Ecowater 3500 system - owners please comment !!

Have you contacted Kinetico? Their 4040 model may be ideal for your needs.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

I have not contacted Kinetico yet but I will! Thx.

So the Kinetico 4040 splits their resin and carbon tanks where the ecowater 3500 combines them. What are the advantages and disadvantages for each? I assume the Kinetico system costs more than the Ecowater 3500?

I have city water with hardness of 8. Is the 4040 overkill for me?

Check with qwik1320...

qwik1320: Did you end up buying the Ecowater System?

H20_MAN: Everthing I read says NOT to buy a combined carbon resin mix which the Ecowater guy is recommending (ERR3502). What do you recommend??

I won't speak in great detail of the EcoWater system as I don't stats on those systems. My only experiences are the ones that I have seen in service and those I have replaced in the past. They are fine systems and have dedicated dealerships and a strong customer base.

The main reasons carbon is used is two fold. 1- to remove chlorine and other chemicals, both synthetic and organic, from the service water for numerous reasons and desires. 2- to protect resins from damage of specifically chlorinated water that affects resins and degrades their effectiveness over time.

Different carbon media and types (GAC vs Carbon Block) have varying effects on contaminate removal and need to be understood to be best applied.

Mixing carbon and water softener resins may have some effect at removing chemicals from source water but its ability to protect resins is diminished due to its specific gravity and adsorption capabilities.

Carbon also has a shorter life span that resins. Carbon granules either need to be replaced due to exhaustion or replenished due to depletion and expulsion. Having them mixed with resins may lead to more complicated and/or more expensive service calls.

Mixing carbon and resins very soon blends the two media causes them, initially, to mix thoroughly. But as time goes on and the carbon adsorbs elements they swell slightly and become heavier and sink to the bottom of the bed. Its chlorine removal abilities continue but water passes through the resin media (in downflow service systems) first and the resins negative effects of chlorine is as if no carbon is present at all.

Resin is hard and durable; carbon is brittle and can break into smaller 'fines'. The resins beads and carbon granules crash against each other during regeneration. These fines become small enough and light enough to be gradually washed out in backwashing stages. Theoretically, the volume of carbon can be reduced to essential nothing over long periods of time.

We have taken old softeners apart that, we were told, had carbon in it and found no carbon left; just resin beads.

Maybe EcoWater has found this to be true and developed equipment that helps prevent these problems. Kinetico uses different vessels so the the mixing never occurs and replacement of carbon is relatively easy. It also, provides a much larger volume of carbon (0.8 ft3) of carbon giving a longer more effective life span.

Hague, and other companies, also uses different chambers to separate carbon and resin media.

The 4040 is not overkill and I am not sure where that idea comes from. It has a high efficiency resin and very low salt dosage. There are other unique features of Kinetico that sets it apart. As far as finances. I have no idea what the quote would be in your area. Factor both purchase price AND maintenance costs in any decision you make.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Thanks Andy. I agree that maintenance is a critical element in the whole decision process of purchasing water conditioning products. Ecowater states "coconut shell carbon for chlorine taste and odor removal". They've sold many of these units around the world but I haven't found too many complaints either. Ecowater also has a lifetime warranty on the resin tank so would only pay for service.

Can someone who owns this product make any comments?

I've been doing a lot of research. I've kicked out Culligan and Rainsoft - they want too much $$.

I'm down to Ecowater and Kinetico. I do like the remote capability of Ecowater. I wish this decision was easier!

Culligan System = $4500
Rainsoft = $5000
Ecowater = $3000
Kinetico = don't know yet

I live in the North Dallas area...

I'm sure you'll make an excellent decision after your research is complete.

I am always a bit careful whenever I hear "lifetime" whatever. It has become an effective marketing tool but is usually attached to an asterisk(*) and carries with it numerous exceptions. The tanks, are essentially bulletproof and very rarely have any issues outside of freezing--not a big problem in Dallas.... It's the items that are not covered by that warranty that go bad.

Let me know if you ahve any further questions.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Years ago I sold many, many RainSoft softeners with Coconut shell GAC mixed into the resin bed and never experienced a single problem.
These systems are still in service and continue to perform with new metered Fleck 2510SE control valves. The Fleck valve replaces the obsolete RainSoft valve...

Anyway, ECOwater does it better with better GAC and it's covered under your warranty.
Invest in the ECOwater system - you will not regret it.

After days of research I believe I have made a decision. And thanks to everyone who has given excellent advise.

Products range from $500-$8000. The low end models do a good job but have very limited warrantees, have cheaper parts (I'm an engineer and have done some comparisons) and typically need service much sooner.

The upper end models typically come with high pressure sales guys at your home and tell you that you've been drinking poison and they will give you life time of soaps bla bla bla. Sort of buying a car. You negotiate pricing and they typically get their manager on the phone - such a joke. For those of you out there don't be stupid! Don't get pressured into signing something - take your time! I've already been thru this process with Culligan and Rainsoft.

I believe there is a happy medium with product, quality and service. After looking into all the products out there, service complaints, design etc I believe I will go with Ecowater 3502. I can't seem to find any major complaints about this system (Rainsoft you find a ton!). They have done lots of R&D on this unit and it seems to be the best fit for my city water problems.

I plan on getting this installed later in the week and will report back how it went. Right now the price I got over the phone was $3090 installed. I don't know if this is reasonable. I do plan on getting this price down a bit. I hope to only pay between $2500-$2800. I'll let you guys know and thanks again.

After all this research my brain hurts...

I guess you don't want to be a DIYer, am I right?

Yup. I just don't have the time to mess with it. They will need to dig a trench outside and tap into the main water pipe from the outside.

I hope I'm satisfied with the product. I'm not buying the RO system right now. I figure I have drinkable city water and I want to evaluate the water quality first with the conditioner.

Thanks.

You are not alone.
The vast majority of homeowners do not have the time to mess with installing, servicing and repairing H2O systems on their own.
These folks rely on professionals that provide full-service.

Excellent choice jpatterson007, enjoy!

In all fairness to H2oMan, we have taken out old resin/carbon units where the carbon was still place and actually treating chlorine for four years or more.

007,
I am sure you will be happy with your water. Monitor it and keep the serive guys informed if anything shall go wrong.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

Guys, thanks to all of you for helping me in my decision making process. They will be installing it on Wed morning Feb20th.

The final price, installed and all taxes included is $3000. This includes the trenching outside, taping into the main line in front of the house and the electrical work needed. I will also get the 5 year extended bumper to bumper for $200 (he gave me a great price for this).

So in 2 days I will have nice soft water baby!

I'll report back within the first week and let everyone know how it went. Then I'll need to decide if I want the RO system for the kitchen.

jpatterson007,

When a consumer, in any transaction, reaches "a happy medium with product, quality and service" and feels good about their choice they got a dollar's worth for a dollar and there's no better deal to be had than that.

Let us know how it works out.

ok, guys. Got the ECOwater 3502 installed today.

The installation guys were absolutely awesome. Very helpful, explained everything and did a great job with the install. It took them 5 hours to get everything completed (trench digging, electrical, plumbing etc. 2 guys 5 hours who do this everyday. I couldn't imagine if I tried to do this myself.

So the results. I LOVE IT !!! The water of course is nice and soft and all the smell and odors are gone. I installed the remote device on of my walls in the kitchen. It's so cool. It tells you everything from water used each day, week etc. How many days of salt I have left, how many grains of hardness removed daily etc etc. I can control everything from the remote as well (manual regenerations if ever needed, change of hardness etc) without ever going outside.

This system is pretty high tech. So no complaints. Remember service is only as good as the person installing it. If anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area wants the name of the guy who knows his stuff, won't sell you anything you don't need, and is your sales guy and the guy who installs it for you - let me know! I'd recommend him to anyone.

I love this system and my water now!!!!

ecowater
Hi,

Thanks for the series of posts, I just came upon them and it helped clarify the same issues I am having right now - in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I have very hard (9) water with a salt content. I have called several dealers and ecowater seem most recommended in my area. I was/am a little concerned about the cost. But we put a r/o under our sink a couple of years ago hoping that would fix things, it did for a month and then it was clogged. Ugh. So I am wondering if we can use our old-but-unused-r/o with a softener from Ecowater.

Regardless, thanks for your postings they were very informative. Is your system still as satisfying?

Thanks, Darrell

The system is good but the service is not. Fresno Ecowater worked on my system a few times. The 2nd time they put the membraine in backwards. Took them forever to come out and correct it.. Then they serviced it again 2 months ago and screwed up the lines. That caused one to snap and leak. It did $1300 worth of damage to my floor. They to this date will not fix it and refuse to use their insurance company. I have also complained to the BBB and they contacted the company. They have not even received a reply. I checked the company and they do not belong to the BBB. My recommendation to you is to check and see if they are a member of the BBB before you buy any thing or have them service anything. I hope this helps