Is Pelican salt softener good vs Fleck? + asking for advice

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Mike_Pk

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Precondition:
- I want salt water softener
- I have a city water
- 3 people in the household, looking for up to 48K grain item
- 2 full bath, 1 half bath in house
- live nearby Houston. Have not completed water test yet
- looking for DIY solution, budget is up to $1200.
- House is not pre-plumbed for softener. Have copper pipes, 3/4 inch

Recently bought Pelican salt water pls48 on a sale @ big box store and started to research this item. It's still in the box, have not installed it. It seems like there are not many thorough reviews online, however this model is being on the market for some time, and based on the features (metered-delay - is important one? anything else?) this looks good.

I'm still debating if this is a right choice. I primarily was looking at Fleck 5600 XTS, then discovered Flexx Pro from us water systems (with literally no reviews). Any recommendations here?

Also, want to find out:
- good/best way to run a water test to have enough data to program softener correctly
- a good website/company where I can buy softener?
- any recommendations from local companies around Houston?
 

Reach4

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good/best way to run a water test to have enough data to program softener correctly
Hach 5-B would probably sufficient. Others will disagree. Your water department may provide hardness figures for you, but an average hardness is not sufficient. If they give a range, and you plan for the highest, that would be good.

Do you test for harmful chemicals, since you may live near chemical plants? Do you buy an reverse osmosis unit for your drinking water? Maybe.
 

Mike_Pk

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Hach 5-B would probably sufficient. Others will disagree. Your water department may provide hardness figures for you, but an average hardness is not sufficient. If they give a range, and you plan for the highest, that would be good.

Do you test for harmful chemicals, since you may live near chemical plants? Do you buy an reverse osmosis unit for your drinking water? Maybe.

Official report doesn't say a lot about hardness: https://www.inframark.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Cinco-MUD-No.-10-0790386.pdf

I have R/O system for drinking water in the kitchen.
 

Reach4

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Order the Hach 5-B. Call the water department, and ask about the hardness. If you get the people who do non-paperwork, they often like to talk about their product.
 

ditttohead

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Stay away from the P system, same for the other one you mentioned, stick with Fleck or Clack originals. I will PM you a suggestion.
 

reggoboy

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pellicans are JUNK
Can you please explain this? I just had a tech recommend a Penguin. He mentioned:

- unconditional 10 year warranty on everything
- filters last 15 years

Is this not true? And if so, can they be junk?

I'm a novice; just asking. Can you provide more detail about why you don't recommend Penguin?
 

Master Plumber Mark

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Recently bought Pelican salt water pls48 on a sale @ big box store and started to research this item. It's still in the box, have not installed it. It seems like there are not many thorough reviews online, however this model is being on the market for some time, and based on the features (metered-delay - is important one? anything else?) this looks good.


Of course it will work...for a while.... I just dont know for how long ---maybe 5 , maybe 15years??

you bought it from a big box store.... and this usually means it is very low end junk..
I looked at the info on google and it appears to be ok ...

Now The problem is with a lot of this stuff you cannot find anyone willing to service it if it ever breaks down..it is nearly impossible to get parts from some off brands that the hardware stores sell....

No one in our town will service a Morton, GE, or whirlpool, Rheem, or Smith brand of water softener
These cheap ass hardware store brands on average last 5-7 years in our area.... due to the high chlorine levels of the water.... They are all so cheap that you throw them out and buy another one which is cheaper in the long run than trying to rebuild them......

The price I saw on line for a Pellican was like $1500 which seems very high..
Now, If you bought it dirt cheap , like for $500 you will probably be ok until the day comes it gives you troubles...

You can always call the store and ask them who they recommend to service your new unit and see
what they say....... if they hang you out to dry and tell you to just call a plumber because they dont
know of anyone willing to fool with your unit then the writing will be on the wall...

Life is a gamble anyway..dont worry about it
just throw it in, sit back and see how many years you get out of it
Who knows for sure....
 
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Bannerman

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I just had a tech recommend a Penguin. He mentioned:

- unconditional 10 year warranty on everything
- filters last 15 years
First off, this thread was about 'Pellican' brand equipment.

Never heard of a water treatment brand 'Penguin', so I searched and did find a website.

I don't recognize the brand of control valves they are using.

Further to Mark's previous comments, there is so much cheap junk produced off-shore, but even if the equipment is of good quality and conforms to WQA and NSF standards, do you really want to gamble on investing your hard earned money on an unknown and unproven brand?

The 'tech' that recommended 'Penguin', is likely a 'Penguin' dealer, and he/she maybe the only dealer within a several hundred mile radius.

While warranty claims can be enticing, what warranty can be obtained if the dealer you purchased from, stops carrying that brand, or if the company stops business operations in the US?

Quality water treatment equipment will usually remain in use for several decades. Some brands utilize proprietary components that are not commonly available outside of that brand's dealer network, often resulting in replacement parts being difficult or almost impossible to obtain, and if available, often excessively expensive.

Even if replacement parts are available, who will service the unit if there is no local servicing dealer? Most local generic water treatment servicing professionals will service Fleck, Clack and Autotrol, but will not typically bother attempting repairs to unknown or uncommon equipment.
 
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Master Plumber Mark

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First off, this thread was about 'Pellican' brand equipment.

Never heard of a water treatment brand 'Penguin', so I searched and did find a website.

I don't recognize the brand of control valves they are using.

Further to Mark's previous comments, there is so much cheap junk produced off-shore, but even if the equipment is of good quality and conforms to WQA and NSF standards, do you really want to gamble on investing your hard earned money on an unknown and unproven brand?

The 'tech' that recommended 'Penguin', is likely a 'Penguin' dealer, and he/she maybe the only dealer within a several hundred mile radius.

While warranty claims can be enticing, what warranty can be obtained if the dealer you purchased from, stops carrying that brand, or if the company stops business operations in the US?

Quality water treatment equipment will usually remain in use for several decades. Some brands utilize proprietary components that are not commonly available outside of that brand's dealer network, often resulting in replacement parts being difficult or almost impossible to obtain, and if available, often excessively expensive.

Even if replacement parts are available, who will service the unit if there is no local servicing dealer? Most local generic water treatment servicing professionals will service Fleck, Clack and Autotrol, but will not typically bother attempting repairs to unknown or uncommon equipment.

It was the Pellican that I looked up on google.... sorry my mistake


What he says.... I wont even service a Fleck or Autotrol any more....

Who knows what kind of control it comes with....


Right now I got about a dozen Clack control heads off newer
units where the chlorine destroyed their mineral beds so I got plenty of good controls to swap out the heads if need be.....

Look if you only paid 500-700 for the unit and installed it yourself you are not gonna get hurt too badly either way....

its probably gonna last you a good a while ,
but getting it serviced IF it gives you trouble will be the issue down the road....

good luck
 
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