water softner help in chosing and is this true

chrisnasah

Hi,


I am thinking of purchasing


Softeners - Harvey's Homewater Twin Tank Non Electric Water Softener


Anyone got any good/bad comments?


I am looking for a twin and had quotes 2020c where they wanted £1400+ for it.


My plumber will do the installation for £100 being my friend too.

Doc_N

chrisnasah wrote: »

Hi,


I am thinking of purchasing


Softeners - Harvey's Homewater Twin Tank Non Electric Water Softener


Anyone got any good/bad comments?


I am looking for a twin and had quotes 2020c where they wanted £1400+ for it.


My plumber will do the installation for £100 being my friend too.

Nothing wrong with Harvey softeners, I'm sure - though even at the discounted price they normally sell at they're getting on for twice the price of other equally well made and well regarded softeners.

Doc_N

Yaldham wrote: »

I understand that this works by coating the calcium and magnesium not removing them but is it effective and does it help with the deposits on the bathroom tiles, taps etc? It seems good value and takes very little space but I don't want to make a mistake. Thanks

Nocalc, you need to remember, isn't a water softener. Whether it works or not is debatable, but at £249 it's extraordinarily expensive for what it is.

This is also interesting:

http://yaph.co.uk/limescale/NoCalc/

isofa

We are just finishing a new build and want to install a water softener, need a high flow rate one as it's a pressurised unvented HW system.

Had first shortlisted the Kinetico 2020 but having read independant sites, it seems it uses an awful lot of water to regenerate, literature says 0.22 or 0.3 kg of salt per regeneration and will use 18.9 litres (but actual tests from independent sites say this is 26 litres) to regenerate.

Names that are coming up for alternatives are: Harvey’s Softnetic, Ecowater ESM 11+, Hague 400 and Nuwave MD 160 or 260.

We are not bothered about the size of the device as can build the cupboard to fit in the utility. It's a 3 person household (possible 4 in a few years time) with 2 bathrooms, cloakroom, kitchen and utility.

This is a very long thread, so just asking if there are any current recommendations or shortlists. As we are metered, it would be good to keep water waste on regenerations down.

Doc_N

isofa wrote: »

We are just finishing a new build and want to install a water softener, need a high flow rate one as it's a pressurised unvented HW system.

Had first shortlisted the Kinetico 2020 but having read independant sites, it seems it uses an awful lot of water to regenerate, literature says 0.22 or 0.3 kg of salt per regeneration and will use 18.9 litres (but actual tests from independent sites say this is 26 litres) to regenerate.

Names that are coming up for alternatives are: Harvey’s Softnetic, Ecowater ESM 11+, Hague 400 and Nuwave MD 160 or 260.

We are not bothered about the size of the device as can build the cupboard to fit in the utility. It's a 3 person household (possible 4 in a few years time) with 2 bathrooms, cloakroom, kitchen and utility.

This is a very long thread, so just asking if there are any current recommendations or shortlists. As we are metered, it would be good to keep water waste on regenerations down.

Of these, I know only one - the ESM11+. It's very much, I think, in the same sort of price bracket as some of the others you mention - high!

Ecowater are good solid machines. I had one, and it lasted well. But the replacement I bought is a Tapworks AD11. You'll find that it's almost identical to the ESM11+ (Tapworks and Ecowater are part of the same group of companies) and when I spoke to one of their technical people about the differences, I was assured that the functional components are identical, with one exception - the programmer, which is more sophisticated on the Ecowater models.

Whether you consider that difference to be worth paying getting on for three times the price for (around £1200, as against around £430) I leave you to decide. Put it this way - I switched from Ecowater to Tapworks to save £770 and I'm as happy with the Tapworks model as I was with the Ecowater one.

The_Bookman

I have a Kinetico block salt softener, installed with a new bathroom, almost exactly 14 years ago. I have never had it serviced.


For the last few months I have come to the conclusion that is not working as effectively as it used to; I'm seeing a slight build up of scale around tap ends, and in the "monsoon" shower head, the flow through the nipple jets is now a little erratic and when I pinch each nipple, I can feel what I'm assuming is scale between my fingers and the flow then clears.


So..... is it likely that the softener can somehow be defective? If so, why? Is there any maintenance that I can do which would help, or should I call in a professional? Is it likely that it is beyond maintenance and needs replacing?


All thoughts gratefully received.

Doc_N

The_Bookman wrote: »

I have a Kinetico block salt softener, installed with a new bathroom, almost exactly 14 years ago. I have never had it serviced.


For the last few months I have come to the conclusion that is not working as effectively as it used to; I'm seeing a slight build up of scale around tap ends, and in the "monsoon" shower head, the flow through the nipple jets is now a little erratic and when I pinch each nipple, I can feel what I'm assuming is scale between my fingers and the flow then clears.


So..... is it likely that the softener can somehow be defective? If so, why? Is there any maintenance that I can do which would help, or should I call in a professional? Is it likely that it is beyond maintenance and needs replacing?


All thoughts gratefully received.

Almost certainly, the resin contained within the tanks has lost its capacity to soften the water or be regenerated. Inevitable after a few years (it slowly loses the regeneration capacity after time) and 14 years is about par for the course.

If you're handy, you could replace the resin yourself, using a supplier such as this (there are plenty of others):

http://www.wrekinwatersofteners.co.uk/wrekinwatersofteners/final.asp?id=790

Or you could have it done by a professional - it's a very messy job.

Or (and this would be my choice) you could take the approach that after 14 years something else will fail, and you'd be better off with a replacement softener.

I wouldn't go for Kinetico, though - too expensive. See posts a few above.

inverted

Adding to this earlier thread, as a property developer in the South East water softeners are always top on our agenda with refub/new builds. The service from most of the top 5 companies that supply nationally are great, East Midlands Water would be the only exception. Avoid at all costs if you are buying for the first time or if you are not well informed (trade) before you purchase.

There are a huge number of options with softeners, options that make a large difference based on your house/commercial needs. EMWC just don't offer the expert support, nil in fact. Any support they offer - DO NOT TRUST. Their call centre try and give advice that's wrong - trust me! Also, their returns are a joke, it's amazing they still are in business, most if not all of the people I deal with have found the same.

numberwoman

Ok, so I have read the first 23 pages and then have skipped to this last page, but I am still confused. The 'timed' and 'metered' type, do they both need a power supply? I do not have a power supply and therefore want a non-electric type, but they seem to be mostly the twin tanks, which I don't want either, just want the single tank for the cheapest price. Is there a single tank non-electric one out there, and how does it do its regeneration compared to these 'timed' and 'metered' type?

numberwoman

chodu666 wrote: »

Apologies....should have said its called the kinetico ergo 5.

This seems to be exactly what I am looking for: non electric, single tank, and reasonably priced. This type has been hard to find. Interestingly, they are not included on the Kinetico website.
Did you end up buying one?
Has anyone bought one of these?