water softner help in chosing and is this true

bazzie

Doc_N wrote: »

As you say, there's a lot of smoke and mirrors out there, and you've already experienced some I think in view of your comment about the Tapworks AD11.

Somebody might answer all your questions, but I'm afraid it would take too long - most of the answers are already in the thread.

Best advice is to look at one of the cheaper softeners recommended (after checking them out fully) and take with a very large pinch of salt anyone who tells you you need to spend much more than £500 for a perfectly decent softener. There are huge profit margins in this industry, but you don't need to pay them.

Hi Doc N,

Thanks kindly for the reply! I apologise if my post was too long & requested too much - I wanted to provide as much info as possible & also thought that since this thread goes back so many years, I did not want to risk acting on info that may now have been super-ceded by newer models, technology, newer brands etc!

If I gi back to say a couple of years, will that hopefully give me an idea on what to get?

I too agree, £500 is the max I would spend tbh - £1500-£2000 is just too much - better to buy a new one lower cost one with a fresh warranty every 5-8 years than spend such a huge chunk at once is it not?

I went on a Ecowater dealer site & they were stating the Tapworks is a trade brand with much lower tolerances, higher leaks & worse performances with higher costs than the high end Ecowater models but as long as they offer very good value for money & great/reliable performance for the money, I would accept that than spend £2K or so!

May I ask you, if you had my house with the Combi boiler:

a) Would you consider a used/reconditioned Harveys Twin Tank model

b) Which from my list of the electric ones do you feel is the best option/model for my needs taking the usual factors into account?

In the meantime, I start reading the thread & hopefully understand some of it!

Many Thanks!

csgohan4

I just bought it from a plumbing merchant and got a plumber to install it, much cheaper.


if you have to pay more than 1k for a water softener your being taken for a ride

bazzie

Hi All,

Wow, wow, wow - Mother of God, this was a MASSIVE thread to read through but I did it!

Very glad I did as it answered some of my questions, made me aware of some issues I had not considered & had no clue about and & at the same time raised many more questions as well!

I must have taken over a 100 Screen-shots just to ensure I would not forget all the relevant bits!

Now that I have read the thread, I will be back later after compiling some more questions (which will hopefully help others as well) but it was well worth going through the entire thread!

Many Thanks,
Bazzie!

Sjk1

Great thread, I’ve managed to read about 50%!

It’s probably been picked up somewhere but the one b&q sell has dropped in price, it doesn’t say much about it but I thought £278 was cheap!

Argh can’t post the link as it’s against rules but it’s a Permutit Timer controlled Water softener, aprx £90 saving.

Any thoughts on this one? Especially given the price.

Doc_N

bazzie wrote: »

I went on a Ecowater dealer site & they were stating the Tapworks is a trade brand with much lower tolerances, higher leaks & worse performances with higher costs than the high end Ecowater models but as long as they offer very good value for money & great/reliable performance for the money, I would accept that than spend £2K or so!

I'm no expert on water softeners, though I've been using them ever since we first moved to a hard water area 30+ years ago so I've picked up a few things in that time.

One of the things I've learned is to distrust almost all sales talk, and the example above is a classic example of that. We have an otherwise very reputable local Ecowater dealer, from whom I have in the past bought Ecowater softeners.

The downright lies he told to try to dissuade me from buying the equivalent Tapworks model at a fraction of the Ecowater price were incredible, though, and at first I believed him. I got much the same story you got, but after checking out the differences with the company making both machines (you need to remember that it's the same company that makes and sells both brands) it was clear that there are no major differences between the two.

I once spoke to a senior executive at Ecowater to check this, and was told that apart from the more sophisticated programmer and the case, the machines are pretty much identical. Same manufacturer, same mechanical parts, same operation, but a more sophisticated programmer and a rather longer warranty.

Once you've realised that these two brands are being made and sold by the same company, using almost entirely the same parts, and certainly the same tolerances (that bit about performance, tolerances and leaks is hilariously fake!) you appreciate just how much money you're wasting by buying the Ecowater brand instead of the dramatically cheaper Tapworks brand.

The difference in price is almost wholly down to much bigger profit margins all round, but particularly at dealer level where I suspect they're selling at around twice the price they buy in at.

Think of Ecowater and Tapworks as the Audi and Skoda of the water softener world. VW own Skoda and Audi, both share most of the parts and Skoda is the more reliable of the two - yet Audis sell for a lot more money. You can pay through the nose for an Ecowater, or you can pay a lot less for an almost identical Tapworks. I've had both, and once you've compared the two you'll be very unlikely to buy another Ecowater.

Brand snobbery and oneupmanship may work with cars sitting on people's drives, but it counts for a lot less with something like a water softener.

csgohan4

Doc_N wrote: »

I'm no expert on water softeners, though I've been using them ever since we first moved to a hard water area 30+ years ago so I've picked up a few things in that time.

That's why it's important to do your own research and cut the middle man out. I bought my water softner from a plumbing merchant and got a plumber to install, much cheaper what ever model you want

Chazza_2010

I was just about to purchase a Tapworks ad11 based on the info on this quality thread. Thankyou all involved.

Then I spotted some info on the monarch midi - better flow rates vs (78 vs 53.3 L/m) and more resin (14 vs 10.5L)

Also I am replacing an old midi unit that was in the house when I moved in.

Is the flow rate worth taking notice of? The resin angle sounds sensible however...

Any advice before I plump for a like for like replacement?

Thanks

Doc_N

Chazza_2010 wrote: »

I was just about to purchase a Tapworks ad11 based on the info on this quality thread. Thankyou all involved.

Then I spotted some info on the monarch midi - better flow rates vs (78 vs 53.3 L/m) and more resin (14 vs 10.5L)

Also I am replacing an old midi unit that was in the house when I moved in.

Is the flow rate worth taking notice of? The resin angle sounds sensible however...

Any advice before I plump for a like for like replacement?

Thanks

Can't help you on the relevance of the flow rate, I'm afraid, but if it has more resin that's likely to be a plus.

Priced at around the same sort of level as the AD11, so if it has a good reliability track record and the same other features probably one well worthy of consideration.

Hopefully others will feed back.

David_Aston

We have been using a Monarch midi for about 3 years. Finally got round to checking salt usage. One 25k Costco tablet bag, seven quid-ish, every three months.

csgohan4

I use a monarch plumbsoft solo myself and I am pleased with it, researched and was the best for me in terms of flow rates and reliability, plus no electricity to use