We live in a limestone area, and the water is 500 ppm calcium carbonate,
so a water softener is not an option - it is a necessity. Our first
softener lasted 30 years before the resin material no longer functioned.
We had a local guy replace it (sorry I don't have the brand name at
hand), and it is pretty much similar to the first. I would agree with
others that Culligan is OK, but it is definitely the most expensive
alternative. Most of the other brands are fine, and I would only suggest
that being able to have a variety of settings is better than the very
simple clocks. We no longer use the amount of water we did when we had
two teenage boys at home, and it would be nice to cut back the cycles to
match our changed lifestyle. (or visa versa for a growing family with
lots of wash and showers) By the way, forget those gadgets that you
clamp on the outside of a pipe - they are just "snake oil".
If you are doing any plumbing while doing the change-over, I would also
recommend that you have your outdoor faucets connected before the
softener - your plants won't benefit from soft water. It should also be
noted that what happens to the calcium carbonate is that it gets changed
into sodium carbonate, and the calcium chloride goes down the drain. So
if your doctor has restricted your sodium intake, you might want to
think about having an "outside water" tap somewhere for drinking water,
etc. (we have "outside water" and "inside water" - it was easier to
distinguish it that way when the kids were little)
Mike
Donald H Locker wrote:
> I have a Culligan softener (that came with the house;) it is not a
> rental unit and I don't know how much it cost, but after rebuilding
> it, it works OK.
>
> I installed a Water Boss for my sister several years ago and she is
> satisfied.
>
> I had nothing but trouble with a S**rs K*nmore softener in a previous
> house. I replaced it with [ummmmm] dang! can't remember the name.
> Big brand name with a prominent L (I think) in the name. Oh.
> MacClean. Best darn softener I could find that I could afford.
>
> A friend has a Kinetico that he really likes. But it is expensive to
> buy and expensive if something breaks.
>
> To summarise, I'd recommend a MacClean or Kinetico. Water Boss a
> close second.
>
> JMHO and HTH,
> Donald.
>
>
>>Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 19:36:28 -0800
>>From: Shannah Miller <shannah@pobox.com>
>>
>>
>>If this is a FAQ, I apologize and request a pointer
>>to the FAQ.
>>
>>Our water softener just went out today. It's a
>>GE that's about 2 feet in diameter, and 4 feet
>>tall.
>>
>>The timer motor went out several weeks ago, so
>>we replaced the timer motor. The timer motor
>>has now gone out again. We suspect that the
>>guts of the system have seized up somehow, and
>>have stripped out the timer motor.
>>
>>I'm motivated to have soft water because we
>>have an acrylic bathtub. The water here is
>>so hard that I literally could not keep the
>>tub clean before we got the softener.
>>
>>So, what is your experience with water softeners?
>>Is "The Culligan Man" a good way to go? Or is
>>having one's own softener better? Is one brand
>>better than another? What is the typical warranty?
>>Should I try to find my original paperwork? Should
>>we replace the suspect parts (about $200) or is
>>it better to just buy a new softener (hubby says they
>>are running about $500)?
>>
>>Salt is not an issue. Buying salt is very easy
>>here, and we have a coal chute to get it into
>>the basement.
>>
>>Any advice would be appreciated.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Shannah
--
________________________________________________________________
Mike Sloane
Allamuchy NJ
Email:(msloane@att.net)
Website: <http://www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
Tractor images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
"Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies
to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to
rule--and both commonly succeed, and are right."
- H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)
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