Water Softeners - What are the differences in brands?

Re: Proper Junking of a Master Conditioner Water contraption


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Take it to your local landfill ~

OK closed on house and going nuts with all the stuff to do. Got water tested today here are the results


Hardness total drops 12

Iron (rust) FE 0.5

Ph balance 7.5

Hydrogen Sulfide H2S 0

TDS 180

Chlorine 0

He is selling me a Charger pro h2O 468 series 1800.00
And he didn't give me the name of the ro system but he wants 850.00

His ro system seems expensive compared to the other two estimates and after listening to these guys more confused then when I started,
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
any help

What size softener is that in cubic feet of resin?

What capacity in K grains will it be programmed for?

Basically you can buy the same softener online for like $900-1200 less for the same size. It has a Clack WS-1 control valve on it. And you could install it your self or, hire a plumber to install it and still save hundreds.

That's a lot of money for an RO, what do you need an RO for?

Never had well water so I thought I would like to have good filtered water free of impurities, I have show dogs so they drink distilled water at the old house, city water stains their hair around muzzle, I thought since ro systems remove all the or most of the impurities that they would be able to drink that water so I wouldn't have to keep buying the distiled, if the staining would return with the ro then I would just go back to the distilled. Found a fleck 2510SE for I think it was 640.00 fleck 7000SE for
519.00 also had options for a fine mesh resin? There was also an option for a bigger tank. Either one would have to mounted outside under an eve so dint have an idea which would be better for the outdoors? Does anything come to mind for outdoor the system was 4800 grains, I think.
Could really use the advise. Thank You

You can buy a whole lotta gallon jugs of bottle water for $850. And I'll bet his service call charges and cartridge filter prices are high too.

Most well water is head and shoulders above the quality of city water.

That's what I want to do: throw away 1600 gallon plastic bottles. We need more trash out there, especially of the petro-chemical type.

An RO is an excellent way to provide years and years of excellent drinking water.

Andy Christenen, CWS-II

If you were smart, you'd sanitize and then bring your own gallon bottles and fill them yourself and pay $.25 per gallon.

You'd also know that water bottles are recyclable and you wouldn't be throwing them in the trash!! you'd take them to the local recycle center.

BTW, is that 1600 based on the $850 RO he was proposed or the $1000 Kinetico RO you sell?

So which would be a better the SE or the SE? As far as the ro system there seems to be all different kinds, stage 6 stage any brand better than the other? Also forgot to ask is upgrading the resin media filter worth the extra money?
Thanks

Charger pro h2O 468

If I am not mistaken this is an Autotrol Timer softener with a 6-day timer. Never did understand why they make a 6-day timer when there are seven days to the week!!!

What warranties (or assurances) did he offer you?

Your water results indicate manageable hardness and iron.

If this is the model you are buying, then I would not strongly recommend this direction. TIMERS are not efficient and may require a great deal of babysitting if you are a family on the move.

What was it they said that confused youn about ROs? The last thing I want to do is go back to the store and re-fill my bottles, sanitized or bug infested. But if that is for you, fine.

I use my RO water for all my plants, pets, spot free my motorcycle, outside windows and a host of other things that bottled shouldn't be wasted on. I trust my own water production better than some store vending machine where I see algae growing in the drain. Just my preference.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

The control valve is the Autotrol Performa. The timer can be a day timer or metered version.

The "SE" is the Fleck Proflo. It is not a very popular valve.

I suggest a correctly sized softener with a Clack WS-1 control valve for your family size and the SFR required by the number of bathrooms.

Yep, the 2510SE valve is an excellent - no frills- control valve.
It is a high flow residential valve with simple computer electronic controls.
The version for the softener is metered. I have installed hundreds of
the Fleck 2510SE valves and my clients are extremely happy.

Why are you guys so obsessed with water, anyway?

Thanks for the reply, which one would hold up better under an eve of the house? Also is it worth the extra money to upgrade the resin media? My confusion is if a 3stage 6stage filter.

If you need new resin, the softener will not work without it.

Due to the construction of the control valve cover, the Clack WS-1 is the best choice for outside. I have many installed outside without problems. There is also an outdoor cover option.

As to the staging, I think you are talking about an RO. What are you wanting the RO to remove from your water?

The Kinetico valve is so good in inclement weather, it will actually work completely submerged in water or against salty sea mist. I'm not sure what qualifies for "best choice"?

I have installed units in East Texas that sat out in the middle of the yard. There is no need to run electric lines out to the unit. Most electric softeners suffer from corrosion due to weather conditions.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

I have sold 132 softeners and/or filters in TX and 79 in FL. Many of them are outside, especially in FL. For many years I had a number of summer rental softeners and filters installed outside in PA.

ALL are electric control valves and the TX and FL numbers are 99% Clack WS-1 controls. The circuit board is 'potted', meaning that all the resistors etc. are covered in epoxy. You can pour water on the top of the board and it won't hurt it and it is very difficult to impossible for rain to get on the underside of the board.

It simply is untrue that "Most electric softeners suffer from corrosion due to weather conditions". Actually it is Kinetico sales hype.

Many outdoor installations are done at the well and electric is already there. Others will be at the house where power is usually readily available or can be run for maybe $50 and a half hour of time to run a piece of Romex and a receptacle.

The circuit board in my Clack WS1 is not potted, but rather the simple, hobby level bend the legs over, push them through the holes, and solder. Nothing potted, not SMD, just resisters, diodes, and ICs exposed.

The most reliable electrical circuit is no electrical circuit. The non-electric Kineticos lend themselves beautifully to installations where electrical softeners requires added expense and are still not as reliable. I've seen a few Kineticos buried in the ground and one has been working reliably that way for 11 years.

I have a new Clack WS-1 here from 12/2003 exactly like yours that you bought 7/2004. It is as I described.

So post a picture of yours showing what you're claiming: "hobby level bend the legs over, push them through the holes, and solder".

Do you really believe that anyone is going to believe a company that mass produces circuit boards, in the USA, would solder all the parts, and then cut the excess off, individually by hand!

I used to build circuit boards at GE back in the mid to late 1960s and even way back then soldering was done automatically in large solder pots in a mechanized assembly line before the tails of the parts were automatically sheared off on 4-5 boards at a time.

Clack ought to sue you for your untrue comments.

As requested (demanded?)... pictures of my "hobby level, bend the legs over, push them through the holes, and solder" Clack WS1 circuit board.

Note the second picture of the naked legs of the LCD and the naked legs of the long IC underneath. I don't see any epoxy "potting".



Based on YOUR posted description this WS1 circuit board is NOT a "potted board[/b]".



Then you can buy another board and maybe a power supply too.

You can not know what ANY of your customers receive from your drop-shippers because you NEVER see ANYTHING that is shipped to your customers. You see nothing, touch nothing, build nothing, and test nothing.

The Clack WS1 isn't as bad a control valve as you are bad as it's proponent. An inanimate control valve speaks better for itself than you do misrepresenting it.

And in about 20 years or so the Clack may be as proven a control valve in the field as the Flecks are... but then the Flecks will have another couple decades of proven service in the field to add to the 3 or 4 decades they've already provided.

Clack ought to sue you for your untrue comments.

I dug out a few of the controls I have and I am partially wrong on part of my statements above.

The Clack WS-1 has no problem being installed outside and it does not have corrosion problems wherever it is installed. The optional sealed environmental cover is $20.

Justalurker... you are wrong about a number of things above plus the assumptions you use to convince yourself that you know what you are talking about but yes, the majority of online sellers of ANYTHING do not see the products shipped to their customers and that includes softeners. There was something like 7 billion dollars of online sales last year.

As to your thinking that Fleck has the better control valve based on how long its been around.... there have been 21 problems with the 900+ Clack WS-1 control valves I've sold. That's after selling a few thousand Fleck 5600 and 25x0 valves all but exclusively for 17 years, plus those I've sold online in the last 4 years that I have sold Clack. If I sold 900+ Fleck valves I would expect 50-120 problems. I stopped selling the 7000 because of problems, not many houses needing a 1.25" valve and it using more salt and water with variable bringing than other valves without it. Fleck was a lot better valve before Pentair bought them.

I've sold many of both brands over many years. How many and what brand of control valves have you sold and for how many years?