Who knows what about water softener systems

[WYRD]

Lookin for a whole house water softener and trying to gather Intel.

We live in a no salt city but every thing I've read says you need salt to soften

 

[pronstar]

Subscribed [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Bobby V]

Lookin for a whole house water softener and trying to gather Intel.

We live in a no salt city but every thing I've read says you need salt to soften

What is a no salt city? Kinda like no alcohol in Utah.

 

[Yellowboat]

Lookin for a whole house water softener and trying to gather Intel.

We live in a no salt city but every thing I've read says you need salt to soften

Um, every chemical they use too soften water is a type of salt.

 

[LHC Kirby]

Order online, install and enjoy.

 

[clark]

you can use potassium c

Lookin for a whole house water softener and trying to gather Intel.

We live in a no salt city but every thing I've read says you need salt. you can use potassium chloride, but it is quite abit more expensive, but it is permissible
and is marketed by natures own or natures choice and is available at home depot

 

[WYRD]

Order online, install and enjoy.

Kind of my thoughts too but would they be able to tell? It goes to a treatment plant.

 

[WYRD]

you can use potassium c

I seen that but it's big bucks for that

 

[WYRD]

What is a no salt city? Kinda like no alcohol in Utah.

They have a ban on salt based water softeners. The do make a no salt version but every thing I've read says they don't work well

 

[Taboma]

I've got a neighbor who has this Pelican "No Salt" system and swears by it --- and they are extremely picky people, so recommendations aren't handed out like participation trophies.
I never so much as felt it --- so I'm just passing it on.

https://www.pelicanwater.com/

 

[MCnParker]

You can call this company and talk to them and they can at least point you in the right direction. They do not sell to the public but have been super helpful for my questions as we are researching the same thing right now.

http://www.falskenwatersystems.com/

Lookin for a whole house water softener and trying to gather Intel.

We live in a no salt city but every thing I've read says you need salt to soften

 

[WYRD]

I've got a neighbor who has this Pelican "No Salt" system and swears by it --- and they are extremely picky people, so recommendations aren't handed out like participation trophies.
I never so much as felt it --- so I'm just passing it on.

https://www.pelicanwater.com/

I have looked at them. Found some info that says they dont actually soften the water but rather add something to it to encapsulate the minerals so they dont leave a residue. Ours is so bad the wife wont use the dish washer and we have to squeegee the shower after every use

 

[Gramps]

I had a neighbor that bought the Hauge "potassium" system.................no salt and drink out of any faucet. Works great

 

[Taboma]

I have looked at them. Found some info that says they dont actually soften the water but rather add something to it to encapsulate the minerals so they dont leave a residue. Ours is so bad the wife wont use the dish washer and we have to squeegee the shower after every use

I believe that to be correct. According to my neighbor, it doesn't leave your skin with that slimy feel you normally experience with softened water --- which I hate by the way. But it does seem to work with the mineral residue problem if hard water.
Per my neighbor, their shower remains spot and residue free and there's no mineral build up around their faucets.
Like me, they don't like that slime feel, but wanted to control the mineral residue and why they bought this type of system.
As far as service, he's been able to purchase the carbon and whatever the other product is and maintain the system himself.
Although in the past five years I think he's only had to do it once.
That's what I've been told and I do consider him a reliable source.

 

[boatpi]

Look at nuvo h20 manor size

 

[WildHorses24]

Look at nuvo h20 manor size

Parents just had their 3rd house set up by @Dale21RT Mom has Psoriasis and loves it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[thetub]

dumb question

does the salt in these systems damage plumbing in any way as far as corrosion ?

thanks in advance

 

[STV_Keith]

The house I just bought has a whole home system in it, installed by a local installer, but the system is comprised of parts from American Water Products. Looks like they are in Fountain Valley... http://www.awpwater.com/

 

[DaveH]

dumb question

does the salt in these systems damage plumbing in any way as far as corrosion ?

thanks in advance

this is the biggest myth and scare tactic used by companies to sell their no salt based systems.

YOU ARENT SHOWERING OR DRINKING SALT.

traditional water softeners use a resin bead that filters the water. over time these beads become saturated and have to be "renewed".

the salt, or more correctly brine tank, is used to back flush or "wash" the resin beads. the brine water is then discarded and dumped to your sewer.

this was the way it was done since the birth of water softeners.

I have a traditional system, and have tried potassium instead of salt...and found that potassium doesn't do nearly as good of a job renewing the system (more frequent renews and even then the water didn't have the same level of softness as compared to salt, never mind the huge price difference).

I would run a traditional system. they work best especially if you have very hard water.

 

[HitIt]

Do they sell big bags of salt at your local Lowes or Home Dump? If so, your neighbors are using salt based systems. I installed a 64k Fleck system at my house from here:
https://www.ohiopurewater.com/

Good people and will help answer your questions.

As stated, you can use potassium in place of salt if you want. More expensive (around 5x the cost of salt) but it does work. Do you have a drain nearby for where you want to plumb it in? The salt brine needs to be discharged somewhere when it regenerates (around 50gallons, once a week). There are also services that will swap out resin tanks every week or two so you dont have to worry about salt, brine discharge, etc. They are filled with the same resin as the home kits but they regen them in bulk at a processing facility that doesn't dump the brine straight to a water processor.

If you go the DIY route, make sure you size the system correctly. You want to shoot for around 7 - 10 day regens. I oversized my system and operate it like a 40k system (it is a 64k system) because the regens are more salt efficient that way. In order to size the system, you need to get one if these:

https://www.amazon.com/Hach-145300-Total-Hardness-Model/dp/B008FM7WLU/

to test you hardness and know how much water you use. I think the current estimate is around 60-75 gallons per person per day. Or you could figure it out from your water bill minus how much water you use for landscaping.

Hit me up with any questions. I learned about all of this stuff a few years ago.

and this is like the RDP of water softeners:
https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?forums/water-softener-forum-questions-and-answers.22/

 

[WYRD]

Do they sell big bags of salt at your local Lowes or Home Dump? If so, your neighbors are using salt based systems. I installed a 64k Fleck system at my house from here:
https://www.ohiopurewater.com/

Good people and will help answer your questions.

As stated, you can use potassium in place of salt if you want. More expensive (around 5x the cost of salt) but it does work. Do you have a drain nearby for where you want to plumb it in? The salt brine needs to be discharged somewhere when it regenerates (around 50gallons, once a week). There are also services that will swap out resin tanks every week or two so you dont have to worry about salt, brine discharge, etc. They are filled with the same resin as the home kits but they regen them in bulk at a processing facility that doesn't dump the brine straight to a water processor.

If you go the DIY route, make sure you size the system correctly. You want to shoot for around 7 - 10 day regens. I oversized my system and operate it like a 40k system (it is a 64k system) because the regens are more salt efficient that way. In order to size the system, you need to get one if these:

https://www.amazon.com/Hach-145300-Total-Hardness-Model/dp/B008FM7WLU/

to test you hardness and know how much water you use. I think the current estimate is around 60-75 gallons per person per day. Or you could figure it out from your water bill minus how much water you use for landscaping.

Hit me up with any questions. I learned about all of this stuff a few years ago.

and this is like the RDP of water softeners:
https://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?forums/water-softener-forum-questions-and-answers.22/

Thanks these are exactly the type of responses I was looking for

Did you get quotes on the tank exchange?

 

[Ziggy]

Look at nuvo h20 manor size

I have looked at them. Found some info that says they dont actually soften the water but rather add something to it to encapsulate the minerals so they dont leave a residue. Ours is so bad the wife wont use the dish washer and we have to squeegee the shower after every use

I have a Nuvo system with cartridge
you can have cheap. $100, try and test it out, easy install without cutting other plumbing.
It works much like you said.
What you don't get is the feeling that the soap doesn't wash off.

 

[HitIt]

Thanks these are exactly the type of responses I was looking for

Did you get quotes on the tank exchange?

Negative. A bunch of my neighbors have it though so it cant be too bad. My hunch is ~$30/month.

 

[mobldj]

kfi says lifesource is the shit

 

[boatpi]

My nuvo works pretty good at the Las Vegas house I'll photograph it tonight and post a photo


It doesn't soften the water as much as a traditional salt water softener but it does make your skin feel good and you have no calcium spots I think it is somewhat orange based in the cartridge not a 100% percent sure. The large unit retails for $900 but I found one that was a left over in the box on eBay for $520 so I made out. They recommend about every six months he replaced the cartridge which is $100 so in the end it's probably very close in operating cost to a normal water softener but of course there are no moving parts and I believe it essentially ask as a whole house water filter. that's exactly what it looks like.

 

[WildHorses24]

My nuvo works pretty good at the Las Vegas house I'll photograph it tonight and post a photo


It doesn't soften the water as much as a traditional salt water softener but it does make your skin feel good and you have no calcium spots I think it is somewhat orange based in the cartridge not a hunter percent sure. The large unit retails for $900 but I found one that was a left over in the box on eBay for $520 so I made out. They recommend about every six months he replaced the cartridge which is $100 so in the end it's probably very close in operating cost to a normal water softener but of course there are no moving parts and I believe it essentially ask as a whole house water filter. that's exactly what it looks like.

Here's the new system, their last house this replaced the traditional salt tank.... and correct the shower glass is much easier to clean.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Justfishing]

The way I learned it is there is conditioning or softning.

If salt is not used you are conditioning. What that means is you are changing the mineral structure so it doesn't accumulate. It is not removed from the water but the don't build up in pipes and leave less spots, etc. They will tell you the benefical minerals are left in. Since nothing is removed there is not need to backflush. It is a single tank system.

Water softening removes the minerals. This is a 2 tank system. One tank has the beds that the water flows through. The beds hold the minerals and release a small amount of salt. The beads get saturated and have to be cleaned. A salt brine is washed over the beads and the solution goes down the drain. Some of the salt is absorbed.

How much salt is added to the water? Varies with hardness of water. Roughly it is 2mg x hardness per 8 ounces of water. If hardness is 20grains then 20x2 =40mg added salt to an 8 ounce glass of water. Recommend salt intake should not exceed 1500mg per day. Depending on how much water you drink at home and other salt intake will determine if it will impact health.

Softeners will use about 50 gallons of water per recharge. Not much at all. Electricity is not much either. Electricity is used to monitor water usage and initiate a recharge. Again not much.

My opinion is if you remove minerals/soften water you should be able to use less soap, detergent, shampoo etc. than simply changing the mineral structure.

If you drink mainly bottled water the salt isn't a factor. If you want to remove everything from your drinking water add a reverse osmosis system.

 

[boatpi]

Like this, this is manor the largest size

 

[clark]

potassium is a salt free system and is permitted in such locations that you are referring to. That "slimy" feeling that you feel is your own body's lanolin that you produce that helps to eliminate dry skin as well as psoriasis. The potassium will satisfy your concerns with out any hard water scale or build up but it runs about 3 times the price of standard softener salt.

 

[jet496]

We use potassium instead of salt since we're on septic. We also added an RO system for our kitchen sink & refrigerator. Seems to work great so far. The potassium isn't very expensive & only needs added once a month or so depending on usage. You just look inside the softener & when it starts to get low add the pellets. We do it ourselves & use test strips to make sure it's all working good.

You also only use 1/4 the detergents for washing so that helps offset the costs of the pellets.

 

[Uncle Dave]

My nuvo works pretty good at the Las Vegas house I'll photograph it tonight and post a photo


It doesn't soften the water as much as a traditional salt water softener but it does make your skin feel good and you have no calcium spots I think it is somewhat orange based in the cartridge not a 100% percent sure.

The large unit retails for $900 but I found one that was a left over in the box on eBay for $520 so I made out. They recommend about every six months he replaced the cartridge which is $100 so in the end it's probably very close in operating cost to a normal water softener but of course there are no moving parts and I believe it essentially ask as a whole house water filter. that's exactly what it looks like.

How many grains of hardness does it reduce?

What was the before and after on it?

 

[SoCalDave]

If installing a trditional salt system be sure you install a pre-filter (sediment/rust) before it.

 

[hman442]

I was curious about this. Normally, I consider this type of thing as nonsense (it actually reminded me of the late '70s when you taped cow magnets to your fuel line to get better gas mileage), but Costco has a pretty good reputation for not selling crap ? Looks like Lowes sells them also. Anybody have experience with one ?

 

[SixD9R]

I was curious about this. Normally, I consider this type of thing as nonsense (it actually reminded me of the late '70s when you taped cow magnets to your fuel line to get better gas mileage), but Costco has a pretty good reputation for not selling crap ? Looks like Lowes sells them also. Anybody have experience with one ?
View attachment 1103255

Those are very enticing but there is little chance they will make a meaningful improvement to anyones water quality.
I’ve checked into a similar unit in the past for my house. What they manufacture was saying is they “convert” the calcium in the water to calcite. At least in the northeast calcium and other minerals is what makes water “hard”. However, the very small amount of energy that contraption will put into the water is unlikely to do anything at all. Additionally, in the unlikely scenario that it does the conversion as advertised, calcite isn’t much more soluble in water than calcium.