New owner, Old wash

[Jason75]

First I would like to thank all you for the countless ideas and information I've gotten from this site. About a month ago purchased an old wash that has been out of service for a couple years. The guy before me walked in with a Sawzall and took everything out, and as you can guess didn't do squat after that. The question I've got is about a water softener. I've read on here until my eyes are bleeding. I have made the decision to soften everything that's coming in. The problem is I have zero experience with water softeners. It's a 3 bay SS in a small town in southern IL (couple thousand and the only one in town), so usage will not be huge. If I put this unit in or one comparable will it kill me on salt cost? My water is 100 TDS and about 3 gpg. Thanks for any ideas.
Diamond H20 Freedom Series 2 Tank Alternating Water Softener DCS7-30-100

 

[Greg Pack]

That’s pretty good water quality. If it is SS and that quality year round I’m not sure I’d bother softening the water. I’d only bother with a softener if you had a touch free. The RO can tolerate 3 grains of hardness without much issue. If you do indeed want a softener the salt usage won’t be too bad. Any 1” softener should be big enough

 

[Jason75]

That’s pretty good water quality. If it is SS and that quality year round I’m not sure I’d bother softening the water. I’d only bother with a softener if you had a touch free.

I thought that was pretty good water, but this wash has been a pile of junk for years. The town is so exited that I bought it and I've been hyping up how great its going to be. I'm not afraid to give up a little profit for some good brags in the community. (not my only business in the area)

Thanks for the reply

 

[MEP001]

You might want to check the hardness of the water too. Hardness and TDS measure different things in the water and don't directly translate to one or the other by numbers. With a TDS of 100 the water is probably pretty soft, but to accurately soften the water you need to know the exact hardness.

You can use a single-tank system and save a little money, but I prefer a twin-tank. With a single, it will wait to regenerate at 2 am, so you have to either always have a large reserve in case it hits capacity during the day, or let hard water through for part of the day until it can regenerate. With a twin system, as soon as it hits capacity it switches over to the reserve tank and supplies soft water from there before it starts the regeneration cycle. The one you linked will regenerate from the softened tank which costs a bit of volume but makes up for it in efficiency and media life.

Any 1” softener should be big enough

For just flow, yes, but the tanks also need to be big enough for the flow to be softened. It won't take a lot for a 3-bay SS for sure, probably just 1.5 or 2 cubic feet per tank.

 

[Jason75]

Thanks guys

 

[Toms PTcarwash]

If you actually have 3 grains coming in that is pretty good water. especially if you have low iron and other minerals.
I would personally still consider a softener. Figure what your total flow is at max demand (gpm). Then talk to a couple of water softener manufactures to see what fit your needs. every softener can be programmed for the incoming hardness and flow rate. With 3 grains, you will not use a lot of salt, but you will use a lot less chemicals and have a lot less problems with solenoid valves and such. I personally believe a good softener is a must and will pay for itself several times over in the long run.

 

[cantbreak80]

Assumptions:
3.2 GPM pump output x 3 bays = 9.6 GPM
Maximum usage per hour = 40 minutes
Maximum usage per day = 8 hours
Maximum daily water consumption = 3,072 gallons

If these assumptions are valid, a 2 cu ft softener will require regeneration every 5.85 days.
Salt consumption = 83 lbs per month
Salt cost at $5.58 per 40 lbs of salt = $11.58 per month

While it is unlikely that your facility will operate at full capacity every day of the year, a twin 2 cu ft alternating system will reliably provide continuous soft water with negligible operating expense.

 

[Jason75]

Assumptions:
3.2 GPM pump output x 3 bays = 9.6 GPM
Maximum usage per hour = 40 minutes
Maximum usage per day = 8 hours
Maximum daily water consumption = 3,072 gallons

If these assumptions are valid, a 2 cu ft softener will require regeneration every 5.85 days.
Salt consumption = 83 lbs per month
Salt cost at $5.58 per 40 lbs of salt = $11.58 per month

While it is unlikely that your facility will operate at full capacity every day of the year, a twin 2 cu ft alternating system will reliably provide continuous soft water with negligible operating expense.

This is awesome. And yes if I get half that I will be lucky, so $6 a month is worth every penny to get people to brag. Small town advertisement is word of mouth.