Outdoor water softener in Arizona?

[Zimm0who0net]

So I live in Tucson. We've got some crazy hard water down here. I had a rep from the water company over to my house the other day and she told me that the hardness is actually slated to --DOUBLE-- over the next 5 years as they transition to more Colorado River water. I figure it's time to look into a water softening system.

Problem is that my water supply comes in at the front corner of my house, right where my living room is. Placing the water softener next to the TV is not really my #1 option. My house is slab on grade with a flat roof, so there's really not any good options for routing pipes either. My thought was to dig a channel around to the side of the house, lay pipes down there and then install the softener outside. Had a guy out here from Rainsoft and he said that's exactly what he would do, but I really didn't get a good feeling from that guy that he knew what he was talking about. (Plus, the more I read about Rainsoft the more I want to run screaming the other way).

So, my question is if it's feasible to install one of these things outside? We do get freezes here occasionally. A couple nights dip below freezing every winter and every few years we actually get some snow. Is a temporary freeze like that going to destroy the thing? Furthermore, it would end up on the South side of my house, which means being baked in the Arizona sun. Not sure how well the thing will hold up to the 110 degree heat with 8 hours of direct sunlight every day.

Incidentally, I've attached a picture of where the water comes into my house. Note that this line has NEVER frozen even though it's outside. However, last year the water in the garden hose did freeze enough after one night to keep me from running it in the morning (albeit that's the only time I've ever seen that happen in 10 years in AZ)

 

[Tom Sawyer]

They install them outside in the south all the time. You could make a small insulated lean to to keep it from freezing

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

WE run the line from that point, (after capping the line into the wall), to the garage, where the water heater should be, then connect the soft water feed into the heater's cold water feed to backfeed the rest of the house. You do get some freezing weather down there, and also rain, neither of which would be healthy for a softener or its controls. Usually, the only softeners installed outdoors, usually in a pit, are the "rental" units, such as Servisoft, which do NOT have controls and are exchanged every month or so, depending on the water's hardness. Just as a sidenote, that is NOT the correct antisiphon valve for your irrigation system, although it was the cheapest one available.

 

[Zimm0who0net]

As always hj, thanks.

My water heater is actually in the interior of the house in a closet. Odd that they would put it there. I found out the hard way when it started leaking why people like to put them in the garage (not to mention the additional roof penetration for combustion air, etc). I suppose I could tunnel to the garage. It would be significantly more difficult as I would have to trench across the path of my sewer line and get around a large porch, under a sidewalk and probably my driveway, not to mention through the root ball of two very large saguaros (see picture). I'd also have to run a return line back to the location in the picture because there's no water lines in the garage. I'm beginning to think I should just punt on the soft water idea.

Incidentally, what is the correct antisiphon valve for my irrigation system? I believe what I have now is this

 

[hj]

Your situation is why it is always better to see the actual site to decide the ideal installation. You might have the same problems with getting power TO a softener and the drain line AWAY from it. You have an "atmospheric" antisiphon valve which is ONLY approved if you use it to turn the water on and off, NOT use an electric valve after it. You SHOULD have either a "pressure vacuum breaker", which is the most common, or a "reduced pressure principal backflow preventer (RPPBFP)" which is required in some areas for greater protection. The past few years we HAVE had enough freezing weather in Phoenix to break "hundreds" of irrigation valves.

 

[Zimm0who0net]

Alright, now I've got a bit of a rant. I read up on the difference between the atmospheric anti-siphon valve and the PVB so I now understand why you can only put a valve before the atmospheric anti-siphon. So why the heck does does HD sell that anti-siphon valve at all? The number of people who actually turn their system on and off with that handle has got to be tiny. Not to mention you've got to tighten the packing nut down to prevent leaks to the point that you nearly need a wrench to turn the handle, it only is useful as an occasional disconnect from an automatic sprinkler. The HD next to me doesn't even carry the PVB version. The person in the plumbing department didn't even know what I was talking about. I just ordered one online. It was only $15 more expensive than that Champion POS was at HD. I bought this one 5 years ago, but I'm going to try and get my money back at HD.

Another rant. This must be a common problem. My wife had a house before we met and she had a "professional" landscaping company do her backyard irrigation system. They installed the exact same anti-siphon valve. So HD is telling all the DIYers the wrong thing and even the "professionals" are installing the wrong thing. Ugh..

Now, as for the water softener, power wouldn't be a problem regardless of where I put it. If were to put it outside, it would be about 20 feet farther back along that wall from the water inlet where I'd build a small screen wall. Luckily that's exactly where my electrical panel is. As for drainage, I'd probably just let it drain into a gully that's right next to that. Drainage in the garage would be difficult to be sure. It's seeming like outside along that south wall is really my only realistic option, and from what you've said, locating it outside seems like a bad idea. Not to mention that any plastic components on the south side of a house in Tucson are going to be destroyed in 2 years, easy... Oh well, I guess I'll have to get used to the hard water...