water softner help in chosing and is this true

csgohan4

madeinireland wrote: »

Hi - this is my first post to this thread but I have read through quite a few of the pages.

In summary I am going for a Tapsorks water softener but I have a couple of questions around it relating to how I connect to the main kitchen tap. I am having a new kitchen fitted and am in the process of selecting appliances sinks taps etc.

My questions...

1. I am likely to select a single level mixer tap with a pull out spray attachment. I have looked for a 3 way tap with a pull out but these are really expensive. Am I ok to connect the direct hard water supply to the cold water input to this tap and softened water to the hot water input so that we can have full unsoftened on cold and a mix when in any other position?

2. Are there any downsides to this?

3. I presume I could just connect to the cold water input an in line filter at a later stage if I need the "Brita" filtered water experience

4. If I did all this and it's Ok then why do people go for a separate tap and an extra hole in their granite worktop so? I presume there must be some advantage?

Thanks...

Some people want unfiltered as preference. I don't myself.


If the softener and installation costs more than 1k your being ripped off.

Doc_N

madeinireland wrote: »

Hi - this is my first post to this thread but I have read through quite a few of the pages.

In summary I am going for a Tapsorks water softener but I have a couple of questions around it relating to how I connect to the main kitchen tap. I am having a new kitchen fitted and am in the process of selecting appliances sinks taps etc.

My questions...

1. I am likely to select a single level mixer tap with a pull out spray attachment. I have looked for a 3 way tap with a pull out but these are really expensive. Am I ok to connect the direct hard water supply to the cold water input to this tap and softened water to the hot water input so that we can have full unsoftened on cold and a mix when in any other position?

2. Are there any downsides to this?

3. I presume I could just connect to the cold water input an in line filter at a later stage if I need the "Brita" filtered water experience

4. If I did all this and it's Ok then why do people go for a separate tap and an extra hole in their granite worktop so? I presume there must be some advantage?

Thanks...

I'm no plumber, but I can't see any problem with what you're proposing. The Tapworks softeners are good, and well priced (check the trade sellers on eBay for the best prices, with full warranties) - I have one myself and I know enough about them to appreciate the sheer good value.

We have a mixer tap - softened hot and unsoftened cold. Very similar to what you're suggesting. It works perfectly. Not sure why the extra tap - though it could be because there was no way of altering existing pipework, perhaps?

Unsoftened water will mark the granite, of course - unlike the softened.

madeinireland_2

I subsequently did think of a potential problem with this approach...

From which tap do I fill the kettle. If the unsoftened then I will still get scale in it. If the softened then I can only fill with warm water which I'm not sure you are meant to do but suppose it won't make much difference.

Doc_N

madeinireland wrote: »

I subsequently did think of a potential problem with this approach...

From which tap do I fill the kettle. If the unsoftened then I will still get scale in it. If the softened then I can only fill with warm water which I'm not sure you are meant to do but suppose it won't make much difference.

I'm afraid you just have to live with the scale in the kettle - and coffee machines etc.. They're easily dealt with.

Better that, I think, than drinking potentially high sodium softened water. Arguments rage on that (apart from babies and children where it's very clear cut) but science comes down against drinking softened water.

madeinireland_2

Would an inline water filter on the drinking water feed sort out any scaling issues on the kettle? - although I agree they are easily dealt with.

Doc_N

madeinireland wrote: »

Would an inline water filter on the drinking water feed sort out any scaling issues on the kettle? - although I agree they are easily dealt with.

Doubtless, and without any problems that I can foresee. It's something we considered, but it didn't seem worth the cost of the replacement cartridges or the risk of not being able to get hold of one.

mskhan85

Water 2 Buy

This seems like a really good seller on Amazon... Anyone with any experiences?

moz414

We had our Minimax M2 (MM2) softener fitted in 2009 so it's just over 7 years old now. I've never had it serviced (told at install it didn't need servicing) and lately the water from the softened taps has a salty taste to it. I called the company who installed it and when they looked at it they told me the resin had gone and it would cost about £500 to repair it as it's now out of warranty.

We love the benefits of the machine so we do want to keep a softener but is it worth getting it repaired or buying a new one? On my cursory glance through this thread I see Tapworks models get mentioned here. The MM2 was fitted outside so we still have the space under the sink etc but I liked it because it's not connected to the electricity supply and I'm not sure if I have a spur to connect one to if needed. There are only 2 adults in our house as well.

Grateful for any help/advice on this.

Wise_old_owl

We have an EcoWater Permutit Sensatronic 418 and a reverse osmosis drinking water tap that were installed 23 years ago. The company that installed them comes to change the filters in the tap every 9 months and brings salt for the water softener at the same time. They also test the water hardness to check that all is working.

When they visited today they found that the water is hard (we hadn't noticed) because the resin in the water softener has broken down. We need to replace the water softener, which is not surprising given its age. They have quoted £1100 for an EcoWater ESM11+.

After looking through the excellent advice in this forum, I feel inclined to buy a Tapworks AD11 instead as it would save us almost £700. I imagine fitting it will be straightforward as it looks very similar to our old model. The only thing that makes me nervous is the maintenance. We will continue to buy salt and new filters from the same company but maybe they will not test our water hardness any more.

What do other water softener users do? Do you test your water hardness periodically? And how would the Tapworks warranty work if we fit it ourselves? Should we be worried that the Tapworks warranty is only 2 years?

I'd be very grateful for any advice. @Doc N?

Doc_N

Funny you should ask.......because I had a Sensatronic 518 myself, which ran quite happily for around 17 years. Never serviced - just kept going.

Towards the end of that time though the resin was going, and it was using a bag of salt a month. Rather more than it should have been using.

Like you, I looked at replacing it with another Ecowater at a very high price. Then I discovered, after a bit of research, that Tapworks and Ecowater are one and the same company, making near-identical machines sold through different channels at very different prices.

I won't bore you with all the details (most of it's in the posts above) - suffice to say though that I'll never buy another Ecowater. They're just stupidly overpriced. I've had the AD11 for almost 4 faultless years now - self-installed. It's pretty much identical to the Ecowater, with just a few changes.

Never had the hardness checked (though you can get a kit for very little that will do it for you) - I know from just rubbing some soap between my fingers if the water's starting to go hard. A little practice will show you what I mean.

As for servicing, the Tapworks has never had anyone near it, and neither did the Ecowater. There's precious little to go wrong, and for the cost of 4 or 5 services you could buy a new machine!

In short - go Tapworks. So long as they continue to produce reliable machines which mirror the Ecowater models it would be crazy to pay near three times the price for Ecowater.

Anyone else any experiences of Tapworks to feed back perhaps? I'm starting to sound like an advertising agency for them, but genuinely I have no connection with them, or indeed softeners at all. I've just been using softeners for long enough to realise how overpriced the big brands are!