You don't need 3 separate faucets. I have two: the main faucet I use for washing (which isn't filtered) and then a small hot/cold faucet that's hooked to the filter and the instant hot. I left the filtered cold dispenser out of my original description because it's integrated with the instant hot system. The filter faucet I have is this one, I think. The only thing I don't like about it is that the hot lever is spring-loaded as a "safety" feature, so you have to hold it down to keep the water flowing. (I put "safety" in sneer quotes because I think it's less safe to force me to keep my hand near the hot water.) I actually have a ice/water dispenser on the fridge too. It dispenses chilled water, but it comes out quite a bit more slowly than the non-chilled water from the hold/cold dispenser by the sink. I tend to use the one on the fridge for a quick glass of ice water and the one by the sink for filling pitchers and other big stuff. I didn't try hooking the main faucet up to a filter because I think it would take a big filter to maintain the water pressure and flow rate you'd want from a faucet used for washing dishes, rinsing vegetables, etc. If I have time I'll try to post some photos of what my set-up looks like from above and below the sink. I may have to do a bit of cleaning first, though. :-) Depending on how carried away you want to get, a whole-house filter is an option. My next-door neighbor the plumber re-piped his house and put a big whole-house filter and softer system in his garage. It's two sealed units about 1 foot in diameter and 4 feet high each. He says they have to be changed every 5-10 years depending on how bad the city water is. I can ask him for the brand and model number if you'd like. It looked like a big job to install, though, not a DIY project. (Even for me, and I'm not afraid of sweating copper pipes.) And I'm sure we're talking at least a couple thousand dollars for the equipment and labor. Laura

Kaffine is correct. A circuit breaker will trip if there is excess current draw - meaning an overloaded circuit or a short circuit. It doesn't trip if a high resistance connection heats up unless that causes the surrounding insulation to break down and results in a short circuit. What you saw isn't all that uncommon on heating type appliances or anytime a circuit is cycled at near its max working ampacity. If there is a loose connection, the connection heats up and the wire expands a little. Because the wire is expanding, it also deforms slightly - as does the terminal. When the power shuts off, the connection cools and is now a little bit looser than before because all of the mating parts have deformed slightly. In addition, the heat causes the wire and terminal to oxidize. The oxide isn't a good conductor of electricity and also increases the resistance of the connection. This cycle is repeated every time the heating element turns on and off. As the resistance of the connection increases, it becomes the "heating element" performing basically the same function as the element that's in the tank. To prevent this type of failure, it's important to make sure that electrical connections have good surface area contact and that terminals are tight. On larger connections and aluminum cables, anti-oxidant compounds are used on the wire to prevent the oxidation cycle. In larger installations, preventative maintenance involves scanning a bus, breaker panel, etc. with an infrared thermometer to check for "hot spots" that would indicate a deteriorating connection. This is also why all electrical splices must be in a box. My guess is that there was nothing that would burn near that connection - and that's by design. BTW: There are new breakers out that detect arcing - not just excessive current flow. They are more expensive, but will interrupt this type of problem if it gets bad enough to arc. Any parts that have shown excessive heating should be replaced. In addition, trim the wire if you have some additional length so that the connection is made with wire that isn't damaged with oxidation.

The advantages of soft water are... * To eliminate minerals (and deposits) from the service water, the plumbing, the fixtures, and the appliances. * To facilitate the use of less soap and detergents. The cost benefits of soft water are... * Longer service life and reduced maintenance of the plumbing, the fixtures, and the appliances. * Clothes last longer. Common misconceptions about soft water... * Softening ONLY the cold water supplying the water heater leaves hard water in every service line up to the water softener at the water heater and in all cold lines and fixtures and appliances where cold water is available and at every fixture and appliance where cold and hot water are mixed. You are paying for a softener and installation but only protecting your water heater. While a proper whole house softener installation may be more expensive at first in the long run the maintenance and repair/replacement savings realized by softening at the service entrance (whole house) will pay you back big time. Softening only the water supplying the water heater is usually done when a correct (whole house) install is too challenging for the installer or costly for the customer. While some may think that solution is better than no soft water IMO it is not. * Ion exchange water softing does not add salt to the water. That is a fact. Ion exchange softening will add minute amounts of sodium or potassium (based on what you are using as a regenerant) but NO SALT. Either NaCl or KCl, which are salts, are used in the brine tank but the chlorides (which make both compounds a SALT) are flushed down the drain during regeneration. If your water is extremely hard then the higher the hardness the more sodium or potassium ions are exchanged into the water to soften it and discerning pallets can notice that taste but it is not SALT. Installation of a POU Reverse Osmosis unit will eliminate that taste and provide bottled water taste for a modest cost. If a doctor has you on a low (or NO) sodium diet then using KCl (potassium chloride) in the brine tank is an accepted substitute. So, if you're going to spend the money to get soft water why not get what you're paying for?

Thanks for all the comments! Every individual unit can be bypassed - with the exception of the pre-filter and pressure switch being tied to one another. That's by design, but I'm considering switching it. I didn't note it on the diagram, but thank you for pointing out the supports. The larger red and blue (copper) pipes will be supported at the corner where they first drop down. There's no drywall on the ceiling in that room right now, but when I complete half a dozen other projects down there it will be, and that will be above the drywall. Same thing with the pressure relief valve. Everything else I figured would be okay, except the pressure relief valve and prefilter.... Still thinking about how to do that in a way that looks decent. Drains are just going to be 3/4" PEX, so I didn't bother modeling them. I was just going to use tees to connect them all to a single drain line. Though about using some check valves, but I don't think it will actually be necessary. I am curious about how the aerator discharge and the filter/softener backwash will affect one another, but I don't expect any problems. Will labelthe thing after a few revisions and repost. Sorry about that! I agree with you on the CPVC valves. I'm aiming for no metal components before treatment is complete to reduce corrosion. It would probably take decades before I noticed the difference, but I am hoping that these are higher quality valves and will last longer. The aeration tank is pressurized - I'm thinking 60-75 psi as the range. As far as a sparger, I'd definitely prefer to use one! I'd read that they will stop up very quickly with higher iron levels in the water. Any thoughts on that? For the resin... Ya, if I don't hear back from them before I'm ready to buy I'll definitely be looking elsewhere. My backup is Resintech's CG10. The UV system is actually already installed. Old owners put it in because of a failed bacteria test with water from a bathroom faucet. I'm pretty sure it was introduced after the well. I'm planning on shocking the well when I do all this and installing a new UV Bulb. When that bulb is near its end of life I'll do some tests and if everything is negative I'll remove the UV system. Thanks again for all the comments!