Where to order Fleck softener and resin question.

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-db

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After search around some here all I've come up with is to check the address of the company and see if there is a UPS store in that same building and not order there. After searching Google I found 2 places ABC Water in AZ, and Discount Water in IL.

ABC seems to be selling also and seems to have good reviews. Anyone have personal experience with either as far as customer service and tech support?

Am I correct in guessing that both places would be drop shipping from their distributor so deliver time would be about the same (I'm in MI).

I was looking at the 5600sxt 64k.

Is it worth it to get the "upgraded" 10% resin, it's a $90 increase from Discount and ABC prices the softener with it but also mentions normal resin? I'm on city water.

Thanks.
 
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ByteMe

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I had a 5600SXT, it is a good valve. Still would suggest the 7000SXT over it, better specs and lower restriction.
 

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The 7000 seems to be about $50 more so that's not a big deal, if it's better I can go with that one instead.
 

ByteMe

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I am guessing, cost effective wise, it would not be worth it (extra for resin). Others here will know better.
 

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You didn't state the SFR required or at least your home's plumbing configuration and occupancy. If you have a larger home or family, you may want a valve with a higher flow rating.

The 5600 SXT is a great reliable 3/4" valve but is certified for 6"-12" diameter tanks when used as a softener, and 10"max when used for filter duty. As your 64K softener will utilize a 12" tank, the 5600 is at the upper limit of its capacity.

The 7000 SXT has a higher flow rating and can be used on tanks ranging from 8"-24". If you ever need to increase softener capacity, you could use the same valve with a larger tank and additional resin.

Alternatively, you could consider the Fleck 5800 SXT which is a 1" valve, appropriate for 6"-16" tanks with a flow rating which exceeds most home requirements.

My 5600 Econominder softener was installed in 1997 on our chlorinated municipal supply. The softener initially contained standard resin but as the resin eventually became mushy which was causing flow problems, the resin was replaced in May 2014.

As I was able to obtain 10% cross link resin for only a few dollars more than 8%, I installed the 10%. If there had been the substantial price difference you indicate, I would have obtained 8% as it provided a respectable 17 years of service initially.

One option, install 8% and then consider putting the saved $90 (+ more $) towards a backwashing carbon filter to remove the chlorine at point of entry.
 
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Not sure what SFR is.

House has a 5/8 meter and water consumption is currently about 3-3,500 gallons a month. It's a 3 bed 1 bath and 2 people living in it.

I had not thought about any pre-filters, but I should look into those also.

I'm not sure if this is the correct way of thinking about it, but my thought behind the 5600 was since the valve is 3/4 and my main line is 5/8, I should not see any restrictions. I probably only need a 48k tank but the 64k is not much more so was going that route for the added capacity.

I am also ok with oversizing in order to be as close to a 0 pressure and flow drop as possible.
 

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SFR = service flow rate in gallons per minute

As your home has one bathroom and 2 occupants, there is little chance that the 5600 flow capacity will be exceeded. ie: running multiple showers while also washing laundry and washing dishes.

A larger capacity softener will have little affect on pressure drop or flow as that is more a mechanical restriction, governed in part by the valve capacity. A larger affect will be the ability to provide fully soft water at times of relatively high flow volume. Water softening is an ion exchange process which requires adequate contact time with the resin for the ion exchange to occur.

If water flow exceeds the resin's flow capacity, some hardness will bleed through and you will not receive fully soft water. While that maybe acceptable occasionally, that should not be expected to occur on a regular basis.

By increasing the resin volume, not only is the softening capacity increased but also more resin is available to remove hardness at a faster rate of flow. This process is better explained here: http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/softeners/sizingchart.htm

What is your water's hardness amount? Too large a softener can also be a problem as the frequency of regeneration can be extended too long and water can form channels through the resin. This results in hardness bleed through although the softening capacity has not been fully utilized.
 

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I have only tested it with a TDS meter and that shows about 380. I ordered some softener test strips and those should be here today.
 

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A TDS is not utilized for water softening but is better used to test Reverse Osmosis output for drinking water.

While a Hach 5B hardness test kit is recommended as an accurate and reliable hardness test method, I expect that your water supplier will have comprehensive water test result available, usually on-line.
 

Reach4

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-db, note that Bannerman pointed out that he chose 10% crosslinked resin because of the chlorine.
The resin is the heart of your softener. I would try to get US or Canadian resin rather than the Chinese resin. Purolite is the leading maker, and I think their resin is made in the USA. Aldex makes quality resin in Canada.

SFR is explained at length on http://www.qualitywaterassociates.com/softeners/sizingchart.htm and the link on the bottom leads to a calculator.

Check your inbox.
 

Gary Slusser

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The SFR of a water softener is the max consistent GPM that can be run through the softener and allow the expectation of the softened water to contain 0 GPG of compensated hardness. That is good enough for residential usage but.... for certain industries that need water with no more than X mg/l (or PPM) of hardness left in the softened water, it is not good enough. A GPG is 17.1 mg/l or PPM.

The SFR of the control valve is not the SFR of the softener that valve is used on. All resin manufacturers state the SFR of their resins. The SFR is usually stated as a range such as 1-5 gpm. The reason for the range is based on the fact it depends on what the water is going to be used for; usually industrial or residential etc.. In residential, based on experience, we use higher than 5 gpm per cu ft. The SFR is per cubic foot of the type of resin and... the cu ft of resin dictates the size of tank used for the softener... and the size of the tank dictates what control valve can/should be used. Most constant SFR figures are based on a 50% freeboard space.

BTW.... My calculator is to be used to check your math after you do the sizing and salt dose calculations by hand.
 

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I had the TDS meter because I have a portable DI tank that I need to periodically check.

The test strips I bought are the Hach Aquacheck strips. The test showed high level pad to be 250 and the low level was a burnt orange color so I don't know where that falls.

I think this thread is getting way more technical than I hoped or honestly want to put the time into understanding. I just wanted to get a softener put in before I changed out my water heater and dish washer.

This is the 2015 water report for the city:
http://www.portagemi.gov/FilesCustom/HtmlEditor/files/Transportation/15WQR.pdf
 

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Just did. I'm used to having pop up box notifications so I missed it.

That's the place I mentioned in my first post. Guess I'll need to give them a call.
 

Bannerman

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The responses to your initial post, were to assist in obtaining the most appropriate equipment for your water conditions and consumption requirements. While still not knowing your hardness level, you did clarify your house plumbing setup and usual average household consumption so I expect the equipment you're considering, will be suitable if not larger than required.

All the best!
 

Gary Slusser

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I say size and program for the max hardness because at times the water company will be sending higher hardness water than the average. That causes the softener to usually use more capacity than was planned for, and that extra capacity will not be regenerated because the salt dose would have to be higher than the average hardness would require.
 

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Thanks for all the info.

I ordered a 32k 5600sxt from 602abcWater. They seemed to have a bunch of good reviews and the limited email contact I've had I've been comfortable with. I also contacted Discount Water Softeners but their only reply was suggesting I buy a Genesis at a 50% higher cost. When I asked why they suggested that instead of Fleck they stopped responding.

Now off to decide on a new water heater.
 
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ByteMe

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I had a 5600SXT in last house, good valve. Hope yours works as well as mine did.

As far as water heaters, the instant ones have caught my attention. Don't know much about them but the idea seems good.
 
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