ditttohead
Water systems designer, R&D
A cu. ft. of water softener resin has a theoretical capacity of 32,000 grains if it regenerated with 16-18 pounds of salt. You can regenerate the same cu. ft. of resin with 6 pounds and get 20,000 grains or 8 pounds and get 24,000 grains removal. These lowere salt setting are obviously far more efficient. The lower salt settings can allow some hardness leakage, but in residential systems, this is rarely noticed.
See the chart below for the manufacturers chart on capacity vs leakage at different salt amounts.
See the chart below for the manufacturers chart on capacity vs leakage at different salt amounts.