His price sounds good, as does his equipment. While I don't like the fact that he didn't test your water, he is correct that city water should be the same in all houses served by the same water facility. I'm not sure what he means by regeneration in 20 years. That should be replacement. I have no issue with UL, etc. since there aren't a lot of companies that make there units-it would be odd to find a Fleck unit that wasn't okay. Either the mechanical or digital control is fine. Mechanical may be a bit more reliable, but digital is more intuitive for most homeowners.

Ask for a reference so you can find out how he takes care of his customers. If that turns out okay, I would personally go for the lower price.

Hi Bill,

International Filter has been around quite a while. They assemble and sell softeners to independent water treatment dealers. They offer industry standard, quality components.

I prefer the "SE" (simple electronics) 5600SE over the non-electronic. It's easier to fine tune the softener. Controlling softeners is something that intergrated circuits are well suited for and they have proven very reliable.

Both the Clack WS1 and Fleck 5600SE only come in the "Noryl" material which is state of the art and very reliable.

I'd have a PRV (pressure reducing valve) installed at the house service pressure between 60-70lbs. Higher than that and you may have some problems.

While a 48k softener might be correctly sized for 4 people if you have 8-10 people then it'll be regenerating WAY TOO OFTEN. To calculate the correct softener size for your house and family it would help to know the water conditions

Since you're dealing with a local dealer you should be getting a parts AND labor warranty. A labor warranty of only one year doesn't show much faith in the product by the seller.

This (second) dealer seems to be giving you some "iffy" advice, but seems to be cheaper than the dealer in your first post. Seems like they charge less because they know less.

It doesn't matter how large the brine (salt) tank is. It's best to keep only enough salt in the tank to cover the water. That cuts down on salt "bridging" and gets you in the habit of checking the salt and softener once a week.

Thanks for the response. Here's a link to his site with the two models I'm looking at:
CS562P and CS56SE
http://www.americanhomewater.com/products
His response to regeneration is 20 years was to replace the resin.
Thanks for your help!
Bill

Bill,

I don't need the link, he's selling industry standard common stuff. Nothing special but that's not a bad thing.

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My concerns are (as stated BEFORE):

While a 48k softener might be correctly sized for 4 people if you have 8-10 people then it'll be regenerating WAY TOO OFTEN. To calculate the correct softener size for your house and family it would help to know the water conditions

Since you're dealing with a local dealer you should be getting a parts AND labor warranty. A labor warranty of only one year doesn't show much faith in the product by the seller.
*************************************

I don't understand "His response to regeneration is 20 years was to replace the resin".

My question for him is, if a 48k softener is correctly sized for your family of 4 then how will "handle" 8-10 people?

Sure, it will "handle" 8-10 people but it will be TOO SMALL and regenerate TOO often thereby WASTING WATER AND SALT.

If indeed, he told you that it will handle 8-10 people then I'd run to another dealer. If you're looking for the absolute cheapest, then you found your dealer BUT, the bitterness of poor quality and poor service lingers long after the sweetness of low price is gone.

And AGAIN, we can't help you if you won't give us the info we need... what are the conditons of your water? Hardness, iron, mangnesium, TDS???

I apologize, I did not clarify regarding 8-10 people. He DID NOT say it would handle 8-10 people. There might be times when we have 2 or more people stay for a couple of days, not permanently. We usually have our folks visit once or twice a year.
It seems everyone I've dealt with only offers 1 yr. labor warranty.

I'm not looking for the cheapest, I'm just on a budget and 1300 to 1500 will not be possible.

In regards to the water conditions (Hardness, iron, mangnesium, ect... I take it I could take a sample somewhere and have it tested????

Thanks again for your help!
Bill

Setting aside, for the moment, whether a 48k softener is correctly sized for your house, water usage and water conditons (which should be calculated before you make out the check)...

You have to make sure that the $900 softener IS the same as the $1300 one. "Similar" is not the "same".

Resin should be Purolite or Ionac brand
Resin tank should be Structural brand
Brine tank should be Clack brand (round or rectanglular)
Brine tank pickup and safety float should be a Fleck 2310
Control valve: Fleck 5600SE or Fleck 2510SE or Clack WS1

Those are the top quality component brands.

Make sure that the "softener loop" in your house in on the main water supply and not just feeding your water heater. There was someone on the forum a while ago from had a "softener loop" in a new house that only fed the water heater.

Bill,

I noticed in one of your posts the mention of 18g hardness. Based on that figure and IF there's no iron, and no magnesium in your water a 48k (1.5 cu ft resin) softener would be marginal for 4 people.

Based on those figures a 48k softener would be regenerating about once a week (good frequency) but in order to treat your hardness it would be set at medium salt dose which is not efficent.

I'd look at the next larger softener (2 cu ft of resin) and that would be set to minimum salt dose. Over the course of a yeasr you'd save some money. When company comes a couple button pushes and the softener is set for 6 people (the benefits of a microporcessor control).

Sounds like you've found a softener seller that has low overhead and his best close is that he's less expensive. He is selling competent hardware BUT he doesn't seem willing to test your water and isn't giving you the options for the most efficently operating softener.

I don't care how many softeners someone installs in my area, I want my water tested so there is a record of why the dealer recommend what they did.

If your hardness is higher than 18g and there's iron or magnesium in your water then the figures are wrong and need to be recalculated.