Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Water Softener Recommendations

We just moved to a new house in an area with very hard water. We are getting recommendations from "Get a cheapy at Home Depot" to high end Culligan service.

There are just the two of us old folks. We will not be in this place for the long haul. The unit will be in the basement.

Recommendations appreciated.

Culligan, which we have, is a lease agreement. So if water softener ownership is important to you, they're not your huckleberry.

But, every quarter they show up, service it and add salt. So you never have to worry about it. Works for us.

I bought mine. It’s a kinetico. Uses half the salt of traditional. I’m pleased with it.

We have a Kinetico Water softener, middle of the line. and it works great, we use about 40 pounds of salt every 2 months. We replaced the water heater and had the water softer installed at the same time. About $7,500.

They have different models and you decide on what one you want. We noticed the difference right away, in laundry, doing dishes and taking a shower.

Water Softeners | Kinetico Water Systemshttps://www.kinetico.com › water-softeners

I myself have a deep well spring fed 20+ gal per minute but neighbor down the road has one of those systems he’s pulling water off the water table next to a creek looks complicated

Consider a salt less solution, reverse osmosis system.

I was at a beach house this week and it had the very same system as my neighbors ice from the freezer ice maker was brownish yellow🤢 water had a smell to it like pee I don’t think it was doing much good I filled the drum up with 50pd of salt tablets when we got there

Kinetico here. No complaints

WS

Paul, I have used the softeners from HD, they have worked fine for me...............

Do you have easy access to the incoming water line? If so, DIY is very easy. All you have to do is cut the line and put an adapter on each end. Then use flexible steel hoses from each end to the softener. If you can do that, check this online dealer: QUALITY WATER I bought one from them 8 or 10 years ago and it's been flawless. They carry some qualilty stuff.

I moved into a house about three years ago with a well and needed to put in a new water treatment system (hardness and sulfur). Went with a local well/water treatment/farm supply company, not affiliated with a brand name, that has been in the area for a hundred years or so. Bought the system - no rental fees. Could have purchased monthly service from them but didn't. Happy with their work and get to deal with a local business instead of the 70 mile away culligan dealer. i'd recommend you look/ask around and see who else other than culligan.

Also - are you on a public/municipal water system or a private well? If on your own well I recommend having UV disinfection added to your treatment system.

After some research, I found that the majority of problems from unsoftened water is in the hot water side of the water system.

So, I bought a small water softener because I was only going to treat the water that is being heated. Which, when counting the water used for gardening, is way less than 1/4 of the water used in the house.

So, I replaced the water heater and installed a new water sofener just for the water going into the water heater. I use less than 75lbs of salt a year. And the soap I use in the house works a lot better.

I got a Colligan unit from Menards.

We have Rainsoft its been in over 20 years only 1 issue.
It quit working.
I tore the head apart, found a small amount of red greasy buildup(iron)
And cleaned it.

Then, I remember Bernie, an old friend who was in the business talking about how everyone with a conditioner should use Iron Out once in awhile. So I bought some and put a tablespoon on top of every block of salt as I put them in the brine tank. As they settle, there is a small dose applied every few months. Haven't had an issue in 15 years.

I don't recommend any conditioner that takes blocks.
Mine holds 4 in a tall, narrow tank. Getting the bottom 2 in is
a PITA. I set the monitor to only show 1 block. The alarm goes off
and I keep it full by adding one. Its tough to cling to a 50# block with your
finger tips, bending over and setting the block on the floor of a tank
that's way narrower than your shoulders and almo st chest high.
Not old guy friendly.



Looked at Kinetco.
They make a good product, but too expensive.
It works for them, they are THE ONE to have.
Money means better, right?😉

The twin tank, water driven set up is great for huge volume, or
if electric is an issue.

The had me sold with the "you will never run out of conditioned water,
even if you have guests or water the garden".

Then it hit me. This house has used unconditioned water for 10 years.
We drank it, bathed, washed clothes. It wasn't as good as soft water,
But pumping a few gallons while it was on regen wasnt going to
be a big deal. Saved almost $2k on that epiphany.

I'd go Home Depot or Lowe's.

After, you let one of the hucksters from a company
come test your water. They will tell you how hard it is. You need
that to set up the conditioner.


If convenience outweighs money, or bags of salt are heavy for
an older guy, Culligan Set bill, they take care of everything.

$ vs need.

I did a bunch of research on water softeners about 15 years ago. I'm not sure if the technology has changed but Fleck was one of the best brands you could ge

the variation of the 5600 is what I bought.

If you read up on them you'll find good reviews

Is Fleck who builds heads for most of the brands?

I wanna think I remember a friend yelling us that.
Lotta brands, most running a couple variations of one
makers head.

Kinda like ZTR mowers.
50 brands, a couple drive manufacturers, 3 engine manufacturers.
More variation between component grades than between
competing models between builders.

I had a Culligan system and a friend bought one from Sears. One seemed to work as well as the other.

Water Softener and Reverse Osmosis are two different things

Had a cheap system all ready installed when I purchased my place and quickly replaced it with a Culligan system, I paid $4500 for mine; there was no mention of a lease option.

They service (add salt) every 60 days their service call is so cheap it's not worth the trouble of driving to an hour+ to town to get salt my self...

BTW, my water is very hard and had high levels of iron, now it's great!!

I could be wrong, but I know there are a few brands that look like this and I think they all have Fleck valves. The all in one units, I don't know about