7278434 Water Softener Bypass Valve

Worked like a charm. Old manifold sprung a leak and no matter what I changed, it wouldn't stop. Swapped this in with silicone lubricant and not a drop leaking after a week. Far less frustration than I figured and worked like a champ. The bypass isn't quite as good as the original, still has a small amount of water that flows in bypass mode but it's manageable. Lot better than a new $500 softener.

Perfect fit for kenmore water softener

My water softener started leaking water into the tank and onto the floor of the garage. I tried replacing the o-rings on my bypass valve where it attaches to the water softener. Slowed it down but that was about it. Replace the entire valve and liberally coated the o-rings with o-ring lube. I had to buy some from Home Depot to make sure I got a good coat of the lube on the rings. Everything works fine now. Good product

I have the Whirlpool WHES33 LE33 water softener. One day on a whim just checked the salt level only to find the entire salt reservoir full of water. Deduced that water was leaking where the bypass manifold plugs into the softener. I thought O-rings right away and went ahead and wasted my time replacing all the O-rings only for it to continue leaking. Upon even further inspection, found a practically microscopic crack in the manifold assembly. Only visible while shining a light through the plastic. According to Whirlpool, the exact correct replacement is part No. 7370286 and it is no longer available, I would have to replace with the manifold that has threaded adapters. Well I wasnt looking to change out the in/out fittings so I continued my homework. Knowing all the different softener “manufacturers” are all using pretty much the same parts, I came across this “Kenmore” version. Well what do ya know, its a direct replacement for the Whirlpool one which is “no longer available”. My water softener is back on line with OE configuration.

Item came very quick. Used to replace older one that was leaking. Only been in a few days hopefully will last 4-5 years.

I have a 5+ years old GE GXSF30V softener that the output connecting to the unit had a small leak by where the locking clip is. This is the right part and fit perfectly without any leaks. Naturally, for this repair you would think it's the o-ring that is leaking, but it's not the case. You MUST shut off the water main to relieve the line pressure in order to remove the locking clips. With a mid size flat screw driver to pick/remove the clips carefully. O-ring replacement did not address the root cause for me. The whole by-pass valve must be replaced to stop the leak, and it did. My research tells me many have the same hairline crack that is invisible. Mine is on the outlet side or left side when you are in front of the softener. The crack is on the inside/top, so small and invisible, but it can leak a few gallons a day to your brine tank. If I've known better, then I will skip the O-ring, go ahead with this part and be done. But your process of elimination may still involve the o-ring replacement as your first step. You have to pick your battle.

Had a constant drip between the diverter and the valve body "inbound", and it was slowly filling up the salt storage tank. Rebuilt the venturi, thinking it wasn't pulling up brine through the recharge cycle. Nope. Replaced O-rings. Nope. People are correct. Diverter can develop an invisible crack! This did the trick. It comes with two O-rings installed, but it's a good idea to replace the O-rings on the two adapters that connect to the supply side of the diverter (circled in red). Use Soft Water Supply's 4 Pack 7170288 O-Rings - 7337571 Kit plus 1 gram silicone o-ring lubricant ASIN B07MZFRWWB. They are perfect, unlike some knock offs that don't fit. To get the holding clips off, (before disassembly!!!) SWITCH OFF HOME WATER SUPPLY, open a faucet to drain pipes. This will depressurize the brine tank and release tension on the holding clips on both sides of the diverter. Brine tank will not depressurize if diverter is on bypass.

Is as advertised. I thought I was going to have to get a new softener but traced my issue to the valve and order this replacement, saved a bundle over going to Sears. Easy to install and works great.

Fixed the water softener!