Thought the question might be asked before so did a search of water softeners and didn't see it.

Just bought a house (vacant for 6 months) where the pump - tank - look ok but the water softener appears very rusty, no salt holding tank and needs to be replaced.

First,,,do I want to use pellets in the new system?

Second, how much should I spend (Home Depot) and what extra do I get for more money? Just more capacity?

 

Always use salt pellets, the cheaper crushed salt can cause problems with the internals of the softener (dirt, inpurities, etc).

The capacity of the unit you need depends on the size of your family. If you have children or otherwise use a lot of water, consider buying the higher priced (more capacity) units. They don't require regeneration nearly as often. Also consider the softeners that "regenerate on demand", they save money on salt!

 

hopro:

The more expensive grade of salt will cause less trouble with your softener.
It is important to have the softener sized correctly.
Too small and you will have to regenerate too often and there may be a high pressure drop when running high volumes of water.
Too large and there could be too long an interval between regenerations which in some cases could cause the salt to become impacted.
Most reliable softener suppliers will test your water for free and do a calculation based on your family size and water useage to determine the correct capacity.

Although some people don't like the complication I prefer a metered softener with a digital display.
With these you can see your consumption and more easily make adjustments.
I also don't care for the one tank systems where the resin tank is stuck in the brine tank.
You get less salt capacity and it's more difficult to service and clean.

 

Is there a need to clean the tank holding the salt every so often.

I can see it can be a hassle for the one tank unit.