valve body leaking water just 1 inch right in front of control circuit board of the Mark 100 control module. The design is so poor that when an o ring fails water is sprayed directly onto the circuit board. There are no barriers. UL code violation? Upon failure of o rings, a company technician advised me that the warranty is not valid.
The water quality caused the o ring to fail, thus damaging the circuit board. Ok I swalled that temporarilly. Had to purchase parts, valve body $62, circuit board $261. When I got the new valve body with new o rings I found that the design of the control arm was re-engineered to avoid putting lateral movement on the valve piston. The original design caused premature o ring failures.
Thus my problem. A bad design caused o ring failures which damaged the poorly placed circuit board. Now for the comment of the water causing the o ring to fail. After some research, there are facts that sulfur in the water can cause o-ring damage BUT only on certain o ring materials. So culligan sold me a system knowing I had sulfer in the water, designed the valve with o-rings that deteriorate with sulfer.
What a scam. As an engineer, this is a very poorly designed product. The fire safety is also an issue. Electricity and water and no separation. I will go out of my way and make sure Culligan never gets a new customer.
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