Softener advice

[JY0]

I need a new water softener, current unit is from 1990 Mermaid MER26 and valve is malfunctioning. It also uses too much salt. I had Water Doctors come over and do simple water test which resulted in 10-12 hardness, 1 ppm iron, 380 dissolved solids. Currently there are 2 adults, 3 children age 1-5 with posssibly 4th child on the way. We have 3 bathrooms and 3 showers. Water Doctors quoted me $1787 for their PS1054 softener and AlwaysFresh HFC-1000 filter I believe for the dissolved solids. This seems very high considering I can purchase Fleck 5600STX 1.5cuft softener and install myself for under $650. Do I need the Dissolved solid filter? Also, is the 1 ppm iron an issue for water softener? Is the 1.5cuft resin softener the correct size? Just looking for advice on what to do from the experts.

 

[Reach4]

If you have a well, I suggest that you get the Kit60 from http://www.karlabs.com/watertestkit/ I expect you have a well if you have 1 ppm iron.

You don't use dissolved solids in sizing a water softener. You do use hardness, which you did not state. The Hach 5B is very good for measuring hardness. The mail-in test tests for a lot more. At this point, you can't be sure that cartridge filter would be sufficient for your water. It looks like an activated carbon filter with probably a sediment filter combined. I don't see that as a dissolved solid filter. When I searched out that filter, was expecting to find a reverse osmosis filter, which can indeed filter out dissolved solids, such as salt.

The mail in test would give a better view of what you need for filtering. It would give you a hardness indication. Do you have colors or smells from your water? With 1 ppm iron, I suspect you have orange in your toilet tanks and maybe bowls.

Understand that the dealer needs to make money, so that price does not sound so high. Some might charge twice that for a similar system installed. But yes, you can DIY cheaper.

 

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[JY0]

I did state a hardness of 10-12 based off the test done by Water doctors. They tested hardness, iron, and dissolved solids in front of me. I also have the simple strip hardness testers. Maybe I should just order the $50 kit though to be sure

 

[ditttohead]

A good test is important for well owners. If your budget allows, every few years have a detailed test done to ensure nothing drastic has changed on your well. I recommend the http://www.ntllabs.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NTL&Category_Code=Homeowner well test.
Iron should be removed by a modern iron reduction system prior to softening. Your tds is low, no worries there.
Hardness is moderate, easy to treat.

 

[JY0]

I'll order a water test and post results. If my iron is low, what is a good recommended unit? thanks

 

[Reach4]

I'll order a water test and post results. If my iron is low, what is a good recommended unit? thanks

The controller you mentioned with 1.5 to 2.0 cuft of resin sounds good. The Fleck 7000 would be a step up, but both should work nicely.

If your iron is low, you would not have rust stains in your toilet bowls and only a little in the toilet tank.

 

[JY0]

I do not have rust stains on faucets or toilet, although I can taste the iron in the raw well water before the softener.

 

[Reach4]

I do not have rust stains on faucets or toilet, although I can taste the iron in the raw well water before the softener.

That speaks well of your current softener. Maybe you could clean that up. Anyway, you will probably have your test results next week.

Don't forget to sterilize the faucet that you will sample your raw water from, and let it run for quite a while before gathering your samples.

 

[JY0]

The current softener does work but sometimes when it regenerates, the cycle gets messed up where salt water will come out faucets. I will have to manually regenerate softener to fix. The softener is original to house and is a timed unit. I'd like more efficiency.