New to the world of water softners

[Justinb34]

Hi All,
Just purchased a house not to long ago with hard water, previous owners never had a softener and it shows on everything. I just had a company come out that tested and results are as follows: Hardness 11.9, Chlorine .09, Chloramine .16, and TDS 279. I've been reading all of the topics and forums but think ive read so much that my head is spinning. I am pretty confident I need a 32,000 grain system (currently just my wife and I but will have at least one child) Current monthly water usage is 2000 gallons. I like what I have been reading about fleck but not sure what model to get, 5600 sxt, 5810 sxt, etc. Do I want upflow or downflow? My plumbing on my water meter is 1in so do I get a 1.25 high flow control valve system? Am I safe purchasing from online? i've read some contradicting info and is there any recommendations online? I have a Ferguson by me but they didnt know anything, they said get the GE cabinet and call it a day. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
Thanks Justin

 

[ditttohead]

Most online companies will sell the lowest cost piece of equipment they can source and this can lead to some serious junk. Avoid the online guys at all cost. I would recommend getting a whole house catalytic carbon and a softener if you want the best possible water. Upflow/downflow, long debatable topic... just stick with downflow... it is not as critical as many may claim. 5810 is discontinued... have you called around to some local companies to see if they can offer you a Clack or Fleck based system? Local companies know they are getting the call when the system fails so they tend to do a lot better on quality than the online companies.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Justinb34]

Most online companies will sell the lowest cost piece of equipment they can source and this can lead to some serious junk. Avoid the online guys at all cost. I would recommend getting a whole house catalytic carbon and a softener if you want the best possible water. Upflow/downflow, long debatable topic... just stick with downflow... it is not as critical as many may claim. 5810 is discontinued... have you called around to some local companies to see if they can offer you a Clack or Fleck based system? Local companies know they are getting the call when the system fails so they tend to do a lot better on quality than the online companies.

Looks like the only softener systems that are being carried around me from Ferguson and Weinsein is a lancaster brand softener and Master water conditioning softeners.