Water Softener thread:

[whirlykenmore78]

What equipment do you use (if any) to soften the water in your home and are you happy with it? Or maybe, your city uses lime softening in it's treatment process.
My water is very hard (25 GPG) so I use an Ecowater EWS 3500 system and could not be happier

 

[askolover]

My softener

is now a re-built Rainsoft unit.  I originally purchased a Rainsoft Silver unit back in 2000 or 2001.  It worked great for a couple of years, then I began to hear water trickling.  I called them to come service the unit...$75...the valves are guaranteed for life but the labor was not.  Worked again for a few months, then began noticing no soft water.  I go down to check and the timer is stuck.  Again called for service, say it needs a new timer motor which is on back order (meaning a common problem everyone's having).  New motor comes in and they replace it.  It still messes up.  Enter this new idiot technician...he comes again to check the unit, claims the time is just off and sets the clock, duh I've been setting the clock since I bought the thing.  Works for a couple of weeks and quits again, I call again.  He comes again, this time he sets it so it will regenerate EVERY day.  I always check their work and found it immediately.  I sent a not so nice letter to the company but got no response.  I then filled a ripoff report online and was so angry I pulled that unit out and went to Lowes for a Whirlpool unit and installed it myself.  It worked fine for 10 years until the control board started acting out, then it wouldn't regenerate even after a good service and cleaning.  I bought a new Fleck valve head assembly from a water company in Florida.  He has good customer service ratings and how-to videos...I emailed him with questions about my Whirlpool unit before I even purchased from him and he answered me within one day.    I Installed the new Fleck valve on the old Rainsoft tank, put in new resin beads, and re-installed the unit in its old spot.  It's all mechanical, can be serviced in 15 minutes, parts have been around for over 30 years, and was half the cost of a new unit from Sears, Lowes or Home Depot.  I wouldn't recommend Rainsoft to my worst enemy!  There are cheap units on ebay and other water sites.  As long as it has a Fleck or other reputable name valve on it, the resin is pretty much all the same.  My new setup only has to cycle every 12 days and I have not run out of soft water since I installed it in January!

http://www.softenerparts.com

 

[wayupnorth]

I just had a BWS (Blake water system) installed in June to replace a Rain-Soft that did the exact same thing with the trickling that would not stop. I never could get a response from Rain-Soft and that p****d me off. My new dealer is a long time friend of my next door neighbor. He came first and did a water test and made the the resin mix correctly to work with my high iron and manganese. They installed it, works perfectly, cycles 1X a week, totally analog and even sent a thank you card after. Pretty good customer service, I think, and was very reasonable on the price.

 

[askolover]

Rainsoft

A dear friend of mine says her ex-husband used to work for the same company I bought my RS system from.  She says they are crooks, and very much over charge people for shoddy equipment...her ex couldn't work for them long because of that.

 

[kb0nes]

I have the same water as Nick has being only a few miles away. I installed one of the Whirlpool branded units from Lowes about 6 years ago. It replaced an OLD Co-op softener that was installed about 1980.

The new machine is SO much superior to the old timer regenerated system. I didn't think I had it set to regen too frequently but boy did the salt usage drop when I installed the new Whirlpool. I can't recommend the demand regeneration system too highly.

Only complaint I have so far is that the motor that moves the valve around is damn noisy and it wakes me up at nights still!

 

[frigilux]

Hard water in my village, too. I have an Aqua Magic purchased at Ace Hardware. It is thirteen years old and regenerates once a week.

I lived in a warehouse apartment prior to purchasing the house that had an 'on demand' Aqua-Magic, but it was installed in the basement which was short on outlets. Once a week I'd run an extension cord up the stairs, plug it into an outlet in the entryway, and program a regeneration. The 'on demand' feature didn't get used.

 

[washer111]

"Vintage" Fleck User Here!

Our house was built in the 60's, but during the 1980's it, and many other similar houses were renovated (New A/Cs, upgraded plumbing, water heater moved from hallway closet to roof {solar, no more electric}, renovated kitchen and bathrooms). This meant a water softening unit was installed. 

 

The system has a 24,000 Grain (maximum) capacity, but with typical salt settings, you see about 75% of that, or 18,000 grains. Given the house has 4 bedrooms, its a little on the small side for a house that could house up to about 6-8 people in reasonable comfort. 

 

We moved here in 2010, the system had failed and was no longer working. Shortly thereafter, I investigated and figured out how we could get it working again:

- New Resins (about $300)

- A rebuild kit for the 1984 Fleck 5600 Economiser (On-Demand) unit

This worked well, for several months, but the old 5600 body must have warped in the heat, as it started springing irreparable leaks, and then the timer failed. 

So in late 2011, we purchased a new 240v head from "softenerparts.com," for about $200. The system absolutely has not skipped a beat since, although I can tell the water meter in the old unit was worn out, because the newer softener does regenerate more often. 

 

I know some will ask why we didn't purchase a new model:

Small town monopolies. The guy that sells and supports systems here charges over $1000 for the unit itself, nevermind installation. They use those fancy (annoying) Digital Fleck heads. To his credit, he did let me cannibalise old heads for spares when we started getting mysterious leaks. 

In the end, replacing parts worked out much cheaper. And I learned a thing or two along the way! 

 

For the record, some friends of ours living in a house with a Fleck 5600 have only ever replaced the Resins, twice now (as they typically don't last longer than 10-15 years when used with Chlorinated "city water"). The Fleck head itself is still 100% original and working without leaks or trouble. They even found the smoked-brown plastic cover for the unit!