water softner help in chosing and is this true

madkid88

Which one is better?

Kinetico Water Softener 2020c HF or Harveys Twintec S3 Water Softener? Deciding on which one to buy

Pompeyblue3280

Ok I have done my research and have owned a few softeners so let’s put this matter to bed.

When you buy a softener you get what you pay for![/B]

Don’t forget when setting your budget you still have to pay for the softener to be installed. Usually around £300 for a new installation and £200 for a reinstall.

Single Tank:

One and tank and electrical powered, they take tablet or granular salt. They will use between 40 – 80 litres of water for regeneration, which you can pretty much be guaranteed it will regenerate every day.

Short warranties 1 – 3 years and prices between £280 - £900. Possible hidden service contracts of £120 per year this was EWT.

You should get 6 years of use from it but don’t count on anymore.

REMEMBER A SINGLE TANK SOFTENER WILL NOT ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOFT WATER.

Twin Tank:
Obviously have two tanks and non electric.
I know a Harvey softener takes block salt but the Kinetico takes block and tablet salt.

Kinetico warranty 10 years.

Harvey warranties 1 – 5 years (they will charge you extra if you want longer).

Kinetico and Harvey models are priced pretty close around £1300.00 plus installation.

I have owned a Kinetico and Harvey softener and the Kinetico is a far better softener, with better service and it looks nicer. I only got 8 years from my old Harvey, with my Kinetico I should get double that I have been told. But I fell for the Harvey sales pitch the first time not again.

Buying a softener is like walking in a minefield. Speak to a larger manufacturer like Kinetico get their advice. Don’t waste time with your local plumber or builder out of the yellow pages because they won’t care if something does go wrong and pretty much don’t really know what sort of softener they just get it off the shelf at their suppliers.

Also you can drink soft water; HOWEVER it depends on a few things.

The government has stated you can’t have a sodium drinking water content any more than 200mgl.

Find out what your existing sodium content in your water is from your water company. (They will tell you or refer you where to look).

Find out your water hardness from your water company a decent softener will add around 150mgl. Cheaper softeners use more salt so this number will be higher. If you’re below 200mgl you can drink it. It’s always good to get a hard water line and I prefer the taste of hard water, however I drink tea and coffee with soft water and it does not taste like salt at all.

I have spent hours and hours looking at softeners, getting prices and reading brochures. But I wouldn’t be without my new softener now. If you want something decent that’s going to last you then you have to pay a little more.

Some useful

kinetico.co.uk

harveyswatersoftener.co.uk

ewtechnologies.co.uk

Doc_N

Pompeyblue3280 wrote: »

Ok I have done my research and have owned a few softeners so let’s put this matter to bed.

When you buy a softener you get what you pay for!

Single Tank:

One and tank and electrical powered, they take tablet or granular salt. They will use between 40 – 80 litres of water for regeneration, which you can pretty much be guaranteed it will regenerate every day.

You should get 6 years of use from it but don’t count on anymore.

REMEMBER A SINGLE TANK SOFTENER WILL NOT ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOFT WATER.

A few brief comments on this.

When you buy a softener you get what you pay for!

This is frequently not the case - often it's a case of paying more just for a 'name', to cover all the advertising costs, and to produce additional (and perhaps excessive) profits for the manufacturers and their salesmen.

You should get 6 years of use from it but don’t count on anymore.

You should expect far more than 6 years from a decent machine.

REMEMBER A SINGLE TANK SOFTENER WILL NOT ALWAYS GIVE YOU SOFT WATER.

That's only true in a very technical sense. It will give you soft water for almost all of the time. The only time it will not is for just over an hour, in the middle of the night, every three days or so. In practical terms you get soft water all the time.



Twin tank machines are pretty pointless and a bit of a waste of money. Harveys and Kinetico will cost you a good deal more than you need to pay for a machine that's every bit as good.

Tapworks, in my view, still represent the best value out there, in that they're rebadged Ecowater machines at a substantially lower price.

David_Aston

Ok Pomp
I assume you are saying that it is only necessary to read your post, and then purchase from your limited selection of choices?
On the previous page of this thread, I posted about the Aquadial Prismertec we have owned since 1993. It cost about five hundred quid, and the local plumbers merchants who provided it then, have suggested a particular replacement,(Monarch), at about the same price now.
I think you are saying that at this price, the machine will be using huge amounts of water, and also salt.
Also, failing after just a few years!
Oh dear.

Markthisoneout

Just found this site so thought I’d give readers the benefit of my own personal experience. We have had a Kinetico for nearly 7 years and it has given faultless service. It copes with our 5 bedroom house whether the whole family is at home or only 2 of us are here. Why anyone would buy the ugly, large Tapmaster or similar systems is beyond me especially as they need an electricity supply. My sister, who had no end of trouble with her Tapmaster (but at least managed to get some of her money back) has now got the latest Kinetico and is so pleased. OK, it is more expensive – but I definitely agree with an earlier comment – you get what you pay for and reliability and peace of mind are worth paying for in my view.

Doc_N

Markthisoneout wrote: »

Just found this site so thought I’d give readers the benefit of my own personal experience. We have had a Kinetico for nearly 7 years and it has given faultless service. It copes with our 5 bedroom house whether the whole family is at home or only 2 of us are here. Why anyone would buy the ugly, large Tapmaster or similar systems is beyond me especially as they need an electricity supply. My sister, who had no end of trouble with her Tapmaster (but at least managed to get some of her money back) has now got the latest Kinetico and is so pleased. OK, it is more expensive – but I definitely agree with an earlier comment – you get what you pay for and reliability and peace of mind are worth paying for in my view.

Goodness - that sounds almost like an advert for Kinetico, doesn't it?

Don't know the Tapmaster you refer to - nobody on this thread seems to have referred to it - but the Kinetico's no beauty, is it? Personal choice, I suppose, but it looks pretty hideous to me!

Kinetico seems to me to be grossly overpriced, probably because of the way they're sold. They don't seem too keen on disclosing their prices, either, which always sounds a warning note. What's the going rate for a 2020C?

Kinetico is very unlikely in my view to offer good value. There are plenty of machines around which are every bit as good, or better, at a fraction of the price. Just as reliable, too - there really is very little to go wrong with a decent water softener. And that doesn't mean you have to pay silly Kinetico prices.

Doc_N

madkid88 wrote: »

Which one is better?

Kinetico Water Softener 2020c HF or Harveys Twintec S3 Water Softener? Deciding on which one to buy

I'd say neither. Both are extremely expensive for what they offer - there are much cheaper softeners out there that will serve you just as well at less than half the price.

Troubleatmill_2

Dumb question. House size is as follows.

4 toilets
4 sinks
3 showers
1 bath
18 radiators
1 Hot storage tank capable of holding 2-3 baths.

Is a single tank still an option for..
a/ Two of us living in the house.
and
b/ Five of us living in the house

Doc_N

Troubleatmill wrote: »

Dumb question. House size is as follows.

4 toilets
4 sinks
3 showers
1 bath
18 radiators
1 Hot storage tank capable of holding 2-3 baths.

Is a single tank still an option for..
a/ Two of us living in the house.
and
b/ Five of us living in the house

Not a dumb question at all - particularly given the misinformation pushed out by the twin tank sellers.

A single tank machine of the right capacity (that's the important point) will more than cope with 2 or 5 people, whatever the size of the house and number of baths etc.

Go for the right size and it will regenerate every two or three days, probably - in the middle of the night when you're all asleep. The regeneration lasts for an hour or so, during which time all systems are fully usable - the only difference during that short period is that hard water will come out of the taps and into the hot water cylinder. No big deal, even if someone does happen to be up at 3am!

Two tank machines are utterly pointless. They're harmless, but usually grossly overpriced. Buy one if you use a lot of water 24 hours a day, but most people don't tend to use a lot of water in the middle of the night!

[Deleted User]

Hi guys, I'm new to this but have done a lot of reading and research on water softener as I'm looking to buy one.
I have a 3 bed semi with two adults 1 bathroom and downstairs toilet.
I was very interested in the Harvey's water softener and found a company called east midlands water that were selling the Harvey's crown which is made by Harvey's but put in a crown box, anyway whilst on the phone to them they suggested that I was to go for a single tank rather than a twin tank, the model number was EMS10 blue metered softener as it would use less salt and regen a lot lees than the Harvey's due to having a 2500 litres capacity.
Comparing this water softener it dose seem very good my only issue I have is I can not find any reviews or people that have had them installed.
Your thoughts would be much appreciated as I'm finding it hard to pick one