Monarch Water softener and installtion cost & please help in chosing one

Sunny2good

posted previous question in wrong section, so thought i'll ask here .

I live in essex. I am having a new Combi boiler Vaillant 831 put in in my 3 bed house and was thinking of putting in a water softener as well. There are just too many choices and i was lost as to which one to go for. The plumber recommended a Monarch Midi water softener and the cost are as below.

Monarch Water Softener (supply & install plus a bag of salt) £491 (7 Year Warranty)
Labour £235
Parts £26
and VAT £131

Total £883.60

Does this sound about right?
secondly, is it the best water softener for my budget of around £800? what do you recommend ?

Appreciate any help.

Thanks,

Sunn

moonrakerz

Let me get my bonnet down and give the bee a poke ...........!!

Firstly - well done for selecting a single cylinder machine. So many people are seduced into buying twin cylinder machines on the grounds that "they switch over automatically - so you always have softened water", etc, etc,............. Meaningless sales patter designed to get you to spend twice as much as you need to.
You seem to have an honest plumber !

I don't know this particular make, but to be honest a single cylinder machine doesn't have a great deal in it to go wrong.
The price for the "boiler" (sic) is about right, the installation costs depend purely on what needs to be done in your particular case.

I would suggest you get your salt from your local agricultural dealer (I pay £5 for 25kg). Softener dealers and DIY stores tend to be pricey.

I had my first softener fitted late 70s/early 80s, it "died" after about 20 years. Am now on my third in 3 different houses - worth every penny.

Paranoid

We've had a Culligan 510 for well over 20 years with no problems at all.

Sunny2good

@moonrakerz

thanks alot for your reply and suggestions.

You seem to have had them for a very long time. Which one have you got and what do you recommend ?

I just wanted someone who knows about this field to look at the specs of this particular one and suggest if it was suitable. 7 year warranty is not bad though

Sunny2good

@Paranoid,

I read mixed reviews about Culligan but obviously it has worked for you

moonrakerz

Sunny2good wrote: »

@moonrakerz

thanks alot for your reply and suggestions.

You seem to have had them for a very long time. Which one have you got and what do you recommend ?

As I said, I have had 3 softeners. The first one was made by a one-man band operating from his garage - he used the same control valve that the "big boys" used, imported them himself from the US.
The next two were Permutit. Both purchased from B & Q.

Our current machine is a small "under the sink" model. One of these will do a family of up to 4, with 2 regenerations a week. Yours appears to be a flow controlled regeneration, so you shouldn't have to worry about setting that up. With 2 of us, ours regenerates once a week.

My main recommendation: Buy a single cylinder; they are much cheaper to buy and usually cheaper to run.
The only drawback to a single cylinder machine is that they do require a power supply - but even if you need to get a power point specially put in, you will still save money against a twin cylinder.

tillycat123

I bought a harveys twintec one March this year. Had a drinking water tap fitted as well. Paid £1000 all in including fitting.
Block salt costs me £4 around every 6 weeks.
looks like a computer box under the sink. very neat to look at.

spirit

tilly, i'm afraid you paid £500 more tnan you need have done.

tinker15

We are also thinking of buying either a Monarch Midi or the Permutit which I have seen in B&Q (I think) but would appreciate advise on which one to buy. We have a 4 bed house with 5 people in a hard/very hard water area.
Also where to buy either of them at a good price.
Thanks!