water softner help in chosing and is this true

cojoba

I hope someone can help me, as I have spent literally days on end trying to establish what Water Softener is best for me and MY usage. There are so many brands around and despite making phone calls to companies, they all seem to only want to sell their own, as opposed to being impartial (i.e like carphone warehouse are with mobiles)

I have moved into a home where all the plumbing and pipework is in place and I have a standard water system/tank with a new condensing boiler and therefore will be installing it myself.

I basically want a softener under £500 that is economical to use. I live alone, in a very hard water area in Hertforshire and my water bills are currently just under £7 per month. I want a softener where I DON'T have to fill it with salt every 2-3 days, but perhaps once every 6-7 days or more. I also want one that is metered electronically depending on my usage.

Please please help me, as I am now dreaming about bloomin water softeners!!

I have been considering the Waterside MC350 versions, the Culligan Aquadial Softlife and Monarch mini(15) and midi(15) versions. However just found other cheaper versions by waterworks, Tapworks and Lakeside etc. Not really interested in Crown or Kinetico or twin ones as these seem a lot more expensive.

The Best prices I have found are £399 for Waterside, £310 for Aquadial, and £468 for Monarch, however there are cheaper ones for £220 from WaterworksGB.

I have done a spreadsheet that lists water usage per regen, salt usage per regen, resin volume, flow rate per minute, and volume of softened water, however still do not understand whether it is better to have a high or low number on these things.

Help! Please can anyone give me independant advice as what would suit ME.

moonrakerz

Don't bother with a metered softener, just get a basic model with an electro-mechanical timer set to regenerate twice a week.
As you are living alone your water useage shouldn't be that much. Depending on the size of machine you get you should only need to fill up the salt every few weeks. In my last house, 4 beds 4 adults a 25kg bag of salt lasted over 2 months. I've got a much smaller model in my present house, fits under the kitchen sink, lasts about 6 weeks - but doesn't hold the full 25 kgs.

I would recommend something like:-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Culligan-Permutit-Timed-Water-Softener-PST-V2_W0QQitemZ320165884668QQihZ011QQcategoryZ20684QQcmdZViewItem

It's basic, it's simple and it works ! Permutit have made softeners for years, I think they now belong to Culligan.

barrymung

Be aware that softened water should not be drunk, especially by children.

The water can contain high levels of salt, especiaally if the softener develops a fault so a "non softened" water tap should be fitted in the kitchen.

barrymung

moonrakerz wrote: »

I'm beggining to wonder if there is actually "water softener snobbery".

"Oh ! he's only got a single cylinder from B & Q, we've got a twin cylinder from Harrods !"

Indeed, there is! A friend of mine has a softener that cost him a great deal of money. You wouldn't believe how much he goes on about it being "better than the others"..

moonrakerz

barrymung wrote: »

Be aware that softened water should not be drunk, especially by children.

The water can contain high levels of salt, especially if the softener develops a fault so a "non softened" water tap should be fitted in the kitchen.

This is, I am afraid, a bit of an "urban myth". Salt regenerated softeners do add miniscule amounts of sodium to the water, BUT the level of sodium in softened water is actually about one third of the legal limit of sodium in milk. So unless you drink huge amounts of water it won't do you any harm.
The possibilility of salt getting into the water as a result of a fault is almost non existent. The softening resin is in a sealed vessel from the salt to start with. When the softener is regenerating (usually in the middle of the night), when brine is used to flush the resin, any water drawn in the house during that period bypasses the softener and is just plain "hard" water.
BUT, it is inadvisable to use softened water to mix baby formula milk.

globalds

Hi all .Sorry if this is a bit of a thread hijack ...But I just won this on ebay
It was cheap .
This item hasn't arrived yet ...I was just wondering if I had bought a dud ..People keep mentioning resin in posts ..Do you think it will have run out in this machine?
...if so how much are replacements ?..Sorry to but in like this but any advice would be apreciated ..

vrstu

Seems the GE is General Electric.

I'm wondering of it's a Reverse Osmosis unit rather than salt driven. If so then the membranes do tend to have a life.

globalds

Thanks for that ..
There is a general trend with things I buy off ebay as bargains ...This seems to be fitting that trend ..
I'm waiting for news that my water is the wrong type of hard or that it only fits continetal taps...:)

moonrakerz

Difficult to tell much from the photo. If it is a conventional salt machine, I would hazard a guess that the round tank with the programmer on top is the resin tank and the rectangular one is the salt/brine. You don't see this type very often - because they take up a lot of space. If it is a conventional salt machine the resin will last for many years, so no probs there.

I would suggest you post again when it arrives !

cojoba

Just wanted to update you all. I made several calls to companies today Re: various softeners I mentioned in my first post. Every single company was biased towards a certain brand and as good as slagged off the other brands. They all would have charged me £799+. There was one seller in Norwich who sells four different brands, and he was the most helpful, polite and even phoned manufacturers for me. He came back with all the information I wanted and I think now I will be going with the Culligan Aquadial Hi-tech Soft life at £309inc