Yes or No to Easy Water (no-salt) water softener?
peoplelover
12 years ago
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12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobrickeyee
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
water softener brine good for salting pond?
Comments (2)I agree with joe! you have to be careful, because it is easy to develop parasites and it will be a reall problem if it hapens...i also use the water softener salt in my pond. Here is a link that might be useful: Saltless water softeners...See MoreDoes a water filter on a fridge, filter the salt on a softener?
Comments (19)If your softener installer actually placed a layer of GAC (granular activated carbon) in the SALT tank, then he has absolutely no clue whatsoever about how softeners work. The only water that might filter a little bit would be the water used for the brine draw portion of the first few regenerations after installation. If, however, he placed a layer of GAC in the resin tank (which is more likely), then he did you an even worse disservice. Placing a layer of GAC in your softener is a terrible idea for a variety of reasons. GAC (granular activated carbon) and softener resin have very different densities, requiring different backwash rates. One or the other (or potentially both) won't be adequately backwash. Loose GAC should be backwashed daily to prevent compaction and damage. The damaged particles cause increased pressure drop, followed by channeling, resulting in poor performance for the softener. GAC is sharp and damages softener resin, which harms softener performance. In order to work effectively, a GAC bed needs to be WAY deeper than is possible if it is placed in a layer in your softener. This means it won't do much. GAC effectiveness reduces over time, at a rate much faster than softener resin, meaning it will need to be replaced. A thin layer like that - you'll get a year max. Unfortunately, since its mixed up with your resin, that means a total replacement of the softener resin as well. GAC takes up space in the softener tank that is supposed to be empty so that the resin bed may be adequately expanded during backwash. If that expansion is not possible, broken beads and other particulates build up over time, negatively impacting softener performance....See MoreSalt Free Water Softeners/Filters
Comments (1)You can remove the iron/manganese and leave the hardness. There are a variety of methods for iron/manganese removal. The best method for your situation will depend on the complete analysis of your water, usage, well output, space available and budget. Here is a list of the possibilities to get your research started: Oxidation/Filtration: An oxidizer such as ozone, air, or chlorine may be used to react with the iron and force it to become particulate iron that can then be removed via filtration. A typical setup would involve the oxidizing unit, a holding tank, then a media filter. This type of system works quite well, but takes some expertise in sizing - you would want a water treatment pro that you trust to help you with this option. Oxidizing filtration media: This type of treatment consists of a sealed tank filled with one of several media. Water passes through and is oxidized and filtered by the media. These are relatively easy to operate and what I would recommend for the average homeowner. There are several different media that can be used: manganese greensand: water runs through for treatment. The media must be regenerated with potassium permanganate. Care must be taken with dealing with potassium permanganate as it readily dies organic material, such as your skin, a purple-brown color. Some people are quite comfortable dealing with the chemical; others are not. Synthetic greensand: This is essentially the same as option (a) but consists of a coating of greensand on a silica sand core so does not require as much backwash flow. Service flow rate is 2 - 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash flow rate is 12 gpm/sqft. birm: This media acts as a catalyst to force oxidation of iron. While it does not need to be regenerated, it does need fairly high dissolved oxygen in the water. If your water does not have adequate dissolved oxygen (and it probably doesn't since it is well water), air injection would be necessary prior to the birm. Additionally, birm requires a minimum pH of 6.8.. Service flow rate is 3.5 - 5.0 gpm per sqft. Backwash flow rate is 11 - 20 gpm, depending upon water temperatures and desired bed expansion. pyrolox: an ore that oxidizes then filters the iron out. It does not need regeneration, but needs to be backwashed (to rinse out the iron) at a high rate. pH range is 6.5 - 9.0. This type of filter works very well, but backwash is critical. Service flow rate is 5 gpm/sqft. Backwash is 25-30 gpm/sqft. Backwash daily. Terminox: Similar to Pyrolox, but a proprietary formula . It does not require as much backwash flow rate and is more resistance to a low pH. The particulars are only available from the company that sells it. Backwash daily. Filox: Also similar to Pyrolox. pH range 5.0 - 9.0. Backwash flow 12-15 gpm/sqft. Service flow 6 gpm/sqft. It must be backwashed daily....See MoreWater Softeners: Salt versus Salt free
Comments (5)You should start by searching this forum for salt free softeners and reading some of the 19.627 sale free softener discussions you'll find. The long and short of it is that no salt free water conditioner has been found to reduce the effects of hardness to any measurable degree proven by any independent testing. From my research the ability of a salt free conditioner to effect the water in any degree diminishes dramatically as hardness increases above 5 gpg. The pros of a correctly sized softener set up to operate efficiently are longer service life of your plumbing, fixtures, and appliances along with less maintenance of that hardware and clothes lasting longer and using dramatically less soap and detergent. The cons of a correctly sized quality softener set up to operate efficiently are that you'll need to check the salt level in the brine tank once a week or so and replace the resin every 10 or 15 or 20 years.. With 27gpg along with a softener you should consider a reverse osmosis unit installed under the kitchen sink for drinking, cooking, and ice making water. If you install an RO on 27gpg water the membrane will fail in short order and repeatedly and that costs $$$. In your circumstances there's no real option other than an ion exchange water softener to mitigate the hardness. In order to assist you further we need to know measured hardness at your home, pH, TDS, iron, manganese, nitrates, and bacteria at a minimum and # of people in the home, # of bathrooms, diameter of the plumbing at the softener location, and the SFR (service flow rate) of the plumbing....See Moreandy_c
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