water softner help in chosing and is this true

gmoorc

Thanks Matt.
Appreciate the feedback and reassurance.

ovebend70

Greetings - I've finally trawled through the entire thread and got to the end...

I started thinking about buying another twin tank (I previously had a Waterside MC250 that gave up the ghost after about 10 years and just stopped regenerating - I eventually realised that I'd not filled it for ages and the salt wasn't going down!). Having read this thread, that opinion has shifted to buying a single tank predictive metered version - with the Tapworks Ultra 9 at the top of the list.

Having said that - somewhere in the more recent posts, I'm sure I read someone saying that the Tapworks machine doesn't use one of the three valves that were recommended - "Autotrol (255), Fleck (5600) 0r Clack (WS1)". Can anyone confirm/deny that?

I also saw a more recent link for EML10+ on the East Midlands Water website... which looks like it has roughly the same features as the Tapworks Ultra 9... Does anyone know what valve that one uses?

UPDATE: I've had feedback from the East Midlands Water people - they said "The head unit is a GE autotrol" when I asked them what valves were used on their machines.

Matt_Filterman

Hi ovebend70.
Been away this week so only just read your post.
I've never heard anything negative reported about the Tapworks or Ecowater softeners and I've been in the industry getting on 18 years.. worked on a few of these units myself and found them to be very good and reliable..
I must be careful on this website not prejudice anyone away from perfectly good water softeners.. I know I have my favourites but that should not put anyone off buying some of the other brands that offer perfectly good value for money.
I must however say I'm amazed that your previous softener lasted as long as it did!!!

moneysavingmummy_4

Hello, I've been reading through this thread with interest as we are about to invest in a softener. I have decided we want a metered one and was thinking of the Coral 15 litre, described as "WATER SAVING Coral water softener with Autotrol Logix 255-762 digital Metered controller" on the following link:

http://www.ewaterfilters.co.uk/acatalog/Coral_Range_of_domestic_cabine
t_water_softeners.html
(It's the third one down the page.)

The bit about it using less water during regeneration is what caught my eye as we're on a water meter. I'd be really grateful to know if this looks like a good buy and whether anyone has used that website before?

Thanks
msm

moneysavingmummy_4

oops, messed up the link. Try again...

http://www.ewaterfilters.co.uk/acatalog/Coral_Range_of_domestic_cabinet_water_softeners.html

Matt_Filterman

Hi moneysavingmummy.
The softeners look OK.. might be worth finding out a bit more about the trading history of the company selling them though, the business address appears to be a house on a residential estate and I'm afraid that doesn't fill me with a great deal of confidence.

moneysavingmummy_4

Thanks Matt, will try to find out a bit more before I buy. Or maybe a different supplier.

Cheers,
msm

gmoorc

Looks like the same people as gapswater.co.uk who seem to have had that website since 2003.

I've just bought my softener from them and they seemed knowledgeable and helped me out with a couple of questions, confirming dimensions, length of cable and the use of an autotrol head.

Received item next day as arranged.

I always try to call a company first to confirm stock and ask a few questions to see how they respond.

HeimRoller

Have been researching the benefits for a while now, as well as the downsides (cant find many if any).
Decided to take the plunge as we do seem to have very hard water.
Had a visit today from a local company that I trust, however the prices seem high.
Install £400. Model we prefer is the Hague Maximizer 400, at £1450. This includes the special connection to the drinking water (return osmosis), all plumbing (quite a significant extra pipe works required to get to where it needs to go) and an outside tap.

Thoughts please?

Matt_Filterman

The softener sounds to be hideously expensive, around four times more costly than a perfectly good, volume controlled softener that should last 20 years +.. the installation sounds about right, particularly if there is some tricky plumbing to be done.
Matt
PS. looked up Hague softeners on the web.. looks like they may be from the USA with a mixed bag of customer comments available on one particular site.. a lot of criticism levelled at some of the sales techniques used though.