I had been renting a water softener from a local company for several years. The man who owned the business told me the model he installed was German made. It was designed to regenerate on preset days. Unfortunatly I never got the name of it. (mistake)
His business got taken over (Not sure if he retired or passed on) by Rayne Water Systems.
The controller assembly developed a leak and Rayne removed the system and replaced it with one of their models.
It was not worth a darn and I called and told them so.
They replaced it with a "Better Model" Now I only have to regenerat manually every other week usually two consecutive days.
I am tired of messing with these people and wish I knew what water softener I originally had so I could find a new one like it.
All I ever had to do with it was add salt and forget about it.
Does any one on the board have any idea where I might find a quality water softener that doesn't require manual regeneration, unless you forget to add salt regularly?
And don't tell me about magnets, I know what magnets are for and it isn't for softening water.
It sounds as if you have a manual control valve. The old softener and its replacement were automatic types which come in a timer or metered version. The metered/demand regenerated is the better type due to the timer types using up to twice as much salt and water. Time clock types only know time; whether it's time to regenerated or not. Metered versions regenerate when needed based on gallons.
IMO the quality of the control valve is critical for long term service free operation of a softener. I suggest that Clack and Fleck make the higest quality control valves. Other manufactures are Autotrol and Erie. The Clack line of control valves are designed by three ex-Fleck engineers, and IMO, they are the improved Fleck valves that Fleck didn't make... And I've sold Fleck valves on softeners and filters for 18 years. I now sell 10 of them to each Fleck that I sell. There is no control valve that is as easy to repair, and that's great for a DIYer that will replace a part if needed. There are very few parts and they could all be replaced in less than 30 minutes by someone that has no mechanical ability and never seen a control valve before.
A number of national/international brands are using the Clack valves and many independent dealers in the US do although nowhere near the numbers of those that use Fleck valves (yet). Fleck and Clack both have been in business for over 50 years but the Clack WS-1 control valve is Clack's first control valve and its been on the market only 5-6 years. Both designs have only one part in the water stream, a piston that runs in 5-6 seals with spacers between the seals. In the Fleck design, all those parts must be removed/installed individually. In the Clack they all come out as one piece, called the stack. In all but a two Fleck valves, to replace those parts, you need the control valve specific Fleck tools. That applies to the national brands using private labled and proprietary Fleck valves such as Culligan etc.. The Fleck ProFlo and 7000 are the only two residential valves that do not require special tools. No Clack valve requires more than a pair of channel lock pliers; that's if you don't have their blow moulded wrench. It fits all the Clack WS-1 O ring sealed parts but two, and they come off with retainer clip pins. Prices for similiar valves are very comparable. You can find all types of softeners and control valves by searching the 'net for their name or search for softeners and ask the web site what control they use if they don't mention a name.
To find what size softener you need, search for a softener sizing chart inside "". Find those that mention the SFR (service flow rating). That's much more important than capacity because if your peak demand flow rate gpm exceeds the SFR gpm of the softener, the softener will not be capable of removing all the hardness, iron and/or manganese in your water. The SFR of a softener is dictated by the volume of resin in cubic feet.
BTW, the best regenertion schedule is once a week, longer service runs are not good for the resin.
The best way to determine what system works best for your needs is to review the different types of softeners out there. Basically, there are single tank and twin tank models.
Single tanks come in four basic forms (with variations). An exchange tank, a timer system, a demand system with reserve capacity, and a demand system with a hardness sensor. Today’s demand systems come in two configurations: component (separate tank and brine drum) or integrated (cabinet model with tank inside brine drum). Except for exchange tanks these all use electrical components.
Let’s forget the exchange tanks and timer systems, for now, as they are very inefficient. Exchange tanks need to be retrieved monthly by the company renting them to you and ‘exchange’ it with another one. With timer models, regeneration is a guessing game and no matter how cheap they are, they won’t provide satisfactory performance for anyone serious about their water. It’s a landlord’s special.
A demand system with a reserve capacity must be fiddled with to get the optimum performance. One of three things happens. Think of it as flipping a coin--with three sides!
1. The coin lands on heads. It hits the reserve capacity, say, at 11pm and nobody uses water after that. The softener goes into regeneration the following morning at 2AM using the complete dosage of salt, even though the resins have not yet been completely exhausted. With a large reserve capacity that could equal more than 30% of the tank. Yes, you have soft water but you waste salt.
2. The coin lands on tails. It hits the reserve capacity at, say, 8AM, and with water being used through out the day, chances are you could run out of soft water by the time evening rolls around. Someone takes a shower and suddenly the water heater fills up with hard water, which needs to be diluted over the next 40 or 50 gallons until it become completely soft again. Very efficient as far as salt is used (READ More gallons used per pound of salt) but why buy a system that is designed to fail to do what it is supposed to do, which is to provide soft water?
3. Here the coin lands and stays right on its edge. It regenerates exactly at its most optimum resin exhaustion--right at the end of the reserve capacity. That would be very rare to hit that mark exactly, if ever.
The demand system with hardness sensors use an active sensor placed in the resin bed and when hardness reaches that point, it sends a signal to the control valve to regenerate the following morning as long as you electronics and clock are in working order. The sensors normally can not be moved or adjusted as far as I know, so you may be stuck with factory settings.
It is a gamble but that is the nature of the technology. If you are satisfied with those results, than you can save money on your initial investment.
Twin tanks provide a continuous flow of soft water. Properly sized tanks will serve your family well. They regenerate with softened water so your resins are less likely to foul and last longer. The brine tank fills with soft water which can prevent many problems associated with hardness deposits, salt crystallization, and contaminating brine water.
As one tank becomes exhausted, the other kicks in automatically and the previous tank begins to regenerate. Then it sits in reserve and waits until you the other tanks has reached full capacity to begin softening your water all over again and again.
Regardless of the number of people using your water, from 1 to 15, a twin will not run out of soft water. Twins are sized according to the quality of water coming from the ground and not guessing the number of gallon you may or may not use every day. I recommend a twin tan design for anyone...it's just more effecient.
The initial costs are more but it will provide peace of mind that every time you turn on the faucet, you are assured that water will be treated and that salt efficiency will remain consistent and regular. Eventual cost will be less over a period of time. A quality softener should last decades.
Andy, you really should check into the variable reserve of the newer control valves on the market today. Such as the Clack WS-1 and Fleck 7000 and 6700 valves. They do not allow the situation you describe above. Also, the capacity your twin uses for each regeneration of each tank is a constant while the reserve capacity salt use is not, and it is minimal at that.
If you want to discuss that, please email me.
Also, a correctly sized two tank softener is as salt efficient, and in some cases has better salt efficiency, than your twin tank models. And if we look at water use, a once per week regeneration is in many instances more water efficient than a twin tank with its more than once per day regeneration (using capacity to regenerate with).
Reply With Quote
