Water Softeners?

[whistlepig]

Having hard well water here kind of makes a water softener a necessity. Our twenty year old water softener bit the dust this week so I am looking for a good one. I did a search tonight but the styles and prices seem to be endless. Just wonder if someone has a good brand to recommend.

 

[Fi-Q]

Around here 90% of the people are using Kinetico. They a pricy but one of the best IMO , and they don't use any power, it's all mechanical. My dad and some of the neigbor have some 20 year+ kinetico system that are still running flawlessly, and there is very little maintenance. I got one put in 2 years ago with a UV filterng light, and it was around 4500$. But I have good drinkable water now and peace of mind.

FYI: I am not related at all to kinetico, just talking about my own experience.

 

[whistlepig]

We have a two year old water filtration system already installed that takes care of iron and hydrogen sulfate. We also have a revere osmosis drinking water system that was installed at the same time two years ago. We just need a basic high quality softener for soft water. Right now the Sears Kenmore seems to be popping up on the top of the reviews.

 

[Creamer]

Whistlepig - Saw Preble County and knew I needed to answer. Came very close to buying a property there 20 years ago when living in Cinci but the job fell through and I had to move to NE Indiana. Loved the area there!

Bang for the buck - Star Water systems. They are not a big name but I put one in my house twenty years ago when I moved here and only had a problem this past winter when a valve stuck. Called them and discussed the symptoms and they told me what it was and sent the instructions to tear it apart - real simple and I didn't need parts. 30 minutes later I had a fully functional softener again and working great since. I saw nothing inside that did not look like it was new and I work with a lot of plastic injection molded parts in my career. There is no reason this system will not go another twenty years, easy.

An added plus for me is that they are built by Flint and Walling in Kendallville, Indiana which is right near me. They are very vertically integrated so no imported parts. It is always comforting to know they are close but I have never been to the plant as they handled it over the phone and internet.

 

[jejeosborne]

I paid $400 for a GE model from lowes six years ago. It recharges based on usage rather than a timer. I believe they are all basically the same in the way they operate. I am picky in most I my purchases but I bought the highest capacity for the dollar and didn't shop brand. Previous house had a Kenmore and it worked fine as well. We have a RO system as well and love that.

 

[RobertBrown]

Having hard well water here kind of makes a water softener a necessity. Our twenty year old water softener bit the dust this week so I am looking for a good one. I did a search tonight but the styles and prices seem to be endless. Just wonder if someone has a good brand to recommend.

What kind do you have?
I too have an old one and after extensive research I decided to repair rather than replace. If yours is an Autotrol you might ant to consider keeping it.
Either way I recommend this fellow, he is truly amazing, excellent customer support. Send him an email and tell him what you are thinking.
I'm sure you will find that this is what customer service should be

Softenerparts.com Softener parts, repair your water conditioner with replacement parts for Fleck and Autotrol control valves:

 

[whistlepig]

The house came with a rebuilt Water Refining System softener installed in 1999. Water Refining went out of business over 30 years ago. I know because I worked there for a year in 1971. We purchased a pretty expensive filtration system that 3 years ago that works extremely well for taking out iron, calcium, and hydrogen sulfate. At the same time we also purchased a reverse osmosis drinking water set up. The water tastes good, has no smell, no deposits, and makes an excellent pot of coffee. But that's just not soft water. Soft water has to come from a water softener. We just need a basic good quality water softener. I did a hard search tonight and ordered one of these. This kept coming up at the top of the list regardless of price.

Kenmore

 

[RobertN]

We have Kinetico now. Really like it. We have pretty yucky water. Neighbors Kinetico is almost 30 years old, no problems. Our old Rainsoft lasted 15... We have Reverse Osmosis filters in the kitchen too.

Have you water tested, and see how much softening you will need; that will be a big part of choosing a system based on the grains of softening you need.

 

[RobertBrown]

The house came with a rebuilt Water Refining System softener installed in 1999. Water Refining went out of business over 30 years ago. I know because I worked there for a year in 1971. We purchased a pretty expensive filtration system that 3 years ago that works extremely well for taking out iron, calcium, and hydrogen sulfate. At the same time we also purchased a reverse osmosis drinking water set up. The water tastes good, has no smell, no deposits, and makes an excellent pot of coffee. But that's just not soft water. Soft water has to come from a water softener. We just need a basic good quality water softener. I did a hard search tonight and ordered one of these. This kept coming up at the top of the list regardless of price.

Kenmore

I don't know anything about how that one operates, but you can't go 2 far wrong with a Kenmore.
I was thinking since you had the tank and the resin, you could just replace the vale body or maybe just the timer. There really isn't much to disassembling one and it's interesting to know how reverse osmosis works.
The timers are not very expensive and are subject to failure due to power surges and lightening,
I decide to stay with the one I had because it was so simple in it's operation, no sensitive electronics, IC's or processors.

 

[DKCDKC]

I have a 10 year old Northstar that works fairly well, but is located in a 6 foot crawlspace and is hard to access and dump salt in. I'll probably need to get a new one to move it, but find all the terminology confusing too. What is the difference between water softeners and water conditioners? Do the new electronic and magnetic softeners work really?

I have very hard 28 grain Virginia mountain water.

 

[Artisan]

I 'was" SOLD on Puratech Softeners. They really strip a lot of chlorine out
of the water which I love. I have installed maybe 2 dozen of them over the
years. Few problems, small and can run on salt or potassium. I have
one client who has a kid that HAD a skin condition till I installed it.

There is a new Unit in town now that I am leaning towards big time. No Mechanical
NOTHING! It is basically a Citrus Filter. Call then, you will be floored. I have
heard first hand that there so awsome that water spots that are already on
glass actually disapper over short time.
If I wanted a softener fo rmy own home, after hearing first hand from a
friend whom is absolutely brilliant and a plumbing contractor as well, i would
buy the NuvoH2o unit...

No Salt to Load, No mechanicals to break down, long periods between
cartridge changes I here, yes, there is a cartridge you need to buy, but
add all the fuel and time and energy to get bags of salt vs this, I think it
will be a no brainer.


NuvoH2o

 

[whistlepig]

I've looked at a bunch of stuff tonight. Salt free, no electric, life time warranty. Perfect stuff they say for the price. Seems to all boil down to a basic back flushing water softener. That's been around for a while.

 

[Artisan]

I've looked at a bunch of stuff tonight. Salt free, no electric, life time warranty. Perfect stuff they say for the price. Seems to all boil down to a basic back flushing water softener. That's been around for a while.

Perhaps you didn't see my post, that isn't a basic back flushing water softener. New School it is...Call the NuvoH2o manufacturer Tuesday and flat
out ask them why theres is better then a "basic back flushing water softener".

 

[DKCDKC]

I'll answer my own question earlier. I checked out Consumer Guide, some professional plumbing association sites, several consumer sites, etc. I find that the only real water softener option for homes is the old fashioned salt-using softeners that have been around forever. The electronic, magnetic and non-salt units are not true softeners because they remove nothing from the water. They claim to condition the water so that the minerals don't scale up - although some consumer sites report that in places where the water sits for any length of time - like a water heater - scaling will occur. Conditioners do work for some people who don't like the salt systems, but produce very mixed results. The national plumbing association is now working on coming up with standards for these conditioners, because it is very hard to know when one works. The conditioner sites generally seem to post a lot of questionable testimonials. It's hard to know which one might actually work.

I think I'll make the rounds of my local softener dealers, and retest my water. I'll find something that will work.

 

[Creamer]

I always have a problem with "new technology" that they will not explain how it works. If it is so good and simple why can't they explain it? Furthermore, how are the cartridges cheaper than salt?

 

[Artisan]

I always have a problem with "new technology" that they will not explain how it works. If it is so good and simple why can't they explain it? Furthermore, how are the cartridges cheaper than salt?

You didn't even go to their site and read just a little nor look did you?
Then I sentenance you to your ignorance... Enjoy last years flavors...

 

[Creamer]

You didn't even go to their site and read just a little nor look did you?
Then I sentenance you to your ignorance... Enjoy last years flavors...

Their site only says it is uses a citric substance to bind the scale - it says nothing about how it works, so if you are going to make such a snide comment maybe you can explain the technical details to me. Please explain it in detail though, i.e. chemistry, physics, etc. and then put a real number on the cost and how one determines how long a cartridge will last in their water. Please help me to understand if it works in water with calcium or magnesium or iron or other minerals or how combinations affect the effectivity. You are talking to a very technical person who can understand all the hard science you want to throw at me. You comment was very arrogant and displays your inability to understand technical detail. You accept a pretty little graphic as science which demonstrates your technical depth.
This may be a good technology but if so why don't they explain it? While it may condition the water but long term viability and cost effectiveness is not public information - at least not on their website.

 

[Toyboy]

I put in a Water Boss I got from Menard's for $389 and it works just fine for us. A lot of this new technology seems like the magnet you put on your gas line to get better mpg on your car. UH-huh....right
The main thing to consider is getting a softener that regenerates on amount of usage not number of days.

 

[DieselMonk]

I would have my water tested first, in order to find out WHAT kind of filter / softerner I need. Like I already said, it all depends on what kind of water is down your well. I hate to spend 1000 to 1500$ for something that didn't work.

 

[Fi-Q]

My kinetico dealer did test the water and then offered a system according to it. I got my water test from an other place to make sure he wasn't try to play with us, got the same result from water test.

Call the dealers you have around, some will ahow up and do some test with you for free then they will explai you there austem and try to sold
You something, you don't have to buy, but it qill give you a better idea.