I've been looking into getting a water softener for quite some time now, and have a couple of questions for you pro's out there. After my own research, I decided to take this task on myself rather than paying someone else to do it for twice the cost.
This will be going in my laundry room, and due to the current configuration - I'm very hard pressed for "usable" space. I'm currently looking at either getting a cabinet style, or getting the standard brine/mineral tank style.
1) Is there much of a difference between cabinet / non-cabinet styles? Or is it just a space saving feature?
2) If I do go with a standard setup, can I install the mineral tank BEHIND the brine tank? I don't know how often I really need to get to the mineral tank / timer - but I don't have the space to put them side by side. (this would actually be going between my wash tub and the wall, so I've only got about 16-18" to play with for width). Otherwise I'm looking at having a remote brine tank - probably 8-10 feet across the room. Not sure if that's an issue or not.
The systems I am currently on the fence about are both Fleck 5600SXT. One is a 32k cabinet, the other is a 48k setup with seperate tanks. I haven't had a full "lab" report done on my water, but it is 26 grains hard, no iron or anything like that. Just really hard city water (not well). 2 adults in the house, 1 bath in use (have another 3/4 that's purely for looks at this point). I'd consider us a low usage household, but I want to get something efficiant.
I guess 2 other things that pop into my head that maybe you could asnwer as well. Is there such a thing as "too big" of a water softener? I don't think I'm hitting that territory, just checking. Also - the laundry room is right off the garage. I suppose I could run the water line through the wall, into the garage > water softener > back into the house. Problem being, I live in MN and it's not a heated garage. It is a tuck under, and does stay warm-ish, but I'm not sure this is a safe option. If you think it's something that needs to be done - I could always built an insulated "wall" around the softener and the residual heat from the wall would probably keep it from freezing since it would not be exposed to the garage. Sounds like a lot of work though for a problem that may not exist in the first place.
Sorry for the long post - just trying to throw all my eggs in one basket and get it done (rather than posting 20 different posts over the course of a week). Thanks in advance!
This will be going in my laundry room, and due to the current configuration - I'm very hard pressed for "usable" space. I'm currently looking at either getting a cabinet style, or getting the standard brine/mineral tank style.
1) Is there much of a difference between cabinet / non-cabinet styles? Or is it just a space saving feature?
2) If I do go with a standard setup, can I install the mineral tank BEHIND the brine tank? I don't know how often I really need to get to the mineral tank / timer - but I don't have the space to put them side by side. (this would actually be going between my wash tub and the wall, so I've only got about 16-18" to play with for width). Otherwise I'm looking at having a remote brine tank - probably 8-10 feet across the room. Not sure if that's an issue or not.
The systems I am currently on the fence about are both Fleck 5600SXT. One is a 32k cabinet, the other is a 48k setup with seperate tanks. I haven't had a full "lab" report done on my water, but it is 26 grains hard, no iron or anything like that. Just really hard city water (not well). 2 adults in the house, 1 bath in use (have another 3/4 that's purely for looks at this point). I'd consider us a low usage household, but I want to get something efficiant.
I guess 2 other things that pop into my head that maybe you could asnwer as well. Is there such a thing as "too big" of a water softener? I don't think I'm hitting that territory, just checking. Also - the laundry room is right off the garage. I suppose I could run the water line through the wall, into the garage > water softener > back into the house. Problem being, I live in MN and it's not a heated garage. It is a tuck under, and does stay warm-ish, but I'm not sure this is a safe option. If you think it's something that needs to be done - I could always built an insulated "wall" around the softener and the residual heat from the wall would probably keep it from freezing since it would not be exposed to the garage. Sounds like a lot of work though for a problem that may not exist in the first place.
Sorry for the long post - just trying to throw all my eggs in one basket and get it done (rather than posting 20 different posts over the course of a week). Thanks in advance!