Water Softeners - What are the differences in brands?

Good got lots to think about. I was told that I should also be looking into a uv systems to kill the bacteria as apposed to having it get caught in filter and growing tru it. I have had 3 different people tell me 4 different things when they came out to give me estimate. So I no longer that the local people can be trusted, the three of them all have different answers and prices are 2100.00 to 3800.00. Can the bacteria grow tru filter? One said all I have to do to to sanitize the well. But he could tell me how often I would have to do it, so I am back to almost square one. Is it worth getting a UV filter and if so which one. Wife is now paranoid about the water here.

farefax, could you repost your test results, water source and the size of your family?

Thanks ~

octoberdana... you should have started your own thread but... The Smart Choice is a proprietary version of the Clack line. It has a female resin tank connection rather than the industry standard male on the valve body.

If you don't want to be a DIYer, which the Smart Choice is set up to for, you need to rely on a local dealer, so finding one you feel comfy with and think you can trust is your only other choice. That doesn't come at the lowest prices as you already know.

I'm seeing more'n more Kinetico dealers offering "refurbished" Kinetico softeners... I wonder where they get the old ones from and if they are buying them from old customers. Or if they were rental units, or from disgruntled customers and that's why there aren't more complaints about them not working as well as claimed by other dealers. Maybe they are misapplied units.

Maybe Andy will offer his take on that, he has also mentioned their sale by Kinetico dealers.

Farefax... You didn't say you had bacteria, you said Giardia cysts. They are a parasite; they are responsible for Rocky Mountain fever, or beaver fever. You don't kill them with chlorine. Class A UV lights and mechanical filtration is how you git rid of them.

Check with your local EcoWater dealer.

Here it is,
Hardness total drops 12

Iron (rust) FE 0.5

Ph balance 7.5

Hydrogen Sulfide H2S 0

TDS 180

Chlorine 0

Biggest concern is the Giardia dogs got it from well water as they are not anywhere there is standing water. They have a covered lanai and they are drinking bottled water except when sister in law tryed helping and gave them tap water. I looked up the water filter you suggested and just wanted to know if this filter is any better than one I found on ebay, sorry budget has been busted by this money pit. Ebay Item number: 170176673157 big difference in price is the difference worth it.

And do I need the uv system?

Thanks for your impute.
Larry

The Multi-Pure filter is a much better, more cost effective filter than that RO.
You change the filter once a year. The factory mails it to you for about $60.00.
RO filters need to be changed often and membranes are expensive - plus RO's are slow and they put water to the drain.

HTH ~

So which model would you choose. Family of 4 Nine show dogs and ice maker?? Water would just be used for drinking and for ice maker. So I take it if I go with this filter I will not need the uv filter. And I don't have to worry about it growing tru the filter. Hope you can understand these people have gotten wife and I paranoid about well water.

Was this what you were talking about?
MP1200EL Below Sink, Stainless Steel, Solid Carbon Block Water Purification System with Electronic Meter

The MP750SB is perfect for the job.
I don't think you need the UV unless you have bacteria.

Frankly, I would have a water test run on the water to make sure there are Giardia cysts in it before I bought anything.

I say that due to you saying the dog got it from the water etc.. Giardia has a number of ways of transmission in addition to water. The dog could have picked it up sniffing something out in the yard off the patio etc.. That doesn't mean it is airborne but any spores may be.

Also, if the test show it is in the water, you should look into what's up with the well/spring etc. that is allowing it to get in. Cysts are not found in groundwater, unless you have surface infiltration into the well itself.

Gary:

I don't understand your response to my questions. The system that I'm looking at is not a DIY system- I would get full installation from a local water company.

Can you also please explain why the female instead of the male is an advantage or disadvantage?

This is true.

Octoberdana, their info at the top link you posted says the softener is designed for the customer that wants to take the control valve off and return it for a replacement or to be repaired, and IIRC, maybe replace a part on it themselves if they desire to.

I supposed that is why the valve has a female thread and the special tank has a male connection. The nut on the valve makes it easier to remove it from the tank. It also prevents the mix up of standard valves and tanks in their return and replace service.

Of course they will be glad to do the service for you at your home.

Now if you compare their purchase price to the same sized softener sold online you will probably be paying a $1000 more of theirs, or maybe as high a $2k when you could buy it online and hire a plumber to install it for say $400 and still have them service it if you didn't want to replace a part yourself.

Either way the Clack WS-1 is a great choice and you should buy a correctly sized softener using one.

The quoted price from this local water company for a complete installation of a 32,000 grain unit and a RO under the sink water system is $1600.00. That includes a 5 year parts and labor warranty.

I think it's a pretty good deal. I did find a couple of internet companies (including budgetwater.com) that could deliver my unit for around $1000 by the time shipping was added. But I would have to install it myself and I'm not preplumbed.

So hopefully we've made a good choice.

I have 26 grains of hardness, a 3 bath, 2800 square foot home, a 4 person home with 1 teenager- should I get the 32,000 unit or for $100 go to the next size up which I believe is 52,000?

See my reply to your thread.

Water Softner's - The Best Out There
Doesn't everything boil down to quality? I want to know what is the best unit out there, with the best warranty available? I'm not looking for some cheap unit thats going to break down in a year or two. I'm not looking for the unit that is sold cheap so they can nickel and dime me with service fees. I want to know what is the best and why....

Thanks

Re: Water Softner's - The Best Out There


In my professional opinion the best of the best is EcoWater.
Just about every component used to assemble the systems are made in-house.
This results in a higher level of quality control and they are backed by the industries most extensive warranty.

If I ever decide to give up my independent status and become a brand name distributor I will become an EcoWater dealer.

HTH ~

Re: Water Softner's - The Best Out There

I say the best is the one that is correctly sized for your family size, water quality and the SFR your house requires and then gives you the longest service free operation and then has the lowest priced parts and is the easiest to repair. It should be off the shelf industry standard, not be proprietary. That way you can get parts for the local independent dealers or many online dealers.

Since all the moving parts are in the control valve, the control valve is the key to the qualityof the softener you buy. I suggest the Clack WS-1 control valve. The Clack WS-1 has the fewest parts of any control valve.

I say that as an independent ex-local and now online only dealer with 21 years experience with some of that time spent also selling national brand proprietary equipment using both Fleck and Autotrol control valves.

I was a Fleck guy from 1987 until the end of 2003 when I learned the Clack line of controls has the same piston seals and spacers design with serious improvements that Fleck hasn't come up with yet. The rest of the valve is innovative and designed to be very easy to repair with low priced parts. Since Jan 2 2004 I have sold roughly 930 of them to DIYers and have had only 21 problems so far. If I had sold that many Fleck or Autotrol valves, I would expect 50-120 problems by now. I quit selling Fleck's latest valve, the 7000 because of problems and high water use with its variable brining. BTW, Ecowater has variable brining too.

I'll keep my WaterBoss. I don't know who makes it and don't really care, but it is by far the best softener that I have owned and does not use a lot of salt. I am very content with it.

Hague makes it. It is very proprietary and you'll have difficulty getting someone to work on it when needed but keep it 'til it quits.