water softner help in chosing and is this true

Matt_Filterman

Thanks alxce.
If you are having a problem with an 'o' ring seal leaking one of the tricks of the trade is to wrap PTFE around it. The way to do this is to coil the ptfe around the length of the 'o' ring overlapping each coil by about 50% as you go around. Put two layers on as evenly as possible and that should do the job. I know it may sound a bit of a bodge but it has got me out of trouble many times over the years. I know it's not ideal and some would argue that you're altering the engineering tolerances of the equipment but in my experience it works every time and I've never had a problem.
The softener you're looking at gets mentioned quite often on this thread as a good bet.. don't know much about Coral but if they're using an Autotrol 255 then you shouldn't have a problem. This valve has been around for at least 20 years and has changed very little over that time.. any minor problems have been ironed out over the years and an utterly reliable piece of equipment has been on my favourite list for as long as I can remember.
Good luck with whichever way you go with this.

alxce

Installed a GE Autotrol Logix metered unit from EasyH2O yesterday.
The Permutit Culligan PST 65 is to be consigned to the dump and having thought about it for a while I can only conclude these units are unable to handle any real water pressure. I had mine regulated to 4 bar and it still blew it's main o-ring to the tank and the valve cap twice in four years.

windsor-tg

I have read this thread with great interest and I'm hoping for some good advice. After having an extension built a few years ago, I have two main stop cocks in my house (don't ask!). I've had a few water softening companies who have carried out a site survey and they all say that I need two water softeners due to the layout.

Since I need two water softeners, the dilemma I have is 'what type of water softeners' do I need? I've had 3 water softener companies including Harveys strongly recommending a twin cylinder water softener. These companies say twin cylinders are more reliable, more salt efficient and will last a lot longer than single cylinder softeners.These obviously are a lot more expensive than single cylinder softeners.

I live in a 4 bedroom house in Berkshire with up to 4 adults at any one time. One water supply feeds all the hot water via a megaflo, two bathrooms, a cloakroom (that contains a toilet and sink) and the boiler (Valliant condensing boiler). The other water supply feeds the kitchen (sink, dishwasher, washing machine), upstairs en-suite and outside garden tap. The water is pretty hard (325 ppm) and pressure is 4 bar. The two main water pipes are 22mm; one is under the kitchen sink and the other is in a downstairs cloakroom.

Can anyone recommend two suitable water softeners that are efficient on salt? I would rather go for a metered softener. Is it best to change my kitchen sink tap to a tri-flow tap or a separate tap just for the hard water? I have a granite worktop so a bit reluctant for drilling a new hole!

One of the companies suggested selling me an ex-rental softener for installing under the kitchen sink which seemed a sensible idea.

Would anyone recommend 'no salt' water softeners?

Skywalker81_2

We are also looking at having a water softener fitted but had some concerns about having the kitchen tap left on hard water. As it is recommended not to drink softened water we were advised to leave the kitchen tap as hard water. However We would prefer this to be softened water as the kitchen sink is black so it shows limescale easily and we also wanted to use softened water in our coffee machine and kettle. I read somewhere that one solution would be to fit a reverse osmosis machine after the softener to remove the sodium in the water. Is this just an unnecessary expense or is it safe to drink softened water.
Also does anyone have any experience of Wickes water softener?
Thanks

Doc_N

Skywalker81 wrote: »

We are also looking at having a water softener fitted but had some concerns about having the kitchen tap left on hard water. As it is recommended not to drink softened water we were advised to leave the kitchen tap as hard water. However We would prefer this to be softened water as the kitchen sink is black so it shows limescale easily and we also wanted to use softened water in our coffee machine and kettle. I read somewhere that one solution would be to fit a reverse osmosis machine after the softener to remove the sodium in the water. Is this just an unnecessary expense or is it safe to drink softened water.
Also does anyone have any experience of Wickes water softener?
Thanks

All the advice is to avoid drinking softened water because of the high sodium content.

Better a bit of scale in the sink than potential long-term health problems from my point of view.

By the way, using softened water in coffee machines, irons etc might not be such a good idea. Instructions often advise against it, and our experience with irons hasn't been good - it produces brown goo which stains clothes and damages the iron.

manda1205

We have our kitchen tap left as hard water, although the tap is a single tap switching between hot and cold, so we still dont get scale on the tap as after you've ran the hot water it just gets rid of any scale again so it never gets a chance to build up. You will be amazed at how the softened water will get rid of all your existing scale, they're toatally worth their money.
I have no expereince with wickes own make softener, we were more inclined to go with a local company and who local people had recommended to us. Might be worth asking your neighbours and local water company who they recommend.

Matt_Filterman

I'd have no reservations about drinking softened water.. The World Health Organisation set the limit of sodium in drinking water at 200 mg.. not over health concerns but because over this level it can make the water unpalatable.. Softening water containing 325 ppm of calcium as (Ca CO3) will add about 160-170 mg of sodium to the supply.. there will also be a small amount of background sodium in the water before it is softened but it is unlikely to take the level over 200 mg.
You will get far.. far more sodium from eating food than you could ever get from drinking softened water.
I've been in this industry for 18 years and I have never heard of anyone being made ill by drinking softened water.. either here or in the USA where the industry is much bigger.

Doc_N

Here's the advice from the water industry body, British Water:

Q Should a water softener be installed to leave a
drinking tap which supplies unsoftened water?

A Yes. Although there is no absolute legal requirement in
the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations, 1999, the
British Water Code of Practice recommends that a mains
water tap should be fitted, where reasonably practicable,
when an ion-exchange water softener is installed.

It is particularly important that all water mixed with powdered
milk for babies’ feed is drawn from an unsoftened mains tap.
This is because powdered milk already contains sufficient
sodium, and very young babies have a limited tolerance to
sodium. Anyone on a sodium-restricted diet should follow their
doctor’s instructions.

Quite a useful document overall (A Consumer's Guide to Water Softening):

http://www.britishwater.co.uk/Document/Download.aspx?uid=ee36c54e-925e-4b64-b732-b7b13aa6a638

Matt_Filterman

Thanks Doc.
Two differing opinions on the subject to give a good balanced overview..
Regards Matt.

yangptangkipperbang

Doc_N wrote: »

Quite a useful document overall (A Consumer's Guide to Water Softening):

Thanks for that :- I have been trying to track down (again !) the figures in this document for years !