Water softeners

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  • red_zr24x4

    UA#190
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    4   0   0
    Mar 14, 2009
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    Walkerton
    Looking at getting a water softener, possibly one from Lowe's.
    Anyone have any experience installing one ?
    What about the electronic descalers? Do they work ?

    I live in a small town and they used to treat (soften) the water. They stopped a couple of years ago and were getting bad lime scale and I need to do something before all the appliances are shot.
    Thanks!
     

    Mij

    Grandmaster
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    1   0   0
    May 22, 2022
    5,883
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    In the corn and beans
    Looking at getting a water softener, possibly one from Lowe's.
    Anyone have any experience installing one ?
    What about the electronic descalers? Do they work ?

    I live in a small town and they used to treat (soften) the water. They stopped a couple of years ago and were getting bad lime scale and I need to do something before all the appliances are shot.
    Thanks!
    My cousin installed his and he’s not the handiest guy I know, shouldn’t be to hard for someone with any mechanical knowledge. He did his in a day and a half.
     

    indyblue

    Guns & Pool Shooter
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    Aug 13, 2013
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    Indy Northside `O=o-
    I installed one of these about 7 years ago to replace an ancient Culligan system when we moved in. No complaints and installation was pretty straightforward

    Morton® 34,000 Grain Water Softener at Menards
    https://www.menards.com/main/p-1444429575835.htm
    Same here. Replacing an existing system took me less than a half hour. If you have to plum it in it takes a little more.

    From what I know those descalers don’t remove the minerals in the water they just put it in a state that it won’t precipitate out. No experience with one though. The price of the Morton is hard to beat and it works fine(although I had found a leaky toilet valve that manage to blow through a whole tank of salt in less than a week)
     

    Tactically Fat

    Grandmaster
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    Oct 8, 2014
    8,270
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    Indiana
    either contact your water company to get the hardness value before you buy a softener, or have your own water tested first.

    Here in IN, your water will probably vary between HARD to VERY HARD, to CHEWY.

    Anyhow - once you get the hardness value, and once you know your water usage needs, then you can get an appropriately sized softener.
     

    Butch627

    Master
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    24   0   0
    Jan 3, 2012
    1,698
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    NWI
    About 20 years ago I spent many hours trying to figure out a system, much of my time was spent at this site https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?forums/water-softener-forum-questions-and-answers.22/#

    I ended up getting a waterboss, IIRC it was because they had a pre filter before the softener which was flushed when it regenerates. It regenerates by water useage not on a set schedule. My salt consumption was cut by about 75 percent. It has a digital readout that aids in troubleshooting. The first one lasted well over 10 years, the 2nd is still going strong. I am happy to replace every 10 or 15 years rather than spend 10 times more for a premium brand. Swapping them out takes less than an hour.
     

    red_zr24x4

    UA#190
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    4   0   0
    Mar 14, 2009
    28,795
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    Walkerton
    either contact your water company to get the hardness value before you buy a softener, or have your own water tested first.

    Here in IN, your water will probably vary between HARD to VERY HARD, to CHEWY.

    Anyhow - once you get the hardness value, and once you know your water usage needs, then you can get an appropriately sized softener.
    Water is very hard to chewy, 2 bath and 7 people.
    Was looking at a 64000
     

    model1994

    quick draw mcgraw
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    Aug 17, 2022
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    glacial boundary
    We just bought an old farm house and are renovating, and installing all new appliances as we go. I'm no plumber, but have completed this so far. It's a pressure gauge, fine sediment filter, and softener is a Fleck 5600 mechanical 48k grain. I ordered it off Amazon due to good reputation. Pretty painless to install one but depends on your plumbing. I decided to install all new plumbing with Pex A for ease of installation. Our chewy well water now tastes better than I expected and I'm picky. No charcoal filter or so needed.

    PXL_20230130_162240525.jpg
     

    xwing

    Expert
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    0   0   0
    Apr 11, 2012
    1,127
    113
    Greene County
    I installed one of these about 7 years ago to replace an ancient Culligan system when we moved in. No complaints and installation was pretty straightforward

    Morton® 34,000 Grain Water Softener at Menards
    https://www.menards.com/main/p-1444429575835.htm

    I have a very similar one. I was told that it's poor quality by someone who used to sell Water Softeners, but I've been quite happy with it. No problems and I set it up to email / text alerts. (e.g. it warns me if my usage is above normal, in order to check for leaks / open faucets).
     

    mmpsteve

    Real CZ's have a long barrel!!
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    11   0   0
    Nov 14, 2016
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    ..... formerly near the Wild Turkey
    The pre-filter, as shown above, takes a ton of iron out of my water before it hits the softener. I change it about every 2 months, and should probably change it every month. The filter element comes out caked with iron.

    .
     

    XMil

    Shooter
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    0   0   0
    May 20, 2009
    1,521
    63
    Columbus
    Water in, water out, shut off valves on both linea and a bypass with a shut off valve... and a power source.

    The ten commandments as written have, in my opinion, a couple of flaws but the largest shortcoming, by a country mile is that they didn't contain the above statement.

    I suppose that in the modern era it is not necessary to say, but 90 degree shut offs.

    Every time I have to touch plumbing......
     

    blain

    Sharpshooter
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    2   0   0
    Dec 27, 2016
    743
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    Evansville
    Consider adding a water filter before the softener. It'll keep out the junk from sitting in the resin bed and contaiminating it. And you think it'll just get washed off in the rinse. You're rinsing with dirty water.
    I'll second that pre-filter motion.
    If you have the space, consider a 20"x4.5" filter housing. I prefer a clear sump, so I can keep an eye on what's going on.
    20x4.5.jpg
    Make sure and install plenty of BRASS BALL VALVES. Plastics valves just don't stand up to opening and closing, over time, like BRASS BALL VALVES do. Buy extra o-rings (for future filter changes), and mount securely to the wall.
    When I say "plenty" of BRASS BALL VALVES I mean, this is a fresh install, so add them at multiple spots in the system.
    Nothing beats CONTROL when you need to deal with a problem down the road.
    Your future self will thank you!
     

    hooky

    Grandmaster
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    24   0   0
    Mar 4, 2011
    7,032
    113
    Central Indiana
    We installed a Puritan. Made in Crawfordsville. It was a quick process. I had somebody do it, but realized I could have done it myself in a few hours (assuming I didn't have to make 4 trips to the HW store to get everything I needed).


    GUmn7fk.jpg
     

    ghuns

    Grandmaster
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    2   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    9,308
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    We have a Kinetico with a 20x4.5 pre-filter. Grandpa had it installed in 1989. I had the resin bed replaced and head rebuilt sometime around 2020 for about a grand. I should be pushin 80 by the time it needs another rebuild.
     

    red_zr24x4

    UA#190
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    4   0   0
    Mar 14, 2009
    28,795
    113
    Walkerton
    Thanks for all the comments
    Definitely going to install a filter. Tying into copper lines, so no plastic valves.
    Figured I'd do a water heater flush while I had the water off also.
     
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