Basically an industry standard softener using a Clack control valve. The way they show their installation in the manual is only softening the water to the water heater which is stupid and a waste of money. I'm sure it's more expensive than the same thing (or similar industry standard softener) from a local independent water treatment pro.

Whether the 1054 is correctly sized or not... we'd need more info on the water conditions. Hardness, iron, manganese, PH, TDS, and such along with the # of people in the home and the # of bathrooms. Need to know the SFR also.

I don't recommend filtering out the chlorine of the whole house. It is in there for a reason. You should consider an under sink RO in the kitchen for drinking, cooking, and ice maker water. That will get you the equivalent of the water you buy at the WalMart water machine.

Thanks for the quick response.

The water tested no iron or manganese. The other details are as follows: TDS - 270, PH-7.1 and the house has 2-1/2 bath with a family of 4. Not sure how to get the SFR?

Thanks,

Whoever recommended the 1054 has no idea how to correctly size a softener and absolutely no idea of efficient softener operation.

The 1054 (1.5 cu ft resin) would be small. You'd be regenerating every 6 days but you'd be using 15 lbs/ cu ft (22.5 lbs of salt total). Very inefficient.

A correctly sized softener would be a 2.5 cube softener (1354) regenerating every 7 days using 6 lbs/ cu ft of resin (15 lbs total). Far more efficient in salt and water use.

The more efficient the softener is and if set up correctly you use less salt and less water which SAVES you money.

Thanks for your input. I believe he incorrectly looked at the impression series spec - that has a higher capacity at 1054 compared to the Impression RC series at 1054. I'll try and get a pricing for the IMRC 1354 system.

Thanks

1.5 cu ft of resin has the same K regardless of the model. The hardness removal capacity is based on the salt dose and 15 lbs/cu ft of resin is the max dose. All softeners with 1.5 cu ft of resin will have the same hardness removal capacity regardless of the brand or model.

You ought to...

Get a water test from an independent lab. An independent lab has no agenda and won't be trying to sell you water treatment equipment. This is a MUST DO because without it everything is a guess. A quickie water test from Sears or a water softener company won't be as accurate (and possibly not as competent) as from a certified independent lab.

If you're on a water system the water utility can supply you with the specs of the water AS IT LEAVES their facility but that is not necessarily representative of the water conditions at your water meter.

Hit the Yellow Pages and call at least three local water treatment pros. Make sure you call at least one of the big dogs like Kinetico or Culligan for comparison and at least a couple independent pros. DON'T TELL THEM YOU HAD YOUR WATER TESTED.

Give each an opportunity to offer suggestions and provide you with a quote to meet your water treatment needs. IGNORE ANY THAT DON'T TEST YOUR WATER THEMSELVES as they can't speak intelligently to water treatment without knowing what needs to be treated.

Ask lots of questions. Softening the entire house or just the water heater (IMO a srupid idea)? Warranty, parts & labor or just parts, how long and on exactly what? Install, permits required, licensed plumber? Routine maintenance and costs? Do they stock parts? Response time for emergency (water leak) calls? If they don't explain things to your satisfaction that is a good indicator of how you'll be treated after the sale.

After they've gone use your water test to compare with theirs. Are all your treatment needs being addressed?

Ask your neighbors if they have any water treatment experience. They might tell you who's good or who to avoid.

Come back here and post the specific recommendations and hardware components with the costs and we'll give you our opinions.

Just to clarify a few things. The diagram shows the system plumbed to the whole house. The WH is the first thing in line.
Yes you want to remove the chlorine before it comes into the home. It has served its purpose to protect the municipal water supply and needs to be removed.

The Impression RC is a vortech tank (with a mid plate). Upper holds carbon and lower is resin bed. The vortech tank configuration has higher flow rates and better backwashing abilty. A 10x54 IMRC vortech tank only has 30k capacity so the capacity would not be enough for your family. A 13x54 RC 45k capacity will work just fine and be efficient.

Lets look at the numbers
2.5 cuft softener (no carbon)
7days x 6240 (based on 26x240gpd)= 43,680/15= 2,912 grains per lb of salt. 30/7x15=64lbs salt per month

1.5cuft IMRC
6days x 6240 = 37,440/9= 4,160 grains per lb of salt
30/6x9=45lbs salt per month
The 13x54 IMRC will also supply 13gpm SFR and a peak of 20gpm.
When we crunch the numbers (using your figures) the 13x54 IMRC is the more efficient way to go.

I do agree that a reverse osmosis system for your drinking water is the best and most economical way to go.
RJ

My mistake on the installation diagram but we disagree on chlorine removal whole house.

I NEVER advocate any action that can/may put others health at risk while you choose to do so. A significant difference of opinion and a choice that should be SERIOUSLY considered by anyone contemplating whole house antibacterial removal.

Antibacterials added to water supplies are intended to assure water safety right up to the faucet aerator... not just to the water meter at the curb. If there were no heath safety risks in home plumbing systems the code wouldn't cover cross-contamination and air gaps.

And your numbers seem off...

2.5 cube softener regenerated @ 6 lbs/cu ft of salt (15 lbs total salt dose) with a 24 hr reserve calculated in will regenerate every 8 days and has a 3333 Grains of Capacity PER lb of salt (salt efficiency) with 1923 gallons between regens.

Again, my mistake RJ. Your numbers were for an 13x54 IMRC which is only 1.5 cubes of resin, the same undersized capacity as the 1054, and has the disadvantage of a Vortec tank.

IMO opinion the OP is better off with a standard 2.5 cube softener (reliable, more efficient than a 1.5 cube unit in any configuration) and proven), no carbon filter, and an RO for the kitchen sink.

Thanks guys. I was quoted around 1400 for this installed and 2200 for culligan installed - gold series without their aqua sensor or 2500 with aqua sensor. I don't have the pricing for 13x54 yet.

Thanks justalurker for the info. Do you have some suggestions/web sites where I can get a good 2.5cu ft softener for $730 shipped?

Also, a lot of sites seem to suggest that chlorine is bad for the resin and hence it is better to remove chlorine before it gets into the softener?

"... a lot of sites seem to suggest that chlorine is bad for the resin and hence it is better to remove chlorine before it gets into the softener"

And every one of those sites will be happy to sell you the hardware to remove the chlorine... but they don't have to live with or drink your water.

Whether or not to filter chlorine whole house is a on going debate. Chlorine will shorten the life of resin but softeners seem to last 10, 15 years and even longer on municipal water if the the chlorine levels are within the recommended guidelines.

To filter the chlorine at the POE abandons any bacterial protection in the home's water, plumbing, fixtures, and appliances which is a risk I won't take and I don't recommend that others take that risk either.

The forum prefers we don't make where to buy recommendations in posts and I don't seem to be able to email you through Gardenweb.

One thing to remember about online softeners... by definition there is no service and when you do-it-yourself there's no one else to blame.

Thanks for the information. This has all been quite helpful.

Not sure why the Gardenweb email won't work. But you can try je_0 (at) live (dot) com if you have any recommendations for a 2.5 cu ft system.

Thanks,

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