Since this review ran quite a bit longer than I intended, I'm going to run through some highlights for people who don't feel like reading the whole thing:
1) We had a salt-free Pelican softener before and I promise that salt free doesn't really work. If you don't want sodium in your water, just use Potassium in a regular softener instead.
2) If you choose to install this yourself, the process isn't hard at all - but don't forget to fill the brine tank with water before the first recharge. (The resin does come pre-charged so you won't have to worry about that for a while.)
3) According to other reviewers, installing the resin is a hassle; but, mine came from ABC Water Equipment with the resin already installed. They were also super helpful when I called them with a quick programming question.
Now, on to the real review!
Our water isn't super hard (around 12gr); but, the benefits of using a water softener are still well worth it to us - especially after coming from an area with harder water where we got used to using one.
About 5 years ago, I decided we didn't want to deal with salt or reverse-osmosis anymore, so we 'upgraded' to a salt-free Pelican 'softener' as well as a matching whole house filter. The whole house filter was excellent; but, the salt-free softener didn't appear to do much of anything. I kept a log as the hardness deposits started to build up - and it now looks like we never had a softener at all...
Since we're in the process of remodeling our kitchen, I decided it was also time to switch back to a real softener. I almost bought into the more expensive Kinetico or Culligan systems, but opted to try this Fleck unit out because of the massive price difference. It's seriously hard to justify the additional cost when the actual capabilities are identical; and, who cares if this lasts 5 years less since I can buy 10 of them for the same price. :)
We also decided to use Potassium instead of Salt this time around since I still don't want the additional sodium in our drinking water. I know it's more expensive; but, even with our family of 5, we're talking about just barely over 1 bag per month.
I was going to use a plumber to install this, but when the water softener arrived I decided to just give it a try myself. Thanks to the Internet and Shark Bite connectors, I was able to easily get it done in an afternoon. I did have one issue with the programming - but I called the seller (ABC Water Equipment) and they were extremely helpful and only took a couple of minutes to get everything ironed out over the phone.
I should mention that this unit came from ABC Water Equipment with the resin already installed - which seems to be the hardest part of the installation based on other reviews I read.
Since the resin was pre-charged and I didn't want to waste any potassium if I didn't need to - it took a while before it was ready to charge the first time. I'm glad I started the charge manually because I hadn't realized the brine bucket is supposed to be full of water before a recharge starts. I hadn't pre-filled it, so I ended up running 2 charge cycles that first time.
We also hooked this softener up inline with an
Aqua-Pure Water Filter System
since we've loved having our whole house filtered.
Anyway, now that it's installed, the water quality is excellent!
It's unbelievable how big of a difference softened water makes to how quickly everything gets dirty. Our shower stays looking cleaner longer - and we've always liked the feel of soft water. I wish I had skipped on the salt-free softener experiment altogether, but I guess you live & learn. :)
It probably sounds dumb, but water softened with Potassium has a slightly different feel than water softened with salt. It also tastes better in my opinion - although that may be in my head since I hate the thought of drinking 'sodium-enriched' water...
At the end of the day, I would definitely recommend this softener to just about anybody. It was fairly easy to install; but, it's also pretty inexpensive to have a plumber come do it if you don't feel like tackling the project. The end result is far superior than the salt-free system - and identical to the results from the premium brands. I can't think of any downside to using this system!
[*** Update 4/27/2015 ***]
This softener is still working flawlessly; but, I learned the hard way that it's not smart to completely fill the brine tank with potassium. Unlike salt, it cakes into a solid mass at the bottom of the tank and then doesn't dissolve well.
Please keep in mind that this issue is due to the potassium, and has nothing to do with this softener.
Anyway, to resolve the issue I had to break up the caked-up potassium with a garden transplanting tool and then recharge a couple of times until it was fully dissolved.
Now, I'm keeping the potassium level deliberately low (about half a bag at a time) so it won't cake up like that again. It's a little more of a hassle since I have to monitor it more often; but it's not a huge deal since I still only have to add potassium ever couple of weeks.
| Manufacturer | PENTAIR |
|---|---|
| Part Number | WS48-56SXT |
| Item Weight | 0.01 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 37 x 16 x 16 inches |
| Item model number | WS48-56SXT |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | 48,000 Grains |
| Color | Black |
| Power Source | Adapter |
| Voltage | 24 Volts |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
