water softner help in chosing and is this true

springdove

Hi all,

I have been offered the Kinetico 2020c at £1,600 fitted with 5 years labour warranty + a full flow filter + 10 bags of salt. How does this compare with what's on offer in recent months elsewhere?

Thanks

harrythefurrysquid

Well, I just coughed up about £475 for a Monarch Midi, which is a single cylinder unit (after considering the advice in this thread). I figured I could buy a washing machine with the cash left over.

But that's without any fitting. Previous owner of my new house had a softener and left hoses behind (inlet, outlet and drain) with bypass valves etc, so I'll have a stab at plumbing it in myself. They also left a handy electrical socket.

Please cross your fingers for me! If I can't manage it, I'll have to disassemble half my kitchen to get at the plumbing.

springdove

Thanks mate. I do need to read the thread properly again. I am not a DIY man so I need help with installation. I feel like the costs are exorbitant for a fitted Kinetico or Harvey but at least they seem to do the job well.

Good luck with the work!

Doc_N

springdove wrote: »

Thanks mate. I do need to read the thread properly again. I am not a DIY man so I need help with installation. I feel like the costs are exorbitant for a fitted Kinetico or Harvey but at least they seem to do the job well.

Good luck with the work!

As you say, read through the thread again for details, but both the machines you mention are grossly overpriced, as is the Ecowater range. My suggestion is above, it comes with a decent installation kit, full installation instructions, and a plumber should be able to fit it for less than £100.

Total cost therefore around £550.

springdove

Thanks Doc N.

To be clear, your suggestion is the Tapworks model that you recently purchased? It seems available for £438 at the moment.

Can a plumber get it installed despite it also needing an electricity connection?

Doc_N

springdove wrote: »

Thanks Doc N.

To be clear, your suggestion is the Tapworks model that you recently purchased? It seems available for £438 at the moment.

Can a plumber get it installed despite it also needing an electricity connection?

That's the one. SNH of Birchington supplied it with free next day delivery and it's every bit as good as I expected it to be. It's basically an Ecowater ESM11, which sells for around £1200, with slightly fewer sophistications and a shorter warranty. Still a two year warranty though, which is pretty good.

It needs a socket to plug it into, and a competent plumber will have no problem plumbing it in. Have a look at the manual and fitting instructions, which you'll find on the website. There's also a fitting video if you search YouTube.

springdove

Thanks.

I don't have a free power socket in the boiler room where this needs to be installed, so I suppose I need a plumber who can also do some of this work.

springdove

Doc_N wrote: »

As you say, read through the thread again for details, but both the machines you mention are grossly overpriced, as is the Ecowater range. My suggestion is above, it comes with a decent installation kit, full installation instructions, and a plumber should be able to fit it for less than £100.

Total cost therefore around £550.

Doc N - what did the plumber charge? I've got one quote for £240 which seems excessive to say the least given the £100 figure you quoted as being possible!

Doc_N

springdove wrote: »

Doc N - what did the plumber charge? I've got one quote for £240 which seems excessive to say the least given the £100 figure you quoted as being possible!

My plumbing was already there, so I don't know the current cost. My £100 could have been an underestimate, but that will depend on where you live.

£240 does seem a lot, though, given that it's a pretty simple job (see below) and that you'll already have the kit that comes with the Tapworks softeners. Couple more quotations, perhaps?

springdove

Thanks. I am indeed getting another quote this weekend.

The first plumber who came in claimed it could not be fitted at all, and that water softeners work through reverse osmosis :rotfl:!!

£240 came from plumber # 2.

Surrey by the way...