Any one know where I can purchase softener Resin at a good price. The local price is $200 a bag. :) :)

I found this forum while doing an internet search for water softeners with fleck valves. I have a Fleck 5600 Econominder unit that was installed in 1995. I have owned this 2200 sq ft house in Phoenix, AZ since 2003 and because the previous owner was a six week a year snowbird, the unit has probably had about six years of use. A couple months ago, the unit kept running for about 12 hours, like something was stuck and then finally stopped. The water bill went up by about $40 and the salt cubes in the tank didn't decrease. We have pretty hard water here, about 20 grains per gallon and I can already see it on the shower glass. A lot of people in my neighborhood purchase a 32,000 grain Ultima unit (locally made) with a 3/4" Fleck 5600 valve for $1074.60 installed from a local water tech company. The technicianl from the company was two doors down on a service call. I had him come into my garage and look at my old unit, told him the situation and he said it's not worth fixing the old unit and to buy the 32,000 grain Ultima unit with a 1" Clack valve instead of a 3/4" Fleck for $1074.60 installed. He said with only two adults living in my house, we do not need a 40,000 grain unit. He also said a Big Blue unit is not needed. It looks identical to the unit I have, except that it says Ultima on the tank. Some people in the neighborhood were convinced by plumbers to purchase a 40,000 grain Ultima Unit with the Fleck valve for $1300 along with a Big Blue filtering system for an additional $475. What do you all think of the techs price and recommendation of the 32,000 grain Ultima with the 1" Clack valve for $1074.60 installed vs fixing my existing unit?