Water Softeners

[kiphorn]

The new house is slowly approaching completion. I had a water sample analyzed and received a price for a treatment system of $1900.00 /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I never imagined that treating the water from my well would be so expensive. The plumber for the new house told me to figure around $1500.

I didn't get a print out of the results. The saleman called me on the phone and I went into sticker shock after hearing the price. This is what I remember
ph- 6.2
hardness- 6 gpg (moderately hard)
some iron

I went to the local Home Builders show today and talked to several companies that offer treatment systems. They too told me that should expect to pay $2,000 -$3,000. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

After hearing the first price I looked at Lowes and Home Depot. They have GE and Waterboss systems for around $500.

Whats the difference between the store bought DIY version and the commercially installed systems?

The one salesman at the Home Show told me I need the tank for the softener, another to neutaize the acid and something else to remove the iron. If this is true will the GE or Waterboss system really treat my water.

I have no problem paying for something I really need, but I do have a problem with paying twice as much for something that provides no addtional value.

I think I'll get a complete water analysis done so I have the information. But any suggestions about which way to go would be appreciated.

Kip

 

[Justaplain]

I have real tough water and went from a Sears fancy water softner to the bigger "Waterboss" It is a DYS deal and I use iron out salt. Works great. No softner will take out a great deal of iron, I have a McClean iron remover in front of the WaterBoss. If you want the numbers I am dealing with, give me PM bcs
PS: DO NOT get water samples done by guys trying to sell you equipment. $75 will get you a rather complete picture and some will do just iron and Ph for a lot less

 

[herbenus]

By all means get the test, particularly to check for bacteria. But you can buy from Lowes, or similar, kits to check your own hardness. You'll want that ability to adjust whatever you buy. And you can use a simple aquarium or swimming pool test kit for checking ph for about $5 you'll get lots of tests.

I had very low ph, 5.6-6.0, when we moved in. I bought a Sears neutralizer. It worked somewhat but ph was really too low. I finally found out (late) that well was a shallow livestock well. I had a new well dug later and ph was much better. If you get a neutralizer like from Sears, you really don't need mixing tank. You inject neutralizer solution between pump and your pressure tank. Pressure tank becomes mixing tank.

I have a Waterboss, but wish I had bought the biggest. I've had some problems but they've always answered the phone and helped when I called. (Come to think of it Sears had water help line too.)

I've never understood the big difference between someone like Culligan and Sears or Lowes. Sure they install it. But they'll charge you for every elbow, bypass valve, and teflon tape. I'm planning on a new one soon and would love to make one call and have them take care of it. But the price is just too high. They say "just a dollar a day." But that's $365 a year. I could buy new softener every year or so for that.

 

[Inspector507]

Water Boss also makes an iron filter. I bought one last year from Lowe's for $4-500, somewhere in there. I have a Sears softener hooked up after the iron filter.

Some of the differences between the Culligan, Hague, Kinetico, whoever systems is they change the filter media to match what you are trying to accomplish.
By the way......the Water Boss that you buy from Lowes is actually made by the Hague people that make the Water Max. Hague wanted an arm and a leg for a new system for my house. I broke the contract right after buying the house /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[boustany]

Never pay attention to tests done by somebody with a stake in the results of the tests. Get a 'real' test done by a certified lab. Your town should be able to tell you who is in your area. A real test will tell you all kinds of things, and you can't get a building permit here without a yielding well and a test first.

That being said, I have very very (did I say very?) hard water. Went to HD and picked up a GE softener for about C $900 (US $600), less than 1/2 the cost of a Culligan, and installed it myself. Very easy job.

The softener doesn't use much salt - I just throw in a bag every month or so, which cost $6, so I can't complain.

I don't know about the other stuff like PH and such. I'd probably see how the water tastes first. Plus, new wells seem to change with time.

 

[orb]

My old job was head of technical services for a company that made the test kits and demonstration labs for water conditioning companies. I can tell you from personal experience that 9 out of 10 "experts" who sell residential treatment systems are complete con artists with no knowledge of water chemistry.

If you need your water tested, either take it to a independent lab, buy a water testing kit yourself or contact one of the companies that manufacture the kits (they are always looking for water samples to test in their R&D labs). It might take a while to get your results choosing the third option but its free and accurate.

My suggestion after you get your water tested is to do a little research on the Internet on the type of systems out there and buy it yourself through a regional distributor. You won't get a wholesale price but it will be a lot cheaper than what the "water Dr.'s" will sell it for.

 

[thcri]

Kip,

My company does sell water softners. I don't know about your area but we use the same testing kit that our local city does for testing our water. We will typically sell standard water softners for around $550.00 plus installation. The reason yours may have been so high is the iron content. Standard water softners will not take out much iron and trust me, if you have lots of iron you will pay for in the long run. A good iron filter will run you about $1,000.00 more. Now prices in Minnesota are a lot different than where your located. The majority of wells in Minnesota have lots of iron in their wells and require an iron filter. So you might want to double check the iron content or find out from the plumber that had your results. His price may have included the iron filter???

murph