Water Softeners

[Katodude]

So I am thinking it might be time for a whole house water filter and softener. My wife has wanted one for a long time. So does anyone recommend any particular brands, or what has their experience been.

Here are the test results of my tap water:

FC .5
CC. 3
TA. 110
CH. 150
pH. 8.2 (maybe higher very pink)

 

[Arizonarob]

If I remember, Culligan is the one I used when I lived in FL.
@JoyfulNoise can give you a good breakdown of what to look for.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

If I remember, Culligan is the one I used when I lived in FL.
@JoyfulNoise can give you a good breakdown of what to look for.

First you start with a water analysis of the water coming into your home. Ideally you’d like to know calcium hardness (CH), general hardness (GH) and if there is any iron present. Free chlorine (FC) and chloramine (CC) is good to know to. TDS doesn’t matter much as most water suppliers are required to hold that below 500ppm by the EPA but total suspended solids (essentially “dirt” ) would be nice to know. All this can be done be with home testing and/or mail-in testing (especially for iron and TSS).

Once you know what your raw water source looks like then you need to ask the following questions -

(1) What is my monthly water usage in gallons per day (both peak usage and average)?

(2) Do I have a service loop in my garage or mechanical closet that I can hook up to or do I need to install equipment at the main? What plumbing size do I have (1” pipe is typical)?

(3) Do I need to prefilter my water at all to lower TSS? (Not typically for municipal water, but sometimes it’s needed)

(4) Do I want to eliminate chlorine/chloramine from the water?

Once you have that information, you can properly size a water softener, set it’s processing and reserve volume, and add on any extra features like GAC or particulate filters. A modern water softener should use an exchange resin that is at least 10% cross-linked polymers or better. Cross-linking reduces the exchange resin capacity (how much calcium it can hold) but improves the resins lifetime by reducing the effects of chlorine oxidation.

If you have more than 1-2ppm of iron in your water, then you have a bigger issue on your hands. Iron destroys the exchange resin in two ways - it catalyses oxidation and it irreversibly binds to the resin reducing its calcium holding capacity. So, when high iron is present, you need to prefilter it. Unfortunately, that greatly adds to the expense of a softener setup because greensand iron filters are expensive and require a bit more care & maintenance than a hardness filter.

If you don’t need to worry about iron than the best setup for a hardness softener is a dual tank system where the brine (salt) tank is separate from resin filter. Clack control valves are considered the “best of breed” in process control valves. Fleck/Pentair valves are cheaper but not as reliable.

 

[setsailsoon]

I installed one about 6 years ago Matt's list above is excellent. I learned some of it the hard way without his list. At that time I found a DIY forum recommended a Fleck (before they were purchased by Pentair) to work very well at a fraction of the water softener companies that do the complete installation for you. You've got to be careful with them. My neighbors went with that way with two different companies and got less resin bed for about 3X my cost and I have the 10% cross-linked resin, they don't. I'm sure there are more reputable dealers out there that charge a fair price but my neighbors didn't find them. Their water test results were interpreted in a real "sales pitchy" way that also exaggerated the water hardness and damage our levels cause. I also added an under the sink RO unit for drinking and supply to my ice maker. My cost was about $200 for the unit they added as an $800 up sell.

My system's been trouble-free so far and my guess is the higher cost Genesis and other control heads will last longer. But at my self install cost I can replace it a couple of times or have it rebuilt. Do the homework Matt recommends and plan out the installation carefully. The two tank system is really superb at a higher cost of course. If you have only one tank each time the unit regenerates a bypass around the unit allows unsoftened water into your system. Not a big deal since properly sized this only happens every 10 days or so for about 40 minutes. For the wife and me I just set the unit to regen at 2 am so it's very unlikely we'll every have bypass water enter at that time. Hardest part for me was digging down to the main water supply line at the house and routing/fitting the drain tube for regen waste. If you have a water softener loop as Matt describes installation is definitely easier. Our local plumbing code requires a special fitting for this. Not hard to find but didn't come with the kit I got from an online supplier. I also got the Hach 5B total hardness test kit. I use it a couple times per year to check performance. So far always less than 1 grain/gal. My wife is a stickler for her water quality and would probably report before my routine tests. She especially likes the "slipperier" feel.

I hope this helps.

Chris

 

[Katodude]

This is very helpful, thank you.

I am pretty sure I have a 1” pipe at the main. I do not have a bypass in the garage.
Is there a problem installing the softener outside, or am I going to have to pump in a bypass in the garage?
I don’t think I have iron but will get a water test done to be sure (I just checked the cities water report).
We use about 250 gallons per day according to the water bill. Anywhere from 8 to 10 CCF per month.

I will call a couple of water softener companies and see what they charge, but Chris guessing from your experience my best bet might be to buy the high end products on line and have a reputable plumber just do the install?

 

[Arizonarob]

Chris guessing from your experience my best bet might be to buy the high end products on line and have a reputable plumber just do the install?

That’s what Matt did with his system.

 

[jseyfert3]

Thanks for the reminder. I was testing my tap water for CH and tested soft water and was getting 50-75 ppm. I meant to check the softener settings cause it's either set wrong or the resin is old. Water still feels soft compared to unsoftened water though. (CH of city water is ~400 ppm)

Good news for me is my softener has a separate resin tank so a DIY resin replacement should be pretty easy if that's what it needs.

Good luck, you'll enjoy the softener!

Their water test results were interpreted in a real "sales pitchy" way that also exaggerated the water hardness and damage our levels cause.

Oh for sure. I had a company come out to quote a softener on a different house a few years back and it was the slimiest, most snake-oil filled sales pitch I've ever seen. I'll never have a company quote me an install ever again.

I ended up with a cheap Whirlpool softener at that house cause I didn't have a lot of money and I didn't plan on being there for long enough to justify a more expensive, seperate salt and resin setup like Matt recommends. It was already plumbed for a softener cause there was one at the house but it was broken, so a DIY swap was easy.

 

[markayash]

I am in Atlanta so don't need a softener but did install dual 20" water filters probably 10 years ago and love them. I have a sediment filter then a odor/taste one after that..Few times I have bypassed them and noticed the odor in the water after a day or 2.
This guy has all kind of water filters and housings if you want a filter before the softener.

WaterFilters.net | Wholesale Water Filtration Systems & Filters

Get top-quality wholesale water filtration systems & filters at WaterFilters.net. Shop bulk water filters for clean, safe water at unbeatable prices with fast shipping!

www.waterfilters.net