Free system worth it?

[furious82st185]

So, had the Home Depot spiel a while back about a reverse osmosis system. Sounds great, but can't afford it. Now, my family just spent over a week with my wife's parents in their new home. They have well water and a reverse osmosis filter. I decided that a similar system or a softener system would be nice, but again, I cant afford one. A Rainsoft softener system happened to pop up on craigslist...for free. It's old. Probably around 30 years judging by . I know, there's a reason someone got rid of it, but the only way I can ever afford stuff is to find a broken one and fix it. My question since I know very little about these is is it worth trying to get back into service or should I just toss it? Looks like the one in the picture. In fact I think is picture is from someone else's post on this forum. I could justify spending they money to get it going as long as its far less than a new system, but this isn't my area of expertise. Thats where y'all come in. The plug to the unit was cut and the plug itself doesn't look like I'd trust it on the wall so I would need to find a replacement. Not idea if the control unit or "Electronic Brian" works. I haven't even looked at the cost of the resin and salt needed to replace whats in it. Should I just put it on the curb for Friday's trash pickup?

 

[ditttohead]

That is almost a museum piece. Probably not worth trying to get it up and running though.

Can you post a few more pictures? I have a guy in Europe looking for a specific model for his collection.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Standardairconditioner]

By the time you get this "free" thing actually running, it would have been more time efficient and faster for you to get a minimum wage job, and then use the money earned from wage time to buy a new unit.

Good luck!

 

[furious82st185]

Thanks guys. Can you tell me what makes all the new systems that much different where they range from $500 - several thousand dollars? I know size is one thing, but what else? Is it not advised to replace the control valve for a couple hundred bucks, replace the resin and salt and go with that?

 

[Standardairconditioner]

since I know very little about these

For someone that knows "very little about these", you seem to have your mind set on doing exactly what you want to do.

But when it all fails after you spend loads of non-refundable money on it, I supposed you may want to contact that Europe fella that collects them and see if they will buy it from you. I wonder what the shipping on that would be.

Good luck!

 

[ditttohead]

I would highly recommend trying someone local first. Only use Fleck or Clack valves, no knock offs! Structural or Enpress tanks (USA made). There are some online dealers, but many use knock off valves in order to be $1 cheaper than the next company. Most of them are in a race to the bottom, obviously some quality will have to be reduced in their quest to outcheap one another.,

 

[ENIGMA-2]

Thanks guys. Can you tell me what makes all the new systems that much different where they range from $500 - several thousand dollars? I know size is one thing, but what else?

I know most here recommend spending $600 or 700 for a unit with a Fleck control, but not everyone can afford such a system. I don't know if you would consider a less quality system, I seen a new Morton Salt 30,000 grain water softener at Sam's Club for $378 (shipped, $360 in our local club).

(This is based on the popular Eco Water rotary valve. They sell their own brand plus many other brands, mostly big box units. Sears Kenmore uses this unit, rebranded with their name and to their specifications.)

Anyway, if you consider this unit, it should get 10-15 years of good service, and when it goes, you will have gotten you money out of it.

http://m.samsclub.com/ip/morton-system-saver-30-000-grain-water-softener/145750

 

[furious82st185]

That's closer to something I could afford. How do you size a unit to your needs? I have a family of 4 and 2 1/2 baths.

 

[ENIGMA-2]

On these type of units, you would first need to know your total hardness and total free water iron. (You could take a water sample to a big box store, Sears, Menards, Lowes, etc.) and they will do a free water test for you.

The unit contains a microprocessor and will determine when to recharge, based on your total hardness & iron you input, and gallons used per day.

For example, my water has 25 grains per gallon total hardness and 0.99 ppm clear water iron. (Iron for these units is input at 5x each ppm as hardness). Therefore, my total hardness is 30 gpg.

As you use water, the control keeps track of water usage and computes when to regenerate based on your historical water usage.

To estimate when it would regenetate, say your water has 30 grains per gallon, and we estimate your usage at 60 gallons per day, per person. (This is only an estimate, perhaps a higher or lower number would be more appropriate.)

So assuming you are using water at 240 gallons/day x 30 grains/gallon = 7,200 grains/day. If the unit decided to recharge at 21,600 grains, you could assume that the unit will set itself to recharge every 3 days.

As an additional example, if your water is 10 grains total, your water usage is 240 gallons/day x 10 grains/gallon = 2,400 grains/day. For a 30,000 grain unit the control may decide you need to regen at 24,000 grains, therefore it would set to regenerate every 10 days.

The processor continously updates until it calculates that it reached its trigger point and then it triggers the timer to regenerate that night (usually at 2 am.) So depending on your water use history, it could be 24,000 grains or 28,000 or 16,000. It's all based of your typical water usage.

With this unit, your givens are the total unit capacity (30k), the total hardness and clear water iron of your water. The unknowns are what the program decides to set the timer for a regeneration (and that's triggered by your water use habits.)

You can get a better idea of your needs by knowing your total hardness and clear water iron content.

 

[furious82st185]

Thanks Enigma. I forget what the salesman estimated our hardness at, but I'm not sure I would go off of what he said anyway. Ill see if I can get a free test done to get my numbers.