Any DIY water softener suggested brands?

[SideShow Bob]

Hey Irving,
is it true, that when making an insurance claim, not to use the word "Flood", but rather use the phrase "Water Damage" ?

[Irving]

Not that I'm aware of, because either way the insurance company is going to find the origin of the water to see if it is covered by the policy. The company shouldn't expect insureds to use specific wording in order to determine coverage. I often times get sent out on a loss where the person calling in the loss just doesn't do a good job describing what is going on, so the inside person just says, "I'll send someone out to look" and then I get to show up.

So in conclusion, 9 times out of 10 when someone's basement is flooded, they'll call and say "My basement is flooded." Whether or not it is covered depends on how it got flooded. There are employees out there that may make a mistake and shut a claim down prematurely, but a phone call should be all that is needed to at least get someone out there to make sure.

[Ramsker]

Just as a follow-up . . . I ordered the Fleck 5600 SXT from one of the Amazon-listed distributors. I ordered from them directly, as it ended up being a little cheaper (talked to 2 different suppliers and they both said "it's a little cheaper off our website than Amazon". Not sure when I will actually get it set up, as it's in transit and I want to get the water heater and sprinkler line re-route done before hooking it up anyway. But I will post updates on when it's done and how it works. My guess is I'll have it up and running by the end of the month.

[Ramsker]

Plumber came yesterday and replaced the water heater (AO Smith) and re-routed the sprinkler line to stay off the water softener. I had built out the bypass plumbing for the softener this weekend and hooked it up last night after the other work was all done. So far, so good . . . no leaks and the soft water is working its way through the house. I'll post updates good/bad as time passes. Was not too hard to install . . . was a good opportunity to learn/improve soldering skills.

[Ramsker]

Resurrecting my semi-old thread to post an update. The AO Smith water heater just FAILED . . . was in the utility room yesterday working on getting the sprinklers going for the first time this year. Went to turn on the water at the shut-off in there and noticed water in the water heater pan. Stuck my finger in and it was warm. Sucked that out with the Shop Vac and it filled right up again--was not coming from the pressure relief or the top of the tank. I go in that utility room fairly often just to check things, so I think tha tank started to leak pretty recently. I got lucky and caught it before I had a huge & expensive mess on my hands.

Plumber who installed the water heater was back out today with a replacement under warranty. Once we got the "old" heater outside, we removed the anode rod . . . and it was completely gone. Only had the steel wire attached to the hex head. Seems all I read/heard when I was reseraching water softeners was that they extended water heater life by reducing scale. Now that I search more specifically on anode rods and water heaters, it seems water softeners increase the conductivity of the water in the tank and accelerate the anode rod eating away??

Not sure if my water softener needs a little adjustment, but it was set based on the hardness tests I did. At any rate, I wanted to post this to see if any of the plumbing experts had thoughts on the subject and also in the hopes that I can save someone else a little money and potential misery. If you have a water softener . . . you might want to check the anode rod(s) when you do a drain/maintenance. Out side of that, the Fleck 5600 has worked really well.

[Great-Kazoo]

Resurrecting my semi-old thread to post an update. The AO Smith water heater just FAILED . . . was in the utility room yesterday working on getting the sprinklers going for the first time this year. Went to turn on the water at the shut-off in there and noticed water in the water heater pan. Stuck my finger in and it was warm. Sucked that out with the Shop Vac and it filled right up again--was not coming from the pressure relief or the top of the tank. I go in that utility room fairly often just to check things, so I think tha tank started to leak pretty recently. I got lucky and caught it before I had a huge & expensive mess on my hands.

Plumber who installed the water heater was back out today with a replacement under warranty. Once we got the "old" heater outside, we removed the anode rod . . . and it was completely gone. Only had the steel wire attached to the hex head. Seems all I read/heard when I was reseraching water softeners was that they extended water heater life by reducing scale. Now that I search more specifically on anode rods and water heaters, it seems water softeners increase the conductivity of the water in the tank and accelerate the anode rod eating away??

Not sure if my water softener needs a little adjustment, but it was set based on the hardness tests I did. At any rate, I wanted to post this to see if any of the plumbing experts had thoughts on the subject and also in the hopes that I can save someone else a little money and potential misery. If you have a water softener . . . you might want to check the anode rod(s) when you do a drain/maintenance. Out side of that, the Fleck 5600 has worked really well.

what type pellets are you using in the softener?

I got away from the salt and went with potassium chloride .
We buy the ones Costco carries for $15 ish
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Nature-s-Ow...oride/50354200

[Ramsker]

what type pellets are you using in the softener?

I got away from the salt and went with potassium chloride .
We buy the ones Costco carries for $15 ish
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Nature-s-Ow...oride/50354200

Been using the salt from Sam's Club . . . Morton Pure and Natural Water Softener Crystals.

Is the potassium chloride less conductive than the sodium chloride? Would it eat the anodes less aggressively?