Water softener for my home...recommendations?

[I.B. Washincars]

I want to buy a water softener for my home and want to know if you guys have any thoughts. It's only my wife and I living here permanently, but seem to have a steady flow of grandchildren staying over, so would want to take that into consideration. The water supply is also shared with a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment in our pole barn. No one is living in it right now, but I know that could change at some point. so I would like to size it accordingly. We get a lot of iron staining as well. I notice some are listed as reducing iron as well. I don't know what the present hardness is because I didn't keep one of the test kits when I sold my washes... I may pick up one today if I get away from the compound. Water supply is a well.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Oh, and we have a high sulfur content, so the water stinks like crap. If there’s an all-in-one unit that can help with that, that would be great as well.

 

[soapy]

I have bought the Morton salt ones from Sams and they do a very good job for around $500 . At my Nevada house I put in a Whirlpool unit from Amazon that also has a carbon filter to get rid of smell and it works great also. Both units are metered so that is good for the flucuation in use. Dultmeier sales is pretty good on price for twin tank softners.

 

[MEP001]

I haven't dealt with removing iron and sulfur so I can't help with that, but if you're like most people and don't have a lot of water use at night I'd go with a small single-tank commercial unit with a 2 or 3 cubic foot capacity. A larger resin bed will do a better job of softening. You can get injection systems that add a chemical to prevent iron buildup in the resin and extend its life.

 

[edredtop]

Oh, and we have a high sulfur content, so the water stinks like crap. If there’s an all-in-one unit that can help with that, that would be great as well.

Here's an interesting site:
Does Reverse Osmosis Remove Iron? (What to Know in 2023) (waterfilterguru.com)

Contacting the writer may be fruitful, he IS a "guru" after all..
Brian Campell @ brian.campell@waterfilterguru.com

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Okay, just as with anything else I research, I just get more undecided. I want to hopefully knock this out withing the next couple days, and here's whats available.

Rheem 42,000 Grain Preferred Plus Water Softener for Hard Water and Iron Reduction RHS42 - The Home Depot

The Rheem PREFERRED Plus 42,000 Water Softening System can handle the water demand for houses of all sizes while keeping water and salt costs associated with your softener to a minimum. The built-in Rheem

www.homedepot.com

https://www.lowes.com/pd/A-O-Smith-45000-Grain-Smart-Water-Softener/1000572981?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-plb-_-ggl-_-PLA_PLB_207_Pumps-Water-Irrigation-_-1000572981-_-online-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAjwu4WoBhBkEiwAojNdXkso0CvkOQJnY7n_kEMOK4BA72PaOAaCoebWKGzCZpS8xyVeZYLD0hoCIr0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The A.O. Smith is $105 more, but is 45K as compared to 42K for the Rheem. Any thoughts?

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

In general, I'd stay away from the units at the big box stores that have the mineral tank inside a plastic cabinet. In my experience they work ok when new but are constructed of very low end plastics and the plastic parts get brittle and snap off when it comes time for maintenance.

I'd also stay away from Fleck valves... as they are a pain when it comes time for maintenance.

I'd opt for a system with a Clack valve.

In terms of sizing a softener, you're shooting in the dark until we know your water hardness. You can call up your water utility and they will know. In terms of the iron... the devil is in the details here. A softener may handle the iron just fine, but it depends upon how much iron you have, and if it is Fe2 or Fe3. Regarding the hydrogen sulfide - there are a number of different ways to treat it, but knowing the concentration is critical here. This test has to be done onsite. pH should also be tested onsite.

Best thing to do before you spend $ on this equipment is to get your water tested. You can use a local lab or we have testing available as well.

All this equipment can be installed by anyone with some modest plumbing skills.

Russ

 

[water guy]

If your going to get a softener for what type of water your dealing with. I use Wateright Sanitizer ive installed many for your type of water.please get it tested to see Exactly what type of water your dealing with first.you can send a sample to National Test Lab.call there and ask for Ed he will send you a water sample kit.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Well, I got with my water guru I used when I was in the CW biz. He tested my water and discovered it is 15 grains hard and very high in iron. After he slapped me around a bit, I accepted the fact that a big box softener is not the answer to my problem. He wants me to have it tested for bacteria and after those results he will develop a game plan for me. Having free water is really expensive...

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

A softener will not handle ferrous iron levels over about 1 ppm for long. You'll need a separate iron filter... depending upon what "high" iron means.

Iron is often accompanied by high manganese and H2S - make sure those are tested for as well.

 

[mjwalsh]

A wee bit off subject; but could be relevant for some. For those of you who have a tankless water heater ... do you find that it is absolutely necessary to prevent calcium-lime buildup problems???

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Your tankless water heaters will have "maximum total hardness" limits in the fine print.

 

[mjwalsh]

Maybe the recommended yearly vinegar cleaning will be effective enough for the heat exchangers' tubes.

 

[edredtop]

A wee bit off subject; but could be relevant for some. For those of you who have a tankless water heater ... do you find that it is absolutely necessary to prevent calcium-lime buildup problems???

My parents installed a tankless, within 3 years it failed due to buildup.
They then scheduled an annual maintenance to keep it working properly but they had two more build up failures that occurred inside of the annual $125 services.
The entire system failed after 7 years.
The premise of the purchase was to save money on water, and gas and add some convenience but the installation and annual services negated that idea.

 

[mjwalsh]

My parents installed a tankless, within 3 years it failed due to buildup.
They then scheduled an annual maintenance to keep it working properly but they had two more build up failures that occurred inside of the annual $125 services.
The entire system failed after 7 years.
The premise of the purchase was to save money on water, and gas and add some convenience but the installation and annual services negated that idea.

Sounds like no ongoing prevention for their tankless other than the annual vinegar circulation???

BTW ... there appears to be a 3M AquaPure filter (semi-annual replacement) filter tha supposedly inhibits all calcium buildup ... based on most reviews: https://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Pure-AP...c1-9a3f-185677a639f5&pd_rd_i=B000NKETXQ&psc=1

 

[MEP001]

BTW ... there appears to be a 3M AquaPure filter

It's not a filter. Just use a softener and quit trying to derail threads for your own purposes. You can start your own thread where the softener salesman you're talking to can answer your questions.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I know you guys have been on pins and needles wondering what I ended up doing, so I figured I would post an update. After testing, we found that although my water was high in iron, sulfur wasn't present, but I had coliform bacteria. So, now I have a Kinetico 4060S OD water softener, a UV light apparatus to treat for bacteria (added 1K to the cost), and a couple of filters. He also stressed that I needed to use the rust release salt (I think that was the name), and change filters on a regular schedule (he probably remembered how lax I was at the washes). I've already missed that target for the first change... So, between all the mechanical repairs on the well this summer, and this round, I'm into this well for 10K this year. What was it you guys said about free water when I was buying this house?

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Kinetico (and Culligan) are grossly overpriced... but they have extensive and apparently effective marketing campaigns.

What are the "couple of filters?"

 

[mjwalsh]

I know you guys have been on pins and needles wondering what I ended up doing, so I figured I would post an update. After testing, we found that although my water was high in iron, sulfur wasn't present, but I had coliform bacteria. So, now I have a Kinetico 4060S OD water softener, a UV light apparatus to treat for bacteria (added 1K to the cost), and a couple of filters. He also stressed that I needed to use the rust release salt (I think that was the name), and change filters on a regular schedule (he probably remembered how lax I was at the washes). I've already missed that target for the first change... So, between all the mechanical repairs on the well this summer, and this round, I'm into this well for 10K this year. What was it you guys said about free water when I was buying this house?

Kinetico (and Culligan) are grossly overpriced... but they have extensive and apparently effective marketing campaigns.

What are the "couple of filters?"

Good info from both posts. As an another caveat ... hopefully, the alternatives to Kinetico & Culligan are available in enough areas of the country etc.?

 

[I.B. Washincars]

What are the "couple of filters?"

Without running out there and looking at it, I think one is just after the bladder tank and before the UV thing, and the second one is part of the UV system. The softener was actually used. He removed it from his previous home before he sold it. He rebed it and got it to like new condition before installing it. We love our new water...or my wife does...