Water Softener Recommendation

I need a new water softener and am considering the Autotrol 255-MT-480, which includes a turbulator, and a Clack WS-1 unit. They would be installed by the sellers. My water hardness is 35 and iron is 2. Which one should I go with? Also, It seems that the warranties are really provided by the sellers, which makes the expected strength of the sellers going forward quite important. Is this the way warranties are typically provided in the industry?

I myself would go with the Clack valve between the two choices...
Easier to work on in the future than the Autotrol valve.
Also the Clack can be programed for different times with in the cleaning cycle.

I would have to agree with Akpsdvan. Of the 2 choices, Clack would be the better unit.

Thanks. What about the warranties? Does Clack warranty the product? It looks to me like the warranty is from the installation company.

Yes the warranty is performed by the company you buy it from. They in turn will get credit for a part that is within the warranty period.

The warranty on Autotrol, Clack or Fleck is full nonprorated 5 years except on "wearable parts" like pistons and seals. It is a factory warranty handled through the manufacturer's distributors to the distributor's dealer. The dealer's customer has the dealer troubleshoot and he tells the distributor what he has found and the distributor replaces the part if they buy the dealer's troubleshooting as correct. If not they and the dealer come to agreement on what is bad and replace it. In some cases the old part is returned to the distributor which may have to send it to the manufacturer for testing and credit or replacement.

Of course a dealer can replace all the parts he wants to but normally only a bad part would be credited but that depends on who the distributor is. Most master stocking distributors of Autotrol, Clack and Fleck do as I described.

Thanks.

How would you compare a Fleck 7000 to the Clack? Also, what do you know about IWT products? Looks like they're made in China and distributed out of Canada.

No idea about IWT....
As for the Fleck 7000 valve, it is a good one.
Just what are you looking for in a valve?

polarbear65 said:

Thanks.

How would you compare a Fleck 7000 to the Clack? Also, what do you know about IWT products? Looks like they're made in China and distributed out of Canada.

Click to expand...

You don't have to order out of Canada. I am an authorized dealer for IWT. E-mail me and I can e-mail you a brochure. affordablewtr@aol.com

I live in Phoenix and have very hard water. I've started looking into water softeners, but am not sure what would be the best way to go. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

You need to have a thorough water test don first but... once the hardness and whatever else may be in there is determined you have a couple choices. You can buy one of the el crap'o units from the big box stores or you can call the rip off guy from culligman et.al. or you can find a reputable dealer/installer that sells either Clack or Fleck and either put it in yourself or have him install it. What I'm saying is to try hard not to get ripped off by either paying too much or getting too little.

Is it a huge no-no to soften the water going to an irrigation system? I've got a small garden in the backyard on a drip system and the hardness just kills the drip emitters. Also, that drip tubing stuff only works for about 2 weeks before the calcification fills up the pores and you've got non-drip tubing. I would imagine that the increase in sodium would be something to be concerned about, but I only know enough to be dangerous.

softener

Plants do not like sodium. If you are going to soften the irrigation water, you have to use Potassium Chloride, which is much more expensive than salt.