water softner help in chosing and is this true

SomeOne_2 · 3 June 2017 at 2:53PM

I'm currently looking for a water softener with a high flow rate of around 50l/min .

I've read through most of this thread and have narrowed it down to 4 potential choices, but i'm stuck on deciding which one to go for:

Tapworks AD11 - Tablet Salt
Monarch Midi - Tablet Salt
Harvey's Crown 300 - Block Salt
Harvey's Homewater - Tablet Salt

I've noticed that a number of users rate the Tapworks and the Monarch which are half the price of the Harvey's ones. But reading up on them, both the Tapworks and Monarch appear to use substantially more salt per regeneration (over 1kg) whereas the Harvey's ones use less than 0.5kg.

Unless i'm missing something then wouldn't the Harvey's ones work out cheaper in the longer run?

Also what's to stop anyone putting salt tablets in a block salt only softener? At the end of the day presumably its the same salt but in a different shape?

Edit: I have unmetered water so am less concerned about water usage for regeneration.

HP_Source · 3 June 2017 at 6:42PM

How much salt is used per regeneration tells you nothing useful, I'm afraid. To make sense of the running costs you also need to know how much softened water a freshly regenerated tank of resin is capable of providing.

I haven't looked up the figures but I suspect you'll find the figure for the Harvey's softener to be considerably lower than the others. If that's the case it will be regenerating more frequently.

You also need to bear in mind the block salt tends to be substantially more expensive than tablet salt.

SomeOne_2 · 3 June 2017 at 8:07PM

Thanks, I was starting to realise that may be a better comparison when I got to around page 40 something.

I'm starting to veer towards the Tapworks, but I could just as easily choose the Monarch.

May I ask which softener you have?

HP_Source · 4 June 2017 at 8:57AM

Mine is an Atlantis AT210. It was a factory refurbished unit with a one year guarantee which I got for the very reasonable figure of £200.

The reason for choosing this one was twofold. Firstly I wanted a softener with one of the industry standard control valves as it's then much easier to get spares. The second was the it needed to be slim to fit into the space I had available.

It's worked faultlessly for the year or so it's been fitted.

SomeOne_2 · 4 June 2017 at 12:58PM

Thanks that looks good too.

I think i've decided to go with the Monarch as it has a higher flow rate and a longer parts guarantee than the tapworks.

peterpaz · 11 June 2017 at 7:24PM

Hello

I've read pretty much every comment on this thread and it's been extremely useful - so thanks to all contributors! (even the bickering was entertaining :-)

I'm still a bit confused about the recommendations so I'd ideally like 2 or 3 of the best to choose from. I don't want any reps trying to shout about how good there's are... I need honest, basic non-biased suggestions / recommendations if thats ok.

Here's my requirements:

• I live in a 2/3 bedroom semi in North Yorkshire. 2 occupants.
• I don't use a particularly large amount of water. (shower once a day, odd bath now and then, wash the car... pretty normal use I'd say).

I have a Worcester Greenstar 37CDI Combi Boiler. (can this handle water from a water softener?)
The combi is in a cupboard where the water supply tap is.
I can comfortably accommodate a H65mm x D25mm x W40mm Unit. (or slightly larger if need be.)
I want a Single cylinder Unit
I want a metered model (I go away fairly often)
I want to use (cheaper) granular salt
I want it to be maintenance free (except me cleaning the salt tank out once in a while)
• Would like very little control and as easy to understand and set-up as possible ( 'no-frills' control panel)
• Lower end of the budget (don't need anything expensive/fancy)

• Do I need to bypass the kitchen cold water tap? (I know very little about plumbing so can't get my head around how to do this as it'd be sited at the other end of the kitchen to the sink).

• Can my outside tap(s) use water softener water? (would like to use the hosepipe for washing the car and not having limescale watermarks ideally).

• Is water softener water good for an aquarium (eg: certain fish like soft water). This isn'y a deal breaker... just thought I'd ask.

Sorry for the long list - but I'm hoping the more info I give will narrow down (and rule out) a lot of makes/models so I can get a small choice to choose one from.

Many thanks
Peter

Doc_N · 11 June 2017 at 7:37PM

peterpaz wrote: »

Hello

I've read pretty much every comment on this thread and it's been extremely useful - so thanks to all contributors! (even the bickering was entertaining :-)

I'm still a bit confused about the recommendations so I'd ideally like 2 or 3 of the best to choose from. I don't want any reps trying to shout about how good there's are... I need honest, basic non-biased suggestions / recommendations if thats ok.

Here's my requirements:

• I live in a 2/3 bedroom semi in North Yorkshire. 2 occupants.
• I don't use a particularly large amount of water. (shower once a day, odd bath now and then, wash the car... pretty normal use I'd say).

I have a Worcester Greenstar 37CDI Combi Boiler. (can this handle water from a water softener?)

Best check this with Worcester Bosch

The combi is in a cupboard where the water supply tap is.
I can comfortably accommodate a H65mm x D25mm x W40mm Unit. (or slightly larger if need be.)
I want a Single cylinder Unit
I want a metered model (I go away fairly often)
I want to use (cheaper) granular salt
I want it to be maintenance free (except me cleaning the salt tank out once in a while)
• Would like very little control and as easy to understand and set-up as possible ( 'no-frills' control panel)
• Lower end of the budget (don't need anything expensive/fancy)

I've recommended Tapworks models above as being particularly good value - I'd still say the same. One of the smaller models should suit.

• Do I need to bypass the kitchen cold water tap? (I know very little about plumbing so can't get my head around how to do this as it'd be sited at the other end of the kitchen to the sink).

Ideally, yes - softened water is high in sodium and not recommended for everyday drinking.

• Can my outside tap(s) use water softener water? (would like to use the hosepipe for washing the car and not having limescale watermarks ideally).

No reason why not - though it will increase your salt usage, particularly if you use it for the garden as well.

• Is water softener water good for an aquarium (eg: certain fish like soft water). This isn'y a deal breaker... just thought I'd ask.

I'd guess not - but that is just a guess. Best ask an expert on fish.

Sorry for the long list - but I'm hoping the more info I give will narrow down (and rule out) a lot of makes/models so I can get a small choice to choose one from.

Many thanks
Peter

See above.

pogofish · 11 June 2017 at 7:41PM

multiplumb wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a plumber and install loads of water softnenors.

Depending on the size of the house, I always recommend the CalMag CalSoft Mini or the Monarch Ultimate Midi.

Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Richard

Given your clear agreement to the rules on on touting for business and posting commercially here, I would say you just outed yourself as a really shifty piece of work who has no respect for your customers or any applicable rules!

Doc_N · 11 June 2017 at 7:46PM

pogofish wrote: »

Given your clear agreement to the rules on on touting for business and posting commercially here, I would say you just outed yourself as a really shifty piece of work who has no respect for your customers or any applicable rules!

I reported that as spam as soon as it appeared, but it takes a few reports to get rid of unwanted junk.

Suggest others hit the spam button on multiplumb's post to get it removed.

peterpaz · 11 June 2017 at 8:02PM

Is the Tapworks AD11 Water Softener metered?

water softner help in chosing and is this true

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