Water sofetner flex connection: diameter?

[Theodore]

Hi,
I'm installing a water softener and acid neutralizer. Both have 1" connections, but my water supply is only 3/4". I wanted to run some stainless steel flex pipe between the tanks and the in/out supply to the house.

Should I go through the trouble of finding a 1" flex pipe between tanks, to help minimize pressure losses, or not worth the effort?
My local plumbing supply told me that don't carry flex stainless and suggested I plumb it with hard copper. My local Lowes and HD only have 3/4" stainless flex (which is listed as "for water heaters").

Advice appreciated.
Thanks
Theodore.

 

[Mikey]

I vote for "not worth the effort". There are lots of calculators and tables on line showing flow and pressure drop through pipes, valves, orifices, etc., of various sizes, but on the surface it doesn't look like it'd matter much if you stuck 3/4" braided flex here and there. You're already flow-limited by your supply line, so while you may see a small incremental pressure drop across the tanks, I doubt it would affect system performance. If you were to put a pressure gauge on each side of the tanks now and record the pressure drop, then install the flex and read the gauges again, I'd be surprised if the difference were measurable unless you bought really expensive gauges, or used a fancy differential gauge (even more expensive). If you do that, let us know what you find .