Hi!
Our water is hard (we tested it, and our dishes and glasses come with white powdering after a dishwasher ride), and needs a softener. We have called three local companies (in Madison, WI) and have given us good answers about buying a water softener. My husband, though, wants to buy a cheaper unit at Menards or Home Depot and install it himself. I have the feeling that this is not a good business. He says that for our needs (we are two in the house) and the length we plan to stay in the house (for the next 4 years), such a softner (Waterboss, Morton or GE) would do. I am concerned that if we have problems we will have to take it to the store and deal with it, whereas if we buy one at a local company, they will come immediately and take care of it.

The prices for the do-it-yourself ones are $399 to $429, for the local companies are $720 and higher, but they bring it home and install it (we have the pre-instalation from previous owners). What do you recommend?

Thanks a lot!

 

My advice is to buy a softener over the internet that uses a higher quality control valve (Clack WS-1 or Fleck 7000) than any of the makes you've mentioned. Then help him install it by being the 'go fer' and support/cheering section if needed (or let him read the directions to you!). BTW, those things are rarely needed and you have the previous plumbing for one still there! He'll love you for it, you'll be much happier with a softener that won't break down in 3-6 years and love him for that and you'll pay less than the local guys' $720.00 up.

The names you mention... they don't install or service. They have sub-contractors do that if they have any service. Usually (98%) it's a problem with the control valve when the softener doesn't work.

But how do you know what size softener you need? And don't forget to size it for your plumbing flow rate; all softeners have a service flow rate (SFR) that if exceeded, means you son't remove all the hardness, iron etc. in your water. And the SFR is not the flow rate of the control valve @ a 15# pressure loss, it's the volume of resin and bed depth.

What (control valve) is the local guy selling installed for only $720.00?

Gary
Quality Water Associates

 

Dear Gary

I was waiting for your reply. Your comments are always useful and to the point.

For the valves sold locally, we have the option of having them brass or plastic. No brands were specified. The waterboss does not include one and there was one for sale for around $30 which was metal (but I don't know if it was brass).

We still have not checked Sears - which seems to have good reputation for what I have read over the internet

The local sellers recommended us one for 24,000 and the ones I mentioned all have more than this (usually 27,000).

Could you, please, explain a little bit more what you mean by the plumbing flow rate? How do you check this? What do we need in our case? (Two members, one batchroom, dishwasher).

Thanks again.

 

Thank you for the kinds words.

You need the name of the manufacturer of the control valve and I sugggest not buying a softener from someone that can't or won't tell you the name.

That will be lead free (<2% by weight) brass or plastic... the plastics used are Noryl (excellent) and ABS (not good). All the low priced softeners use ABS. Brass is overkill and not all that great as a choice; especially if you have acidic water or water that is aggressive due to high DO and CO2 content or a few other things. Nothing found in water harms Noryl and it can not add anything to the water run through it; it's excellent stuff (a technical term).

I don't understand the $30...

The SFR (service flow rate) of a softener... it's the maximum gallons per minute that can run through the softener. If the softener's SFR is exceeded, the softener can not remove all the hardness, iron etc. from the water.

So it's the most important part of sizing a softener. That's not the SFR of just the control valve, it's the whole softener and many web sites and softener salespeople misstate their softener's SFR. The SFR of a 24k softener is 7 gpm. The average house has a plumbing flow rate of 8 gpm. Houses with 3+ bathrooms will have 10-12 gpm peak flow rates (those times when a number of fixtures are in use) and if there's a shower wall (multiple head showers) or a whirlpool type tub, the peak flow rate can be 15+ gpm. And, 3/4" plumbing can deliver 17 gpm at 50 psi water pressure.

So be careful buying a softener on the capacity alone or you may be very unhappy.

Gary
Quality Water Associates