randomwalk
New Member
TD;LR: Can anyone recommend knowledgeable independent water treatment companies in the Bay Area (San Jose)? I can't seem to find any when I Google. For example, I can't seem to find anyone who puts together and installs Fleck based systems. I only find proprietary systems (Culligan, Hague, etc.) or companies that do not seem to offer anything except "water softener."
Longer background: I have an existing Hague Maximizer (series 96) that needs service because water pressure is low. The dealer came out and said the resin is likely bad (due to chlorine). This softener came with the house when we bought it, so I didn't know much about it until now. After some research, the Hague Maximizer looks like a combo media tank where the first stage is a "Ultra-fil" sediment filter (20 micron nominal) and a second stage with "Supersaver Fine Mesh" resin (1 cubic ft.).
We live in San Jose where the water seems decent. Here is the water quality report (we live in the area where the primary water source is ground water): https://www.sjwater.com/sites/default/files/2019-04/CCR-2018.pdf?q=ccr
We are 2 adults and 3 kids. There are 3 baths in the house. In winter months (when we don't use water for landscaping) we use about 150 to 200 gallons per day. Water hardness is high teens, low 20's grains (I think I set the softener at 21 or 22, which works fine). I'd imagine water usage would increase over time as kids get older.
My current choices are:
1) Keep existing setup and replace the filtering media for $550. But I think given the chlorine in the city water (1.53 ppm annual average), we'd have to do this again in probably 5 to 7 years. Also, this system does not filter out chlorine or anything else except sediment, which is a negative.
2) Buy a new Hague unit, WaterMax 63BEQ. Based on what I can find on the internet, this is a 3-stage combo tank. First stage is 2 lbs of KDF-55. Second stage is 0.4 cubic ft. of catalytic carbon (dealer said they would put in catalytic carbon instead of standard e-2 carbon). Third stage is 1 cubic ft. of "fine mesh cation resin." This would cost $3000, maybe a bit lower. I think this system would last longer given the first two stages filters out the chlorine (and to some degree, chloramine). The main advantage of this is that it would fit in the limited space where this has to be installed -- it would sit where the existing system sits. I get the benefit of a 3-stage system, but understand that the stages are maybe "too small" to have maximum filtering effect.
3) Buy a Culligan system. Because the location where this has to be installed has very limited space, they can at most fit a 1.5 cubic ft. softener with a small brine tank. They cannot fit an additional backwash carbon filter due to lack of space, and instead offers a Big Blue 20" carbon cartridge filter mounted on the wall. He said cartridge needs to be replaced annually and they would warranty the resin for life as long as the carbon filter is kept up. This would cost about $3500. The main advantage of this vs. Hague is that the softener is bigger, 1.5 vs 1.0 cubic ft. I am not sure how the Big Blue 20" carbon filter compares to the Hague system with KDF-55 and 0.4 cubic ft. of catalytic carbon. I'm guessing the Big Blue is worse.
4) Buy an independent system. But I don't know where to look or who to talk to. Hence my initial question.
Longer background: I have an existing Hague Maximizer (series 96) that needs service because water pressure is low. The dealer came out and said the resin is likely bad (due to chlorine). This softener came with the house when we bought it, so I didn't know much about it until now. After some research, the Hague Maximizer looks like a combo media tank where the first stage is a "Ultra-fil" sediment filter (20 micron nominal) and a second stage with "Supersaver Fine Mesh" resin (1 cubic ft.).
We live in San Jose where the water seems decent. Here is the water quality report (we live in the area where the primary water source is ground water): https://www.sjwater.com/sites/default/files/2019-04/CCR-2018.pdf?q=ccr
We are 2 adults and 3 kids. There are 3 baths in the house. In winter months (when we don't use water for landscaping) we use about 150 to 200 gallons per day. Water hardness is high teens, low 20's grains (I think I set the softener at 21 or 22, which works fine). I'd imagine water usage would increase over time as kids get older.
My current choices are:
1) Keep existing setup and replace the filtering media for $550. But I think given the chlorine in the city water (1.53 ppm annual average), we'd have to do this again in probably 5 to 7 years. Also, this system does not filter out chlorine or anything else except sediment, which is a negative.
2) Buy a new Hague unit, WaterMax 63BEQ. Based on what I can find on the internet, this is a 3-stage combo tank. First stage is 2 lbs of KDF-55. Second stage is 0.4 cubic ft. of catalytic carbon (dealer said they would put in catalytic carbon instead of standard e-2 carbon). Third stage is 1 cubic ft. of "fine mesh cation resin." This would cost $3000, maybe a bit lower. I think this system would last longer given the first two stages filters out the chlorine (and to some degree, chloramine). The main advantage of this is that it would fit in the limited space where this has to be installed -- it would sit where the existing system sits. I get the benefit of a 3-stage system, but understand that the stages are maybe "too small" to have maximum filtering effect.
3) Buy a Culligan system. Because the location where this has to be installed has very limited space, they can at most fit a 1.5 cubic ft. softener with a small brine tank. They cannot fit an additional backwash carbon filter due to lack of space, and instead offers a Big Blue 20" carbon cartridge filter mounted on the wall. He said cartridge needs to be replaced annually and they would warranty the resin for life as long as the carbon filter is kept up. This would cost about $3500. The main advantage of this vs. Hague is that the softener is bigger, 1.5 vs 1.0 cubic ft. I am not sure how the Big Blue 20" carbon filter compares to the Hague system with KDF-55 and 0.4 cubic ft. of catalytic carbon. I'm guessing the Big Blue is worse.
4) Buy an independent system. But I don't know where to look or who to talk to. Hence my initial question.