water softner help in chosing and is this true

manda1205

kaya - Another view, without our softener, our heat exchanger in our boiler got furred up and no good after 18 months, our hot water pipes were so full of scale that the hot water would trickle out and take a good 30mins to fill a bath full, we used double the amount of washing powder for it to be able to work and smell properly, we used more than double shampoo, body wash and fairy liquid and we had to buy salt for our dishwasher. Since we've had our softener for 2 1/2 years ALL of these things have been fixed/shortened, particularly the heat exchanger which has not furred up at all, our hot water pipes immediately free'd up of scale (it was visible in the bath, as the scale would come out of the taps). As for washing in soft water and how it leaves you skin and hair feeling, it's so worth it! These things have all saved us a A LOT of money, so I have to say I totally disagree with your post, until you get a softener you do not realise the benefits!

Doc_N

kaya wrote: »

Ten years ago when I brought my house my mum had a new kitchen put in hers with a water softener , ten years on I have spent approx £20 on de scaler for my kettle and coffee machine whilst she has gone through two washing machines , one dishwasher and god only knows how many hundreds of kilos of salt and fuel and time going to get it. The failures on her equipment were not due to lime scale or caused by the softener in any way but hopefully the enlightened amongst you will get the point of my post. I did ten years commercial catering equipment and ten years domestic in which time I can honestly say apart from water boilers for tea and coffee in commercial kitchens I have not witnessed any real damage caused by scale build up ever. It's just like calgon or dishwasher tablets that contain "salt" , a complete waste of your time, effort and money

You're clearly not living in an area of really hard water (as I am) then!

I'm afraid the hard facts make it very clear indeed that a decent softener will prove very worthwhile indeed for an annual outlay of around £40-£80 in salt (depending on the size of your family). Running costs (salt apart) are minimal.

Aside from the saving in detergents, soap etc (substantial) and the non-calcification of pipes, cylinders etc, the real benefit is in the much nicer, less harsh water quality - and the complete elimination of calcium sink stains (a big time saver).

There won't be a lot of benefit in a softish water area, but the benefits in a really hard are are enormous.

Better_Days

kaya We had a water softener in our previous house for over 10 years then last year moved to a house without a softener. We soon noticed the difference (we live in a hard water area). We had the bathroom replaced but very quickly the taps and shower started to scale up. The shower cubicle needed frequent cleaning to prevent the white marking on the shower screen. My scalp became sore and my skin dry. It took longer to clean the kitchen and bathroom, and we needed to use more washing powder.

A month or so ago we had a softener fitted by Kind Water (I'd used them before and they don't try and get you to buy the most expensive model, in fact the engineer recommended the cheapest one would be suitable for our household). Worth every penny, don't need to use so much washing powder, shampoo, soap and cleaning products. Skin and hair much more comfortable. Scale gone on taps etc. Wouldn't be without it.:)

d4v34

Hi all,
I've had a Coral 15l with Autotrol 762 delivered and I have a couple of questions.
I'm surprised to see that the resin tank feels loose in the cabinet. Looking at where the valve goes through the cabinet and joins the resin tank it feels like there should be a grommet of some kind but there's nothing which means the resin tank can move in the aperture.

Should the brine tank have a float valve to stop the water overflowing?

Thanks

Harrison88

Hi guys,

I live in a two bed new build and am interested in sorting a water softener.

I've had a quote from an "independent" plumber locally who can do both electric and twin-cylinder Harvey's softeners.

He seemed to be pushing the Harvey's manufacturer softeners quite a bit, explaining the 10 year warranty he gets, etc, etc.

At the minute I'm thinking of going with his quote for £1,400 but it looks like you guys recommend the Tapworks softeners. My problem is space under the kitchen sink nor in the rest of the house isn't great so I need one that is space saving for both the unit and salt storage but also accessible. The Tapworks Ultra 9 seems to fit the bill.

What do you guys recommend?

Doc_N

Harrison88 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I live in a two bed new build and am interested in sorting a water softener.

I've had a quote from an "independent" plumber locally who can do both electric and twin-cylinder Harvey's softeners.

He seemed to be pushing the Harvey's manufacturer softeners quite a bit, explaining the 10 year warranty he gets, etc, etc.

At the minute I'm thinking of going with his quote for £1,400 but it looks like you guys recommend the Tapworks softeners. My problem is space under the kitchen sink nor in the rest of the house isn't great so I need one that is space saving for both the unit and salt storage but also accessible. The Tapworks Ultra 9 seems to fit the bill.

What do you guys recommend?

Tapworks - see posts above - for around the £600 mark. £1400 is ludicrously expensive, but installers will make far more profit, so that's why they push these overpriced softeners.

There's very little to go wrong with a softener, and a ten year warranty, whilst OK, is very unlikely to be needed. It certainly isn't worth an extra £800!

Harrison88

Doc_N wrote: »

Tapworks - see posts above - for around the £600 mark. £1400 is ludicrously expensive, but installers will make far more profit, so that's why they push these overpriced softeners.

There's very little to go wrong with a softener, and a ten year warranty, whilst OK, is very unlikely to be needed. It certainly isn't worth an extra £800!

Thanks for your help.

What about the recycle process? For a two bed wouldn't the twin-cylinder models recycle less often than the timed once a night of a single? It might not need to recycle each night.

Storage of a huge salt bag will also be a pain. The price difference is huge though!

Doc_N

Harrison88 wrote: »

Thanks for your help.

What about the recycle process? For a two bed wouldn't the twin-cylinder models recycle less often than the timed once a night of a single? It might not need to recycle each night.

Storage of a huge salt bag will also be a pain. The price difference is huge though!

I can only speak from direct experience of Tapworks (and the equivalent, almost identical but much more expensive Ecowater models).

As a guide, my AD11 regenerates every 4 days (just 2 of us in the house at the moment). It's not timed (neither is the Ultra 9) - it has a computerised meter which measures water usage and predicts when it next needs to regenerate. Timers are old hat - I think they disappeared some time ago except on very basic models.

The Ultra 9 holds almost a bag of salt - you would need to store another bag, though. They're not as big as you might think, though.

Have a look at this - it might help:

http://tapworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/HOUSEHOLD-PRODUCTS-EASYFLOW.pdf

I'm very much an advocate of the Tapworks machines. They're almost the same as the well respected Ecowater models (same company) but sold at a fraction of the price because the middle man's profit (a lot!) is cut out:

http://ecowater.co.uk/domestic-water-softeners/

BARGAIN_BOB_2

Nellybloomers wrote: »

Just had a company called round to talk water softeners. This company sells the Kinetico 2020c twin at £1200, or a Kennet single cylinder electric for £500. Has anyone got a Kennet water softener or know much about them?

I think you will find many people have a Kennet water
softener as I believe that Kennetwater in Newbury assemble, amongst others, the Coral range of softeners. I am about to purchase a new softener and more than likely a Coral High Flow. Since they are local to me, I visited Kennetwater and they were full of good advice in choosing a replacement for my old Prismertec. Unfortunately they do not sell direct to the public.

Sterlingtimes

The water softener that is sold by Wickes today for £399 appears to the identical to the one that I bought from B&Q 18 years ago. It is still going strong and has needed no repair whatsoever.


I will need to check whether the filter bag needs chemical rejuvenation.