Fleck 5600 Mechanical vs Clack WS1

[HLearning]

I'm thinking about getting the Fleck 5600 or the Clack Ws1

Because I live in a starter house that i may move out of in a few years, I don't necessary want to throw away money at a temporary place..

Online, it says fleck 5600 is 8% but i'm not sure how retailers are claiming it's 10% cross-link resin.

The Clack WS1 is referred to as a WD1 on the retailer website so i'm not sure if this is a red flag or not.

While i get Clack WS1 has higher flow rate, is there any difference in reliability between the clack WS1 or Fleck.
I'm hearing conflicting views such as WS1 has a better valve system, while Fleck 5600 mechanical is reliable and proven, but i'm hearing issues with both.

I feel like i have information overload.

 

[Bannerman]

Neither Fleck 5600 nor Clack WS1 are softeners, but each is a control valve model for use on a softener or backwashing filter system.

Most softeners are assembled using various off-the-shelf components such as control valve, media tank, resin, riser, top and bottom baskets, brine tank etc which are produced by various manufacturers across the globe.

Buying water treatment equipment on-line is usually not advisable. Many online dealers focus mainly on price so although they may market their systems featuring a great control valve such as a Fleck 5600, many other components including resin will be often lower quality so that dealer can be $1 cheaper than the next online dealer.

Although generic water treatment dealer/installers that are local to your area usually equip their systems with Fleck and Clack valves, they will typically not take shortcuts with component quality as they will need to warrant and service the systems they sell and install. A warranty callback due to the failure or a cheap component does not pay well and does not reflect positively on that dealer's reputation in the area.

While a Fleck 5600 is a quality valve system and the highest-selling control valve in history, the design is several decades old and has capability limitations and so is usually suitable for home's with a 3/4" or smaller supply line, and for softeners with a 12" tank (2 ft3 media) or a 10" or smaller filter tank (1.5 ft3 media). Fleck now offer more modern and capable valve models 5800, 5810 & 5812 which better compare to the modern Clack WS1 & WS1.25 models.

Standard softener resin is 8% cross-linked but if the water source is municipal, 10% cross-linking is recommended as it will better tolerate constant chlorine exposure. Many online and big box store softeners will be equipped with resin with less than 8% cross-linking and so the resin will often require replacement within 2-3 years or sooner when conditioning municipal water.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[HLearning]

Thanks for the detailed clarification and answer.
Now that I read it, my water is municipal, via lake water but I look for 10% cross-linked resin.
From what I follow online, I'm guessing it doesn't matter which resin (Aldex, etc)

Does it matter what's the quality of the rest of the below parts, or they are pretty standard?
- Fiberglass resin tank (black)
- Bypass valve
- Brine tank (black)
- Brine tank safety float
- Top basket (prevents loss of resin)
- 1" threaded male plumbing connectors
- Brine Line

 

[ditttohead]

Thanks for the detailed clarification and answer.
Now that I read it, my water is municipal, via lake water but I look for 10% cross-linked resin.
From what I follow online, I'm guessing it doesn't matter which resin (Aldex, etc)

Does it matter what's the quality of the rest of the below parts, or they are pretty standard? If you bought a "Toyota" body, would the engine, wheels, drive train matter where they were made or if the quality was any good?
- Fiberglass resin tank (black) Very important, there are many garbage manufacturers. Cracked tanks, catastrophic failures, no warranty, unknown materials etc... stick with Structural USA, Enpress USA or Clack USA tanks.
- Bypass valve, many counterfeit and cheap knockoffs, again, whats in the metals or plastics, stick with Fleck or Clack OEM only.
- Brine tank (black), material and plastics... the safety float on the cheap import tanks are a common cause of problems, stick with Clack USA or Structural USA brine tanks, the cheap ones are simply not worth it.
- Brine tank safety float, see above
- Top basket (prevents loss of resin) Not too important, but the OEM ones are not expensive, why risk it with a cheap unit
- 1" threaded male plumbing connectors OEM only
- Brine Line

The good brine tanks include either JG or parker typically. This part is not pressurized so not too critical. The JG black tubing has UV inhibitors, most of the cheap black tube used in the cheap brine tanks does not include uv inhibitors...