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zhangkan

Gravel Underbed refused by OPWC

zhangkan
10 years ago

I am placing an order of 5600sxt from Ohiopurewater. As a lot of members here recommended, I asked for the top basket and gravel underbed.The reply is all their softener come with top basket. But for gravel underbed:
quote:
Per the resin manufacturer, we don't recommend using gravel in softener tanks that are less than 12" in diameter.
You need to understand, that adding 5-6" of gravel to the bottom of the resin tank will raise the level of resin inside the tank. This reduces the open "Freeboard" space that is required for the resin to expand properly during the 1st Backwash cycle.
So.... if you want to design the softener and want to add gravel, against our recommendations, it will add $20.00 to the price of the softener.... & ...... we cannot guarantee the unit will operate properly over time, so there is No Return of the unit, for any reason.
end quote.

Can anyone tell me if this make sense?

Comments (10)

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    You are being told is that gravel costs money and it's heavy and costly to ship so you can't have it for free.

    To further discourage you they are threatening not to stand behind what they sell unless you accept what they want to supply.

    Not a great way to start a transaction IMO.

    Your choice is simple... stand up or bend over. There are lots of online softener sellers...

  • zhangkan
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yes, I learned most of the knowledge from online researching. So I want to confirm my understanding is right. I saw people recommending this vendor a lot. I guess I have to try somewhere else then.

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    People recommend a vendor until they no longer deserve to be recommended and then move on.

    Buying water treatment online (you hope) you're buying quality components at a good price and then you're on your own. If you have a warranty failure you'll generally be back in service much sooner if you buy the parts you need cause you'd be doing the labor anyway.

    I'd like a nickel for every online softener buyer that gets a piece of crap top basket that will crack and fail instead of a real Fleck or Clack top basket that is far more reliable but costs more.

    There are lots of tricks that softener sellers use to keep their margins as high as possible.

    This post was edited by justalurker on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 19:33

  • zhangkan
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    So what's the wise way you would recommend?

  • justalurker
    10 years ago

    I've found that if one looks around one can usually find a local water treatment pro that sells industry standard softeners who service what they sell, stock parts, and are reasonably priced.

    Paying a dollar for a dollar's worth is the deal people should seek out. Those who want a dollar's worth and want to pay $.50 for it usually end up getting $.50 worth and paying $.75 for it.

    JMO...

  • AliceHasLeftTheBuilding
    10 years ago

    "You need to understand, that adding 5-6" of gravel to the bottom of the resin tank will raise the level of resin inside the tank. This reduces the open "Freeboard" space that is required for the resin to expand properly during the 1st Backwash cycle."

    Translation: Our tanks are a bit undersized.

    Additionally, if you relied on OPW to calculate the correct softener size for you, it would be a good idea to double-check.

    This post was edited by aliceinwonderland_id on Wed, Apr 3, 13 at 9:45

  • zhangkan
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for both of you for the time and suggestions.

    Regarding online or local, I actually did search for a local company/vendor as well. For some reason, I didn't find one selling fleck models. There are a few selling their own brands, promoting their own concept at the same time, which does buy me at all. I am comfortable doing the plumbing work. With the help of the members here, I think I could handle to setting of the softener and maintenance. That is why I opt to the online shopping route. Of course, quality parts is the main objective and base line for a long term use.

  • ksarny
    10 years ago

    Only problem with not buying from OPW (or wherever you choose online), is they all sell almost the same exact stuff. So too small a tank there will be too small a tank somewhere else, lol.

  • zhangkan
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't know if that tank is too small or not. As so many people are using the same tank, I guess the size should be ok. The problem of OPW is they don't want to sell the bag of stone to me. Their attitude drives me away. I have pulled the trigger to order a softener from another vendor. Thanks to all the replies here, I learned a lot and finalized on my setup. I will come back and post my setting. Will definitely need all the help here again.

  • AliceHasLeftTheBuilding
    10 years ago

    "Only problem with not buying from OPW (or wherever you choose online), is they all sell almost the same exact stuff. So too small a tank there will be too small a tank somewhere else, lol."

    There is a range of tank sizes that may be used. For example, a 1 cubic ft softener could be sold in any of the following tanks:

    9x48
    10x35
    10x40

    sometimes
    10x44
    10x48

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