ellamas
New Member
Hello,
First post here!
I've been on a path of researching water softeners and whole house filtration systems. Every time I feel I have a good handle on what I'm going to buy, I decide to do more research and change my mind. From what equipment to buy to whether I should have a licensed plumber install vs. DIY w/ help from contractor friend, etc.
So far, I learned tons from various sites including this forum (read lots of post for Dittohead among others) over the past several weeks. Started looking for a water softener since my municipal water service (yorba linda water district) has 18 to 22 GPG hardness...varies due to water being supplied by two sources. Later I decided to look at whole house filtration and looked at product like aquasana, pelican and others. Was about to get a Pelican PC600 but then ventured into the world of upflow vs. downflow systems w/ backwash.
Water quality & other pertinent info
- 1" main water supply
-22.6 GPG (max) hardness, chlorine and fluoride.
-table of full report attached to this thread
-4 to 5 people in the home
-3 bath
-water usage from 250 to 350 gallons per day (using 300gal/day average)
- based on my calc: 300 * 22.6 = 6780 grains/day required. assuming I'd like a 9 day regen cycle. = 61,020 grains.
Base on my research this is what I'm considering. Pricing is based on a recent quote I received this morning from a water filtration fleck dealer.
Softener:
-Fleck 5810 valve with XTR2 (touchscreen) Controller
-2.0 CF tank 64,000 grain, with 10% crosslink resin
-toyed with the idea of using potassium chloride vs. sodium chloride for water softener decided I'll stick with sodium chloride due to recurring cost. I can just bypass to water my plants without sodium.
$1800 equipment only
Whole house filtration:
-Same 5810 valve with sxt controller
-2.0 CF tank
- carbon only without KDF 55 (Fleck dealer I met with today said he could do a custom carbon blend based on my water quality.
$1200 equipment only
Drinking:
-RO system with possible Alkaline water combo.
$300 RO or $400 if combo RO & akaline (includes install)
Additional comments and questions:
-is this a good setup with three systems? My primarily goal is to eliminate hard water. Second is to remove some of the chlorine and other contaminants for the showers and bathing.,etc. Third, would be if I could add the RO and cancel my $50/ per month water deliver service.
-whole filtration would get plumbed first from the main inlet and water softener secondary inline. it was recommend not to install a sediment filter since it would be additional maintenance and frankly wouldn't need since the drinking water would have RO.
-should I still consider the Pelican PC600 filtration for around $750? this is an upflow non-backwash system. media is GAC with some KDF55. rated at 10gpm.
-The above pricing is for equipment only except for RO which includes install.
-Labor for Softener and whole house filtration is $550
-I later found out that this dealer is not a licensed plumber. Which is why the install price is reasonable vs. other plumbing quotes that I received. I received some quotes as high as $2500 for only install of the three systems.
-So labor at $550 is very reasonable. Although I believe he's trying to make up margin on the equipment? Can anyone comment on whether that equipment prices is good?
-I couldn't find the 5810 XTR2 softener system online, but did find the 5800 XTR2 for just above $1k. I know flow is a bit lower at around 21gpm but can also select 1" option. What other difference between the 5800 and the 5810?
-btw, I almost went with the 7000 valve until I found out that it had been discontinued.
-finally are their any local installers that anyone would recommend? Dittohead, after reading a bunch of your posts, I just today realized you are in Ontario, CA. would love any recommendations or input.
I'm in N. Orange County, CA
Appreciate the effort in reading this long post and thank you in advance for any replies.
Edgar
First post here!
I've been on a path of researching water softeners and whole house filtration systems. Every time I feel I have a good handle on what I'm going to buy, I decide to do more research and change my mind. From what equipment to buy to whether I should have a licensed plumber install vs. DIY w/ help from contractor friend, etc.
So far, I learned tons from various sites including this forum (read lots of post for Dittohead among others) over the past several weeks. Started looking for a water softener since my municipal water service (yorba linda water district) has 18 to 22 GPG hardness...varies due to water being supplied by two sources. Later I decided to look at whole house filtration and looked at product like aquasana, pelican and others. Was about to get a Pelican PC600 but then ventured into the world of upflow vs. downflow systems w/ backwash.
Water quality & other pertinent info
- 1" main water supply
-22.6 GPG (max) hardness, chlorine and fluoride.
-table of full report attached to this thread
-4 to 5 people in the home
-3 bath
-water usage from 250 to 350 gallons per day (using 300gal/day average)
- based on my calc: 300 * 22.6 = 6780 grains/day required. assuming I'd like a 9 day regen cycle. = 61,020 grains.
Base on my research this is what I'm considering. Pricing is based on a recent quote I received this morning from a water filtration fleck dealer.
Softener:
-Fleck 5810 valve with XTR2 (touchscreen) Controller
-2.0 CF tank 64,000 grain, with 10% crosslink resin
-toyed with the idea of using potassium chloride vs. sodium chloride for water softener decided I'll stick with sodium chloride due to recurring cost. I can just bypass to water my plants without sodium.
$1800 equipment only
Whole house filtration:
-Same 5810 valve with sxt controller
-2.0 CF tank
- carbon only without KDF 55 (Fleck dealer I met with today said he could do a custom carbon blend based on my water quality.
$1200 equipment only
Drinking:
-RO system with possible Alkaline water combo.
$300 RO or $400 if combo RO & akaline (includes install)
Additional comments and questions:
-is this a good setup with three systems? My primarily goal is to eliminate hard water. Second is to remove some of the chlorine and other contaminants for the showers and bathing.,etc. Third, would be if I could add the RO and cancel my $50/ per month water deliver service.
-whole filtration would get plumbed first from the main inlet and water softener secondary inline. it was recommend not to install a sediment filter since it would be additional maintenance and frankly wouldn't need since the drinking water would have RO.
-should I still consider the Pelican PC600 filtration for around $750? this is an upflow non-backwash system. media is GAC with some KDF55. rated at 10gpm.
-The above pricing is for equipment only except for RO which includes install.
-Labor for Softener and whole house filtration is $550
-I later found out that this dealer is not a licensed plumber. Which is why the install price is reasonable vs. other plumbing quotes that I received. I received some quotes as high as $2500 for only install of the three systems.
-So labor at $550 is very reasonable. Although I believe he's trying to make up margin on the equipment? Can anyone comment on whether that equipment prices is good?
-I couldn't find the 5810 XTR2 softener system online, but did find the 5800 XTR2 for just above $1k. I know flow is a bit lower at around 21gpm but can also select 1" option. What other difference between the 5800 and the 5810?
-btw, I almost went with the 7000 valve until I found out that it had been discontinued.
-finally are their any local installers that anyone would recommend? Dittohead, after reading a bunch of your posts, I just today realized you are in Ontario, CA. would love any recommendations or input.
I'm in N. Orange County, CA
Appreciate the effort in reading this long post and thank you in advance for any replies.
Edgar