LifeSource Water System

A large stainless mineral tank with GAC and a stick of thick pvc,
capped at both ends, and filled with sand and one small copper coil.
It looks like it has a Fleck 5600 valve on it.

My suggestion: Don't waste your time or money.

It is not a softener. It will not reduce or remove any of the hardness in your water.

What do you expect it to do to improve the quality of your water?

Re: LifeSource Water System


I have no experience with them but there are these "salt-free" water softeners ... click here for more info. They are considerably more expensive than conventional ion exchange water softeners and the technology is interesting.

You might reconsider a conventional ion exchange softener using KCl (potassium chloride). Today's computer controlled ion exchange softeners can be very water and salt efficient and animal, plant, and environmentally friendly when sized and setup properly.

Here's some info on KCl and plants... click here for KCl FAQs

More help in Phoenix!!!
I too live in Phoenix, AZ and am also looking for something that I can use for the entire house...from the line in. I want this for plants, etc..don't want the salt (Phoenix water has high salts already, which is what I want to get rid of), nor do I really want the potassium chloride as it is not 100% ok for plants/shrubs either.

What are some suggestions? Does anyone have any VERIFIED working units for instances like this? Not speculation...but hard core evidence...? It seems like there is nothing in this market...

You need an Ion exchange softener to soften the water.
You can use a distiller or RO to reduce salts in the water.

H2O isn't an ION exchange going to require either salt or potassium chloride? Is there nothing out there that does not require one of the above yet works? I know magnets are considered snake-oil however it seems that NAU has them at their campus with success...what oh what should I do...?

A salt free H2O softener does not currently exist.

EcoWater offers the most efficient salt based softener currently available and they
are closer than any other company to bringing a true salt free softener to the market.
This breakthrough in H2O softening is still years away.

Re: More help in Phoenix!!!


A common misconception is that ion exchange water softeners add salt to the water they soften. That is simply not true.

NaCl and KCl are "salts" but ion exchange softeners only swap an "Na" or "K" ion for a "Ca" ion during service not the entire NaCl or KCl molecule. The more grains of hardness in your water the more "Na" or "K" is exchanged into the water.

The only time a "salt" (NaCl or KCl) gets near your service water is when it is "brining" the resin during regeneration and the exchanged "Ca" and residual "Cl" ions go down the drain during regeneration regardless of whether you use NaCl or KCl.

Agreed that NaCl softened water is a plant killer and the old timers really love it because it's cheap. I've been using KCl for over 10 years and the boss waters all her plants from Dahlias to Roses with KCL softened water and they thrive and my water is 26-32 grains hard. We favor the taste of KCl softened water to NaCl softened water but use an undersink POU Reverse Osmosis (RO) unit for drinking, cooking, and icemaker water.

I have friends in PHX and the water there is awful. If you want quality water then ion exchange softening is the most cost effective and using KCl is the most environmentally responsible solution with research and some compromising on your part. You won' get "pure Rocky Mountain Spring water"at your home in PHX from the Salt River Project.

Click here for more info on KCl softened water and plants

Click here for a little info on magnetic softener/conditioners... it's repelling ;-)

Yes, Nanofiltration softens without salt - but it has a few noted limitations.

A picture is worth......

Thanks Kevin.

There are smaller pieces of equipment, certainly, for home use but nonetheless far more extensive (and expensive) that an ion exchange method.

There are no filters, as far as I know, that remove salt (sodium chloride) from water, unless you consider a membrane a filter. Even an ultrafiltration unit will allow salts to pass through.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

I thought that picture reinforced your points very well :wink:


As far as I know membrane filtration will remove salts as will distillation.
When it comes to softening household H2O, Ion exchange is still king.

You sound like a competitor. I have a system, did my research, and LifeSource is the highest rated system on the market. It is tested for 1.6M gallons on the smallest system. I have had mind for 7 years and it has worked great.

customer,
thank you for your reply.

You say, "....highest rated system..." Can you please verify this statement? and rated for what? Certainly not softening. Rated by an internal, biased survey from their marketing team?

I don't understand what you mean by "smallest system". How are these sized? How many cubic feet of carbon does your contain?

And, "....works great." what is it that it does?

Their whole advertising is based on false claims about not using salt, and the hype about leaving minerals like calcium in the water. Why would I want calcium and other 'healthful' minerals in my toilet, shower, washer, dishwasher, water heater, etc.? where thay can be very damaging, in fact.

It is nothing more than a glorified backwashing carbon filter in a completely unnecessary stainless covered tank, sold on-line. It uses a generic valve (Fleck 5600) and doesn't mention if it is timer or demand model. Very little specific information is given on the "how does it work" page. So, I was wondering how you did your research when the maker provides next to nothing.

If you don't respond, I can understand.
It sounds like you are a dealer.