Fleck 7000 Installation Questions

[btables]

We just finished building our new house and moved in. I need to get a water softener. I'm on city water and the water quality is 17 GPG, iron is at 0.1 ppm, Calcium 210 ppm, Magnesium 210 ppm and Manganese is 0.056 ppm.

After reading through these forums and doing some research I think I'm going to go with the Fleck 7000SXT. It's just me, my wife, and 2 kids in the house so would 48k be a good size?

I installed a water heater at my last house with copper piping so I'm hoping I have the skills to install this myself as well. However, the new house is all PEX piping, which I've never done. I saw a section of 1" PEX that the plumbers labeled "Water Softener Rough In" so I believe I just need to cut into that, add an elbow fitting to each end, and run 1" pex from the fittings to the water softener. Does all that sound correct?

[ditttohead]

I would recommend a 2 Cu. ft. 7000SXT for maximum efficiency. It would be listed as a 64,000 grain unit, but its actual real world capacity would be closer to 48000 grains.

4 people x 65 gallons x 18 grains x 7 days minimum between regenerations = 32,760 grains. A 2 cu. ft. unit would regenerate about every 10-12 days.

Hope this helps!

[btables]

Thanks, I appreciate that! I didn't realize the real world capacity was that much lower. I'll go with the 2 cu. ft. unit instead. I'll be connecting it into my 1" PEX line so I should choose the Noryl 1" Male NPT connection, correct?

How does this look for options? Should I change the distributor tube to 32MM HI-FLOW Distributor?

Insulating Jacket: None
Brine Tank Size: 18x33 Round Brine Tank
Res-Care Feeder: None
Resin Media Option: Hi-Capacity Resin - 8% Crosslink
Distributor Tube: 1.05" STD Distributor
Turbulator Option: None (12x52 tank)
Plumbing Connection: BYPASS, Noryl 1" Male NPT

[ditttohead]

My personal preference would be the 18x40 brine tank, I like to ignore my system for 6 months to a year before dealing with salt, but it is taller, lifting the bags that much higher may be a problem for those who have difficulty lifting 40-50 pound bags.
Go with the 32MM, it almost guarantees a better bottom screen. The 32 MM bottom screens are only available in the highest quality version by Pentair or Clack. It also gets rid of the internal 1.05" x 32mm adapter which you saw on a very recent thread was installed improperly from the assembler.

10% crosslink if it is available is preferred, but not critical

no turbulator

Plumbing connections,bypass is a must, match your existing plumbing size. Noryl threaded is correct since you have pex. See if you can get the 90 degree kit, 61601.

[silversaver]

highly recommended 90 degree kit if you plan on running the pipes on wall and bring your softener closer to wall. I wish I had order the kit on my installation and now I'mm running my 7000 sideway....

[Mikey]

Is there a similar 90° kit for older 2510 installations?

[ditttohead]

Yes, 19620-01, sorry about the bad picture.

[Mikey]

Perfect; thanks. Is there a comprehensive catalog of Fleck parts & accessories available to cutomer types?

[ditttohead]

Not really, mainly just to dealers, not end users. Their basic catalog is over 100 pages, and this does not include complete valves, only parts and components for valves. Then there are tanks, filters, housings, pumps, etc. Pentair owns a lot!

You can check them out at pentairaqua.com

[btables]

Thanks for all the great advice. I'm going ahead and ordering what you suggested with the 90 degree connection. As far as connecting the softener to my 1" PEX line, do the SharkBite fasteners work well? I don't have PEX crimpers and such so I was wondering if those "tool-less" fasteners work well for connecting a softener or if they are more of a gimmick.

[Mikey]

Perfect; thanks. Is there a comprehensive catalog of Fleck parts & accessories available to cutomer types?

I found a complete catalog online about a month ago. I don't know how current it is, and the prices are probably not accurate. It wasn't searchable, just low-res scanned images of the complete parts list, with a page-number list at the top of the table of contents -- you click on a page number and that page pops up. But it was sort-of useful. I made a better index -- you can find the page number, knowing the part number -- but now I've lost the site. Has anybody seen anything like this? I'll trade a copy of the index for the URL .

[ditttohead]

If the shark bites are done correctly, they should be trouble free for decades.