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Thu 7 Aug, 2008 05:32 am
My house has a RainSoft Classic Apollo v.2 Water Softener, but it is not plumbed in. When I purchased the home 5 years ago, it was disconneted. The previous owners did not disconnect it, but someone before them. The previous owners owned the house 2 years, so at a minimum, the unit is now 7 years old.
When I moved in, the local dealer came out and did a free inspection. They said it "might" need up to $300's in parts, but there was no way to know until I had water supply plumbed in. I told them I'll pass for now.
Fast forward to doay and my wife wants me to get the unit hooked back up. It looks to me like the valve on this unit is brass (there is a little tag that says something about brass on it), and I've read that I might be out of luck for a replacement, which makes the unit worthless. I'm wondering a few things:
1) To test the unit, can I rig up the inbound water feed to use my house, and leave the outbound disconnected, so that water just flows out onto the grass.
2) Will it be easy to determine if the unit is functioning? I know nothing about how it works and have no manual
3) If the valve is brass, am I really out of luck? There is no way for the unit to be updated with a fleck valve?
4) This unit is installed outside next to the main water feed into the house, with no protection of any kind. I live in Orlando, FL so extreme cold and freezing is really not a concern, but high heat and sun is. I've read this is pretty bad for the unit. If I fix or replace, I will wan to put the unit in the same place. Would a crude wood enclosure secured to the house be adequate for outdoor element protection?
5) If I need to replace this unit, I'm not looking to spend a ton of money. My wife mainly wants to get the hardness out of our water, which isn't really THAT hard to begin with. It's city water and it is drinkable. However, all of our water that we drink is tap filtered through the filter into our Maytag ice2o fridge. Sure, it would be great if all the water in my house got filtered so I can drink it out of the tap, but I don't need to pay for that level of filterng. I'm looking at a budget for the unit itself of $1000 (less ideally) to get a unit that I can place outdoors.
Quote:Need advice on older RainSoft Classic Apollo v.2 unit
My best advice is let the dealer repair it or bite the bullet and replace the entire unit with something new.
The Apollo is a PITA to work on and the old brass valve is obsolete.
A new top of the line North Star system would be a good choice for under $1K.
I'm trying to recall my memory from 5 years ago, but I seem to remember the dealer wanting $250-300 just to plumb the unit in to test it. Then go from there. I've got a guy who I can have plumb it into the main feed for about $120, but if I do that, and replace the unit, I incur more re-plumbing costs.
The more important question might be, Is this unit even worth keeping and fixing? I have to think that since it was disconnected, something is broken. What's the quality like of this old unit vs. something modern that I can do within my intended price range?
With the test & repair prices you have quoted and the unknown hidden problems associated with a used
obsolete unit that has not run for some time I say dump it and start shopping for something new and modern.
The
North Star unit is an excellent unit for the money.
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Are there any concerns about washing my cars with water softened in salt based systems? Would the water have any adverse effects on longevity of wax?
I looked around online a little and see there are 4 system times of salt-free, salt-based, RO, and magnetic. Trying to learn a little more about salt-free vs salt-based. It seems like salt-free systems may run a little over my budget, but if there are good benefits to them, I may be willing to spend a tad more.
There are no ill effects to your vehicle washed in softened water as long as you keep it in the shade and dry it ASAP.
There are currently no salt-free softeners available in the market place that actually work - none, zip, nada.
Gotcha. Thanks
While I'm on the car thing. Is there any type of whole house de-ionizing system that would make sense? Something to use in conjunction with a Northstar or home system that includes everything into one? And am I looking at a huge cost?
I know people who really love their CR Spotless systems for washing cars but since they have media filters that have to be replaced, I always thought it wouldn't make sense to connect that through an entire home. Is there something that yields the same result that designed for whole house use? And most importantly, is there any benefit for connecting it up in a whole house fashion?
Look for a commercial DI tank exchange service. Labs use a bunch of these.
It will be a simple in and out tank packed with both Cat & An Ion resins.
Use this water just for washing your vehicles and have the tank swapped out for a fresh one when exhausted.
Thanks again. Can you recommend any other brands of water softener with a budget of up to $1000? It would be nice to look at at least two different manufacturers.
What about Kenmoore and GE systems I can pickup from HD/Lowes/Sears and DIY ?
I've been trying to track down someone who sells NorthStar to the end user in my area. I had to call a sales partner, who pointed me to a wholesaler, who pointed me to a couple local plumbers they recently sold to. Not the easiest process for an end user to rty and get information and pricing.
HDClown wrote:
What about Kenmoore and GE systems I can pickup from HD/Lowes/Sears and DIY ?
I've been trying to track down someone who sells NorthStar to the end user in my area. I had to call a sales partner, who pointed me to a wholesaler, who pointed me to a couple local plumbers they recently sold to. Not the easiest process for an end user to rty and get information and pricing.
The North Star web site should help you find a local supplier.
The top of the line Whirlpool system ain't bad for the money.
I pulled up the Whirlpool systems online and it looks like the WHES40 and WHES45 are the same in spec's except that the WHES45 is 45000 grain (vs 40000) and the WHES45 has dual tank. 1 year better warranty on the WHES45.
What is the benefit of a dual tank vs. single tank system?
HDClown wrote:I pulled up the Whirlpool systems online and it looks like the WHES40 and WHES45 are the same in spec's except that the WHES45 is 45000 grain (vs 40000) and the WHES45 has dual tank. 1 year better warranty on the WHES45.
What is the benefit of a dual tank vs. single tank system?
Dual tank systems (separate softener with a separate salt tank) are much easier to maintain.
I'd prefer to not have to go through a plumber or be reliant on someone who charges outrageous hourly rates for basic work. I have a handyman who does quality work for me, including plumbing related at $40/hr, and I'd much rather use him to install a unit for me. Any future maintenance I could handle myself.
I called my county water department and they told me the average water hardness is 7.5 to 10 "per grain". I'm not sure how to use that figure to calculate what size I need. Could you assist? I have 2 people in my household and a small child.. We may have a second child, which would put us at "4 people" I suppose.
HDClown wrote:What is the benefit of a dual tank vs. single tank system?
Usually that type of softener is called a two tank and "dual tank" refers to a twin alternating regenerated softener.
They all have a separate resin tank and a separate salt tank. The twin/dual type has two resin tanks and a separate salt tank. They are much easier to work one and, you can get them in any size you need where cabinet/one piece models you can usually only get up to a 1.2 cubic foot size (40K) unless they use fine mesh resin. Fine mesh resins have a higher pressure loss than regular mesh of SST-60 resins.
Also, the K of capacity of all softeners is adjustable; you simply adjust the number of lbs of salt per regeneration.
All softeners must have a salt dose setting and have a way to adjust it. As an example, Kinetico and IIRC all the big box brands use a float in the salt tank while Autotrol, Clack, Erie and Fleck controls (the largest manufactures in the business) set it on/in the control valve. That's a much better and easier way to control it because you don't have to take the salt tank apart to make a change. Kinetico also doesn't allow you to change the hardness setting without buying a new disc and replacing the one in the control valve; which means you must take the valve apart to do it.
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