Whole home and softener reccomendations

[Dan77]

Hello all.

I’m searching for a whole home water filtration and softener for our home. The house is 2,900+ ft2 and will be just my wife and I. There will not be kids in our future though our friends kids will be here periodically. We have a few systems we’re interested in but I’m not sure what is a quality system vs good marketing; Fleck, Clack, Nuvo H20 system, Kinetico, Sweetwater LLC – Urban Defender, Radiant Life, etc. I’ll hire a plumber to install all of this. I prefer to buy everything from one location vs buying a softener from manufacturer A and the filtration from manufacturer B but if their equipment is that much better, I’ll split my purchase.

There are a few places in town that offer systems but they don’t say what system they use – or at least I didn’t see on their web plus crickets when I emailed them. We had a company install a Kinetico in our previous house 8 years ago and it seemed like it worked great but I have nothing to compare it to except I never had to get a new iron while living there vs needing a new one each year everywhere else I lived.

We live in Knoxville Tennessee and our water quality report from the utility and from the EWG is below along with our hardness.

Water hardness using a Hach 5B kit
16 grains

Utility’s water quality report
Total Coliform Bacteria – 0
Lead – 1.4 ppb
TTHM – 60 ppb
Haloacetic Acids – 50 ppb
Copper – 0.05 ppm
Plant A Turbidity – 0.13
Plant B Turbidity – 0.04
Plant A Nitrate – 0.408 ppm
Plant B Nitrate – 0.304 ppm
Plant A Sodium – 10.3 ppm
Plant B Sodium – 9.75 ppm
Fluoride - 0.76 ppm
Chlorine – 2
Plant A Cryptosporidium – 0.025 oocysts/ L
Plant B Cryptosporidium – 0.024 oocysts/ L

EWG for West Knoxville Utility District
Bromodichloromethane – 5.77 ppb
Chloroform – 28.7 ppb
Chromium (hexavalent) 0.0703 ppb
Dibromochloromethane – 0.692 ppb
Nitrate - 0.439 ppm
Radium - 0.4 pCi/ L
Chlorate – 288.7 ppb
Haloacetic acids – 43.8 ppb
Molybdenum – 0.0933 ppb
Strontium – 134.7 ppb
Vanadium – 0.187 ppb

I have a slightly better understanding of water filtering and softening compared to before and am open to your suggestions. I am also looking for a good place to buy the softener and filtration system if you know of a reputable on-line provider. If you let me know your recommendation for a specific brand, could you also tell me why you’re recommending the brand?

Thanks for your help, it’s greatly appreciated!
Dan

 

[WorthFlorida]

A water softener cannot be too large or too small. With the proper settings it will regen when needed via the amount of water usage, hardness and sizing will all play a factor.

There are a few posts on this forum recently and its about warranty work. Buying something online, how would warranty work play out? Most of the time water softener work for years without issues, filters it's usually about back washing and maintenance. Buying from a local company you'll have backup when needed and maybe some labor cost savings with a maintenance contract. Buy it online and you are out on a business trip, the wife calls that something is wrong. Get my message?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jdpboom]

Kinetico.
That's it.
Nothing more.
Hands down.
.

 

[Thom1972]

Kinetico.
That's it.
Nothing more.
Hands down.
.

We had Kinetico sales guy hit us hard and I could nearly buy a new car for what he wanted to charge. There were better solutions to our setup than the Kinetico salesman offered, he was all about hitting us up for everything he could. I know they have a heck of a system. However i still think maybe incorrectly that i could buy my own system and have a plumber install for 1/2 the cost. Anyone agree with this? I am sure there are some very knowledgeable creative folks that must have done this and saved themselves a chunk without sacraficing performance.

 

[Bannerman]

Systems based on either Fleck or Clack control valves are most commonly recommended on this forum as their control valves are high quality, proven designs with parts and service obtained from a wide range of generic water treatment dealers at a reasonable cost.

Proprietary systems such as K are typically only available from a closed dealer network. This means there will be little competition so their systems will usually be sold at full mark-up, and customers will be reliant on their dealers to provide parts and service at whatever they want to charge.

Great when a forum member is satisfied with the equipment they obtained and so they advise us, but when a poster continually promotes one brand in almost every thread they participate in since joining the forum, that then seems to suggest that poster is not a common user but is participating here only to promote that brand.

 

[Thom1972]

Systems based on either Fleck or Clack control valves are most commonly recommended on this forum as their control valves are high quality, proven designs with parts and service obtained from a wide range of generic water treatment dealers at a reasonable cost.

Proprietary systems such as K are typically only available from a closed dealer network. This means there will be little competition so their systems will usually be sold at full mark-up, and customers will be reliant on their dealers to provide parts and service at whatever they want to charge.

Great when a forum member is satisfied with the equipment they obtained and so they advise us, but when a poster continually promotes one brand in almost every thread they participate in since joining the forum, that then seems to suggest that poster is not a common user but is participating here only to promote that brand.

Yes i get weary of that Bannerman, glad you said that. In our area of California Nestle contaminated the ground water for years so there are Tce's in the water from that. I am looking for a solution that can help reduce TCE from the water and Chlorine as they use alot of that. I am hoping someone has a solution that makes sense and i can hire a local plumber to install. I just cant justify the nearly 5 digit quote from K as they know they can upcharge in our city based on history.

 

[Bannerman]

they know they can upcharge in our city based on history.

The same water treatment methods and media is available throughout the industry, but some proprietary brands often give media unique names, or blend media to make it appear it is unique to them and not available elsewhere.

For what I'm finding online, it seems common GAC (granular activated carbon) is the usual adsorption media of choice for removal of TCE. Apparently, TCE can also be accompanied by titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) which are not stable in water and so will combine to form larger particles which tend to block the pores of GAC, thereby reducing its effectiveness and usable lifespan.

Suggest reviewing the lab test results for your water supply and consider a GAC backwashing filter system at your home's point of entry, or a system containing Catalytic Carbon if Chloramine is utilized for disinfection. Either type of carbon will perform most effectively with the water flow rate is within 1-3 gpm per cubic foot of carbon, so you should consider your household's water usage patterns when choosing the size of carbon system. A flow range is specified as some contaminates require longer contact time with carbon than others.

For drinking water, an under-sink Reverse Osmosis system would further ensure the water consumed by your family and pets is as pure as possible.