New Water Softener

[BrandonInIdaho]

Hi!

I am new here but have read a lot on this forum for different projects I have done. The current project is a new water softener. I think I have a system figured out, but figured I would make sure that I am doing it right.

My water is pretty hard, it measures 27GPG with no Iron. My situation is I have a growing family, right now my wife and I have 2 young children, we hope there will be more We currently use about 250 Gallons Per Day. I figure if I have a 2.5cu.ft. mineral tank that I can run it on a very conservative salt setting 6lbs/cu.ft. (Maybe even less?) This would calculate to 7.4 days between regenerations. I am guessing with reserve capacity that I would regenerate every 6 to 7 days. Then if/when the family gets larger we will have the water softening capacity to still have soft water with a reasonable salt usage setting and regenerate a little more frequently.

We have 1-1/4" water line servicing the house and we have 3 bathrooms, but we have low pressure (approx 50psi but it varies depending on time of day). At the same time I install the softener I am going to install a couple Big Blue Filter housings (4.5x20) with Sediment and Carbon block filters. I am thinking that the Fleck 5810sxt would fit my needs the best as it can flow over 9GPM with a 1psi pressure drop.

The system I have priced at a couple places is this, a 5810sxt on a 2.5 cu.ft. Mineral Tank with 10% Crosslink Resin, and a 18x33 Brine Tank, with a 1-1/4" bypass valve. I am not sure which online retailer is the best to go with. I have received prices from a few different places ranging from $800 to $1350 for the above setup.

I do have limited space for the install as it is going in a closet under the stairs.

Any advice is appreciated!

-Brandon

 

[ditttohead]

Do not use carbon blocks for whole house chlorine/chemical reduction. In general you do not need any BB filtration on a whole house. Most modern municipalities do a great job of mitigation sediment in the water. BB carbon filters are simply way too small for whole house applications. I know a lot of companies sell them in their race to be the lowest price but this is simply an ideal way to treat water.

A 1 PSI pressure drop is not of any concern... since virtually all modern fixtures are flow regulated, you would not likely notice any change in the water flow to the fixtures so long as your pressure stays between 40-80 PSI.

Since it is going under the stairs, leak damage must be mitigated. All water treatment devices will eventually leak, overflow or have some problem. Anytime a system is installed in a location that can be damaged by water some sort of leak detection and auto shut off device should be installed.

As to which online company to use, most are not good as they focus almost exclusively on price. Substituting cheap tanks, medias, components etc in order to be $1 cheaper than the next company.

As ot your current water usage, are you getting a reading of all the water used in your house including irrigation. Your water usage is close to what we would assume, but many households are using far less than the current 60-75 gallons per person per day model we use. My house averages about 100 GPD with 4 people. We do have water saving devices installed throughout the house including sensored faucets and ultra low water laundry etc,

 

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[BrandonInIdaho]

Hi ditttohead,

Thank you for the response.

I am not really on city water, this is my water company http://nkwsd.com/Home.aspx Overall our water is pretty good, but it does have a lot of sediment, and it does have taste issues. The water company use to run a well with very high Iron content, that well has been out of service for some time now, but the still have to 'flush' our lines about once a quarter because of the damage. We can measure no Iron in our water but is pretty incredible what the small big blue filter under the kitchen sink on the cold water line catches! The Big Blue housings I choose have 1-1/4" input/output and the sediment filter says it flows 20GPM at <1PSI pressure loss. The Carbon filter is where some loss will occur. It is rated at .9PSI at 4GPM and 2.5PSI Loss at 9GPM. I figured the loss was reasonable for the gain. Is this not a good path forward? I was going to install a pressure gauge before and after every filter and the softener to monitor. Is there a better solution that I should be looking at?

I do have home automation with leak sensors that will shut off the main water supply to the house. The water heater is in a utility closet that is on the other side of the wall from where the water softener will go, and it didn't have any sort of protection. This doesn't mitigate the water already in the system that can leak out but until the basement is renovated a floor drain is installed it is the best I have.

The water usage is based off of our winter months bills when we are only using water inside the home. My summer irrigation usage is slightly ridiculous .

As far as somewhere to buy this setup, I can't find anyone local with a good reputation, I would love to hear if anyone has any recommendations.

 

[ditttohead]

You are using peak flow numbers, not service flow. Carbon requires contact time to be effective. In general carbon is rated at about 3 GPM per Ft. for effective reduction. Slamming the water through a tiny BB carbon block will help but it is a bad design. Technically, a Honda civic can tow a 24' Bayliner, definitely not the correct choice. If you want to effectively treat the whole house a simple backwashing carbon tank makes a lot more sense.

For the whole house filtration a Hydra would be the most common starting point, this will reduce sediment down to the 50 micron range and is easily cleaned. A carbon tank and a softener and a carbon tank should get your water quality to acceptable levels.