Water Softeners What to buy and why

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I have a recent customer whose basement flooded. Everything, I mean everything was destroyed: furnace, TVs, pool table, tanning bed, bar, carpet, lamps, sofa, chairs, drywall, paneling, even the ceiling tiles became moldy and had to be torn out. Everything (well nearly) had to be removed and thrown away.

The Kinetico K-100 (22-years old) worked the whole time-----UNDERWATER!!!! Completely submerged, it provided softened water and even regenerated. No problems with 'potted parts' here I guess.

French??????????? Someone doesn't know how to properly bash other products. Gary, you really need to get that chip off your shoulder.

Centuries old?....more like millennia as the ancient Egyptians use hydraulics and water turbines as a means of reliable power. Please don't underestimate those historical renditions; it’s closer to 4,500 years old. And even more likely, 4,500 years from now, water will still be a mjor power source.

Bill Prior and Jim Kewely created an amazing technology, from scratch in a garage, and it has survived the test of time. I have personally met both of these gentleman a number of times and their intense devotion to their unique invention is only matched by their relaxed personal approach to interpersonal relationships with all levels of their industry, including the competition. True professionals and honorable men don't whine and bicker.

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Good stuff Andy Exclamation

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@Andy CWS,

Andy CWS wrote:

The Kinetico K-100 (22-years old) worked the whole time-----UNDERWATER!!!! Completely submerged, it provided softened water and even regenerated.

Kinda goofed up the salt dose though Wink

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Actually, the brine drum was in the garage above. We moved it up a few years ago when the guys back was hurt. That way he could back his pick to the drum and unload it.

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@Andy CWS,

Andy CWS wrote:

Actually, the brine drum was in the garage above. We moved it up a few years ago when the guys back was hurt. That way he could back his pick to the drum and unload it.

Oh, gravity... as reliable and cost effective as centuries old water power Idea

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@H2O MAN,

We finally got the hardness of our water checked. It is 13 grains hard. No Iron detected.

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@Hunter208,

Hunter208 wrote:

We finally got the hardness of our water checked. It is 13 grains hard. No Iron detected.

Unless your family uses a huge amount of water, a 1 cubic foot softener with a metered Fleck 2510SE control valve will easily handle 13 gpg.

Have a local company properly size a softener to meet/exceed your needs.

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@H2O MAN,

Hunter, without knowing your family size, the number of bathrooms and the type of fixtures in them, no one can tell you what size softener - just like vehicles, one or two sizes don't fit all households. A 1.0 cuft (32K) is good for a 1 or 2 bathroom house with no large tubs or showers, larger than that it will regenerate much more frequently and use more salt than a correctly sized softener would with a regeneration on average every 8 days. Check out the sizing page on my web site by clicking on my name.

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@H2O MAN,

Hunter, be sure and avoid online sellers by contact a local dealer that sells, installs and services what they sell.

~ H2O MAN

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@DWC,

What is best company for salt delivery in Houston? I hate Culligan.
donna@linenshouston.com

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New to this site and have yet to read all the posts on water softeners but have found a common thread - most of them need a lot of service. That tells me that most of them are junk and can be sold easily to someone looking for a "deal", or a "low price". There are water softeners made right here in the good ol' USA by people who know how to engineer quality.

DIY's should remember, most of what you can buy in a retail store, or from a plumbing supply catalog, or from your best friend who knows a plumber who can get you a deal, has been assembled from parts available from many various parts manufacturers. Not a good idea if you have problems later. And getting service from a plumber is like asking a cigarette company for a heart transplant. Plumbers make their living replacing corroded pipes, faucets, water heaters, etc.

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@michael1111,

michael1111 wrote:

New to this site and have yet to read all the posts on water softeners but have found a common thread - most of them need a lot of service. That tells me that most of them are junk and can be sold easily to someone looking for a "deal", or a "low price". There are water softeners made right here in the good ol' USA by people who know how to engineer quality.

DIY's should remember, most of what you can buy in a retail store, or from a plumbing supply catalog, or from your best friend who knows a plumber who can get you a deal, has been assembled from parts available from many various parts manufacturers. Not a good idea if you have problems later. And getting service from a plumber is like asking a cigarette company for a heart transplant. Plumbers make their living replacing corroded pipes, faucets, water heaters, etc.

I don't agree. The vast majority of softeners sold are sold by water treatment dealers; such as myself. The big box stores sell only residential softeners and they are of low quality, made by one company (Ecowater) and last about 2-5 years before needing repair.

Most softeners sold by a dealer or plumber, well driller, pump guy last 10-20 years service free. And are manufactured with parts from a number of component manufacturers; all in America (with the exception of most resin). They sell their components worldwide and are the world leaders in those parts. Unless you buy a proprietary national brand softener, like Culligan, Kinetico, General Ionics, WaterCare etc. etc., any dealer will have parts.

The most important part of a softener is the control valve, I suggest a Clack WS-1, it is the easiest to repair and has the lowest priced parts. It is the easiest to program and has only 5 parts, not counting the valve body. It was designed to be that way and it has a number of features most control valves do not have.

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Gary,
I would expect you not to agree.
After that, every statement you make, each sentence, has a hole in it and could be challenged. Are you running for political office?

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@michael1111,

michael1111 wrote:

New to this site and have yet to read all the posts on water softeners but have found a common thread - most of them need a lot of service. That tells me that most of them are junk and can be sold easily to someone looking for a "deal", or a "low price". There are water softeners made right here in the good ol' USA by people who know how to engineer quality.

DIY's should remember, most of what you can buy in a retail store, or from a plumbing supply catalog, or from your best friend who knows a plumber who can get you a deal, has been assembled from parts available from many various parts manufacturers. Not a good idea if you have problems later. And getting service from a plumber is like asking a cigarette company for a heart transplant. Plumbers make their living replacing corroded pipes, faucets, water heaters, etc.

Welcome to A2K!

Excellent 1st post Very Happy

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@michael1111,

Well yeah, your statements are false. So I'm not going to agree with false statements.

But prove anything I said as inaccurate or incorrect if you can because I don't want to be wrong.

Let's see if you can fill some of the holes you allude to.

What softener do you sell, know of or propose, that has all the components made by one company?

The only ones that I'm aware of that come close but no cigar are Ecowater (they make all the big box brands Kenmore, GE, Whirlpool and their own dealers' Ecowater) and Hague. But neither of them make the resins they use. So they don't qualify either.

In your opinion, what company makes all the components, including the resin?

Forget it. I see in another post that you sell/service Ecowater; and as I said, they do not make the resin they use.

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Having sold, installed and worked on just about every brand
out there I can make the following statement about ECOwater.

Water treatment equipment bearing the ECOwater brand name
is the cream of the crop, #1, top of the line equipment available.

You get what you pay for.

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Water Softeners What to buy and why

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