Questions about a R.O. unit?

Are you on a private well or municipal water?

RO water is fine and safe to drink. Distilled water is also fine and safe to drink.
You may not need either, but they are excellent choices for safe sodium free drinking water.
Another option is a solid carbon block drinking water filter like Multi-Pure. These are great on municipal water.

I am on city water, heavy in magnesium and calcium, hardness is around 24, not sure about the iron, I also had a Culligan guy come by, I mentioned maybe using potassium instead of sodium and he didnt even know anything about it, duh, I hope the Ecowater presentation tomm goes well, I'm leaning that way. Thanks for the reply.

An RO would be a good idea on your water.

City water rarely has ferrous iron in it.

Here are a few things everyone should ask anyone wanting to sell them a softener.

Ask them about the SFR of the softener and then ask for proof of their figures. Ask if that gpm figure is constant flow or peak for X minutes only and what happens if you exceed it.

Ask them why their softener costs so much.

For Ecowater, ask the difference between their models and a Kenmore, GE or Whirlpool made by the same company in the same factory.

Ask how many regenerations per 8 days and add up the total salt and water used on an 8 day basis.

The way they answer the questions, and the answers will tell you a lot about them and the softener.

As to potassium chloride use. All cation (softening) resin is made in the sodium form, none are made in the potassium (salt substitute) form. But all softeners can use either to regenerate with.

But potassium chloride is less inefficient than sodium chloride. Meaning that the higher the salt efficiency of the softener, the more of it you must use by increasing the salt dose; by up to 30% higher/more.

Potassium usually costs 2 to 2.5 times more for the same size bag of regular sodium chloride softener salt.

Potassium chloride is used by some people that want to limit the added sodium in their ion exchanged softened water, without knowing how much sodium is added. The formula is; 7.85 (mg/l) times the compensated hardness gpg of the water being softened. 24*7.85=188.4 mg of added sodium per liter (roughly a quart) of your softened water. A softener does not use any of the chloride.

If you check the label on various foods and beverages you will find many have much more sodium per serving than you would get if you drank a quart of this softened water. I.E. an 8 oz glass of V8 juice, 560 mg sodium. A 8oz glass of whole milk, like 150. A slice of white bread, usually 120-160 mg of sodium and so on.
http://www.awqinc.com/sodium_softening.html
http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?id=1085

And do you drink a quart of your tap water a day? Many people do not, they use bottled water and still don't drink the recommended 8 8oz glasses per day.

I don't suggest an RO but rarely; most dealers do just to increase the amount of the sale.... Ask them to prove their recommendation as to the need for one.

I usually only suggest one when the compensated hardness is over 35 gpg or when the person's water contains a contaminate that RO will reduce to acceptable levels. The vast majority of people on city water or their own well water rarely have a proven need for an RO like arsenic to zinc. They just think it is a good idea... but a dual stage drinking water filter is a better choice, because the cartridge filters in an RO do most of the removal of taste, odor and many contaminates.

I am not wild about people using salt substitute potassium chloride to regenerate a softener because you can only buy it in the pellet from, its problem with bridging and recrystallization in the bottom of the salt tank and then added maintenance to clean the tank of the rock hard build up and the waste by having to throw away many pounds of the expensive stuff about once a year. Solar crystal salt is the best choice because it causes the fewest if any salt related problems for a softener and it is always the lowest price. It totally dissolves and very rarely bridges. If it causes a dirty ring at the water line in the salt tank, a wet paper towel or two removes it in less just a couple minutes. That residue doesn't harm a softener, it didn't get into the control valve or resin to harm it, and it wouldn't harm most softeners if it does get into them. And it doesn't get into your water if it does get into the softener. IOWs, it is harmless.

Here are a few questions that everyone should ask anyone wanting to sell them water treatment equipment...

Are you intimately familiar with the water conditions and plumbing code requirements in my area?

Do you install what you sell?

Do you service what you sell?

What is the parts and labor warranty on what you sell?

Do you stock parts on the truck for what you sell?

What is your response time for service calls?

Can you provide me with references by local customers that are dealing with the same water conditions that I am?

The way they answer those questions, and their answers, will tell you a lot about them and about the water treatment products they represent.

The more information you have the more informed a choice you can make.

Hey H2O_Man, what is your opinion of the potassium vs. sodium, and since I am on a septic tank, if I went with the sodium would it kill the grass blelow the leech lines?

Bluegrassbubba, the EPA has done research on sodium chloride in septic systems twice over the last 20+ years. They say there is no problem with softener discharge going into one that is operating normally. A few states do still have a ban on it though.

BTW, all those questions you were told to ask anyone you want to buy water treatment from, they are designed to prevent you from becoming a DIYer and buying online. They are designed to keep you dependent on a local dealer. You might want to ask why such advice in a DIY forum.

If you or anyone else wanted to buy online, all you need to do is give your water analysis data to the people you contact.

This forum is Able2Know not able to sell to posters.

Why don't you want people asking questions and then making informed decisions?

A more relevant question to ask is why should only one side of any position be presented in any forum on any subject? After all, to make a choice or decision there needs to be at least two alternatives available.

In the case of water treatment equipment there are so many options locally and online it is foolish to only consider one and then learn you made a mistake later. With real estate it's location, location, location and with water treatment it's dealer, dealer, dealer.

bluegrassbubba,
Regarding KCl vs NaCl there's some info if you click here

BB, I don't use or suggest the use of potassium - it's not worth the extra $.
Diamond crystal salt pellets are best in an EcoWater softener because their exclusive flash brine function.
This results in the most efficient use of water and salt during regeneration available industry wide.
Softener salt discharge has been proven to make the septic system perform better and will not kill vegetation from below.

I hope that helps.