Compare Fleck softeners

[OwyheeHome]

What is the difference between the Fleck 7000 and the Fleck 5600? I have fairly hard water and need something that is around for the long haul.

Thanks for your time.

[Bob999]

The primary difference between a 7000 SXT and 5600 SXT is size of the internal water passages--the 7000 is a 1.25 in valve internally and the 5600 is 3/4 in internally. The larger passages in the 7000 means it is suitable to higher flow situations and handles larger media tanks as compared to the 5600.

The 5600 is available without "electronics"--and those who are concerned about the durability of electronics find that preferable. All 7000 valves have electronics.

Both are, in my opinion, high quality valves and have a long expected life.

You need to specifiy what you mean by "fairly hard water" and tell us about the size of your supply lines to get a more specific answer whether the 5600 or 7000 is better suited for your situation.

[Peter Griffin]

What is the difference between the Fleck 7000 and the Fleck 5600? I have fairly hard water and need something that is around for the long haul.

Thanks for your time.

Regardless of what you buy, proper installation and routine maintenance will go a long way toward long product life. I stay away from the big box store brands and especially cabinet models because the valve heads are not as high quality as some other brands. That said though, even these models should give you many years of use if properly cared for. It's always a balance between cost and quality. Make sure to properly size the unit and have it properly installed.

[Gary Slusser]

What is the difference between the Fleck 7000 and the Fleck 5600? I have fairly hard water and need something that is around for the long haul.

The 7000 has more features than the 5600. It can be used to service much larger tanks than the 5600 because the 7000 is 1.25" and the 5600 is 3/4".

The Fleck spec sheet for the 5600 shows it can be used on tanks from 6" to 12" in diameter for softeners and 6" to 10" for filters. A 12" tank is a 2.0 cuft softener.

When the 7000 came out on Feb 1st 2005 I started selling them. By May/June of 2006 I stopped because of problems with them and the variable brining using more water on a weekly basis than a regular softener without the feature. They are harder to work on than the Clack WS-1 and 5600. I started to sell the Clack WS-1 in Jan 2004 and had next to no problems with 340+/- by the time I stopped selling the 7000. I have had only 27 problems with the Clack WS-1 in 1300 sales over the last 6 yrs as of next Jan 21st. And the Clack WS-1 is the easiest to work on of all control valves. You can replace all 5 replaceable parts and have teh water back on in under 30 minutes with nothing more than a pair of Channel Lock type pliers. And the parts are much less expensive than any Fleck control valve.

[Cass]

Gary...can you post front and back pics of the Flecks

[OwyheeHome]

I just did a quick look around on the web. Clack WS-1 seem to be in the $600 to $900 range while the Fleck 5600 seems to be in the $400 to $900 range. I assume that these price differences reflect store overhead and capacity.

Speaking of which, what capacity do I need with 3-4 person household with pretty heavy calcium in the water -alkali at that (can't find my test results at the moment). No silt. The calcium is such that we have destroyed two in-line water heaters in two years. We are trying not to destroy a third.

[OwyheeHome]

Water usage rate?

Am still searching for my test results. May have to get a new test done.

Thanks

[Gary Slusser]

Cass, sorry, I don't have front and back pictures.

SFR is the constant service flow rate in gpm of the volume of resin in the softener. That figure must be higher than your peak demand water use flow rate gpm. If the constant SFR gpm is exceeded, the softener will not remove all your hardness, or iron and manganese if any. The only cure for that is a larger softener, or use much less water at a time.

[Gary Slusser]

I just did a quick look around on the web. Clack WS-1 seem to be in the $600 to $900 range while the Fleck 5600 seems to be in the $400 to $900 range. I assume that these price differences reflect store overhead and capacity.

Clack, Fleck, Autotrol etc. are the brand names of the control valve, the softeners do not have a brand name, so we call them by the brand of control valve.

Pricing depends on the size also.

You can find all the info you need about sizing in the link in my signature.

[OwyheeHome]

Bought one of those quick and easy home water tests. I know it is not scientifically accurate, but will give me a ball park. I live way out in the sticks, so getting water samples in to a lab is an all day thing. Anyhow, the test indicated I had a hardness in excess of 250 ppm and less than 425 ppm.

No Chorine (home well -- to be expected).
Alkalinity 180
PH7.0
Copper 0
Iron 0
Arsenic 0 (rare for where I live)
Nitrate 8 (surrounded by alfalfa)
Nitrite 0

We are a 3 member household with an in-line water heater. Our teenage son is gone all day, but tends to take long showers. Our water usage rate other than that, I can't imagine how to calculate.

Is this enough to get a recommendation for capacity??

[OwyheeHome]

I forgot to mention that the house is supplied by a 3/4 inch supply line. Water pressure has been a problem for us and we are taking delivery of a Pside-Kick today and I hope to be getting 1 hp Gould pump in the near future, so hopefully our enemic water situation will improve. Right now there is marginally enough water pressure to kick on the in-line water heater. We have to run the bathroom sink while taking a shower to assure that there is enough flow through the hot water heater for it to kick on. Hopefully, the Pside Kick will fix that and the new pump will provide more than enough pressure..

[Gary Slusser]

I think you'll find that your hardness has scaled up your demand water heater and is reducing the water flow through it. Until you get rid of the restriction, you won't be able to get more water through it but... If you aren't getting enough flow through a shower head and do when you turn on the sink faucet, something at he shower is blocked some. Probably the shower head holes.

You have between 15 and 25 gpg of hardness. That is extreme hardness and you certainly need a softener. The manual for your demand water heater should mention a maximum hardness or you void the warranty. And you are way over the max hardness they usually state.

A softener's capacity is one thing, the critical part of sizing a softener is the constant SFR gpm required for the peak demand flow rate gpm the softener has to be capable of treating. You would need 37k of regenerated capacity for a regeneration based on 1480 gals, or on average once every 8 days. If you have read the sizing info on my web site, you know I need more info to be able to size a softener and I can't do that in a post or email.

[OwyheeHome]

We are on the same page about water restrictions. I had already thought of the water heater and the shower head. However, the water heater is new -- a replacement for the clogged old one. We also put in a new shower head at the same time. The water delivery pipe in my house is 3/4 pex less than a year old. Despite the new systems, the water pressure fluxuates radically. I am taking delivery of a new pressure valve system Pside-kick today to see if that corrects the problem. I am also getting a new Gould pump. So any flow measurements (such as from the tub) taken now would not accurately reflect the new system.

I will go to your web site and do a "dry run" to start getting familiar with the process of calculating.

Thanks for your patience.