Home Water softer and filtration system

[adam909]

So wife got a some quotes for a water softner and filtration system for the house. About fell down when she told me what they want to charge. 8 to 10k. So im looking at doing it my self. Cant be hard, Water comes out of main and through the tanks and then ties back into the house.

Has anyone done a DIY system? Where can I buy good equipment? Looking for a system that I can maintain easily and easy to get parts/filters for.

 

[Rajobigguy]

So wife got a some quotes for a water softner and filtration system for the house. About fell down when she told me what they want to charge. 8 to 10k. So im looking at doing it my self. Cant be hard, Water comes out of main and through the tanks and then ties back into the house.

Has anyone done a DIY system? Where can I buy good equipment? Looking for a system that I can maintain easily and easy to get parts/filters for.

We did a Pelican treatment system which consists of a treatment tank and pre filter. The pre filter that it came with is a 5 micron filter with carbon element that I upgraded to the larger filter with a 1 micron filter. It's not a true soft water system in that it doesn't remove the minerals but rather treats the water so that the minerals don't gather and cling to the surfaces. Our drinking water is treated at the source. We didn't want the additional sodium of a true soft water system and I was tired of lugging bags of salt. The system works pretty good with very little calcium deposits. Total cost was about $1500 and took me about 2 hrs. to install.

 

[PDQH2O]

Watching this thread. Needing a new water and currently doing research on a number of water softener solutions to extend the life of th heater. Leaning toward the DIY option as well. One solution I was told about by someone in the industry, is an electronic descaling system That wraps around the heater supply, plugs in and is ready to go with no maintenance. Not sure how much difference there is between descaling and the filtering types beside the install cost. Descale systems are readily available and only a couple hundred bucks. All my appliances have filters that are regularly changed. The trick for me is in separating city water (outside hose bibs) and treated water inside the house.

If it were only a question of DIY vs. plumber install, it seems that the descale option would be the decisive winner.

 

[adam909]

We did a Pelican treatment system which consists of a treatment tank and pre filter. The pre filter that it came with is a 5 micron filter with carbon element that I upgraded to the larger filter with a 1 micron filter. It's not a true soft water system in that it dosen't remove the minerals but rather treats the water so that the minerals don't gather and cling to the surfaces. Our drinking water is treated at the source. We didn't want the additional sodium of a true soft water system and I was tired of lugging bags of salt. The system works pretty good with very little calcium deposits.

Thanks for bringing that up I do not want to do a salt system. Are there systems that do not use salt?

 

[GRANT@FUNCO]

You need to clarify if it is a whole house system or RO. Whole house system is better and I would probably go that way if we were full time in havasu. My Ro system is fine as part timers

I used this and it was a relatively simple install. That said it was a new house and pre plumbed for it. I did not go down a research rbbit hole. My friends have this and it seems to be fine.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-4..._-314448288-_-0-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a

Amazon.com

 

[NicPaus]

Uncle Dave posted in another thread where to buy everything to do it yourself. Maybe some one can link it.

 

[Rajobigguy]

Thanks for bringing that up I do not want to do a salt system. Are there systems that do not use salt?

The only way you can get true soft water is by either ion exchange (a salt system) or by reverse osmosis. A whole house RO system is probably what your wife got a quote on, they are quite expensive and need regular maintenance.
The system that I did doesn't need anything other than changing the filter element a couple times a year, it does a pretty fair job of treating Havasu water.

 

[Taboma]

We did a Pelican treatment system which consists of a treatment tank and pre filter. The pre filter that it came with is a 5 micron filter with carbon element that I upgraded to the larger filter with a 1 micron filter. It's not a true soft water system in that it doesn't remove the minerals but rather treats the water so that the minerals don't gather and cling to the surfaces. Our drinking water is treated at the source. We didn't want the additional sodium of a true soft water system and I was tired of lugging bags of salt. The system works pretty good with very little calcium deposits. Total cost was about $1500 and took me about 2 hrs. to install.

Where did you find the Pelican systems equipment ? I thought Pentair bought them and I no longer see them for sale, only other systems I believe work on the same tech.
My neighbor buddy has had his Pelican for 15 years and has enjoyed great success with far fewer hard water problems using it.

 

[Rajobigguy]

Where did you find the Pelican systems equipment ? I thought Pentair bought them and I no longer see them for sale, only other systems I believe work on the same tech.
My neighbor buddy has had his Pelican for 15 years and has enjoyed great success with far fewer hard water problems using it.

The pentair is the same system. I think you’re right that they bought out pelican.
We got ours through Home Depot.

 

[HPBoats83]

I have access to ones that use salt for softening and ones that use Citric Acid. Whole home systems, PM me if you want more info, way under what you were quoted. What area are you in?

 

[Boat 405]

There is huge mark up in water filtration systems. Do it yourself or get a buddy who can solder the connections. $10-12K for a system seems to be going rate. IMO criminal. I bought a water softener from Lowes $400. Installed it myself in a couple hours. Realistically that will take care of a majority of the hard water issues for most homes.

 

[Moabifam5]

I had a guy from Bullhead set a system along with Reverse in the house and fridge for $4500. I can get you his contact. System works great!

 

[havasu5150]

I put a Pentair system in my home in Buckeye. Loved it. I have had several people in Havasu tell me that a salt system is necessary in Havasu due to the quality (or lack thereof). Ace Hardware sells the Nuvo system which is supposed to be very good.

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

After falling in @Uncle Dave 's rabbit hole, this is the system I rigged up temporarily in my house to test out the waters. Super happy with the results, going on 4 months now and just changed the first filter because of an errant mud flow Havasu treated us to. I'm all in at around $1,800 plus dinner and drinks for my installer.

 

[CarolynandBob]

So wife got a some quotes for a water softner and filtration system for the house. About fell down when she told me what they want to charge. 8 to 10k. So im looking at doing it my self. Cant be hard, Water comes out of main and through the tanks and then ties back into the house.

Has anyone done a DIY system? Where can I buy good equipment? Looking for a system that I can maintain easily and easy to get parts/filters for.

The Honest Water Filter Co. https://honestwaterfilter.com/ Friend is involved with them. We have another friend that is battling cancer and wanted a system. She bought one and I installed it. It seams like a great system. I installed it in about 3 hours as I had to run electricity to it. I think they are about 4K ish.

 

[Mikes56]

For $38 a month Rayne installed all the connections and swaps out my tank every two weeks.

I had the salt bin type that regenerated every day and dumped the brine into the gravel on my side yard. It started to remove the stucco off the wall. Be careful of the ones that you have to add salt to the big container .

 

[Uncle Dave]

For $38 a month Rayne installed all the connections and swaps out my tank every two weeks.

I had the salt bin type that regenerated every day and dumped the brine into the gravel on my side yard. It started to remove the stucco off the wall. Be careful of the ones that you have to add salt to the big container .

Sadly, salt based systems are the only type that actually soften hard water.

As you learned you have to be careful where the brine is dumped.
Installers rarely care and often gloss over this part, the guys I talked to originally were going to dump the brine right over my well.

Every day? That was unnecessary.
I go about two weeks before a regen or about the schedule you are on now.
Most modern systems measure gallons and regen on a testing based schedule.

 

[SoCalDave]

I've installed several water systems over the years and they have been tried and true. In the last year I have installed 4 systems for friends/family consisting of a Whirlpool 40k grain softener with a whole house pre-filter to remove sediment/chlorine that is 5 micron. It simply works all for about $1,300 in parts/materials. Softener and pre-filter can be purchased from Amazon so.all you'll have to source would be the plumbing to tie it in.
Don't fall for that magnetic BS people try to sell, it is snake oil.

 

[DalesSpeed]

I've installed several water systems over the years and they have been tried and true. In the last year I have installed 4 systems for friends/family consisting of a Whirlpool 40k grain softener with a whole house pre-filter to remove sediment/chlorine that is 5 micron. It simply works all for about $1,300 in parts/materials. Softener and pre-filter can be purchased from Amazon so.all you'll have to source would be the plumbing to tie it in.
Don't fall for that magnetic BS people try to sell, it is snake oil.

Something like this Whole House Filter and this Water Softener ?

Just had a vendor come by last week. Quote was over $6,000

We have hard water and chlorine in the city water. 4 bathrooms, 2 adults and 2 kids in the house.

 

[SoCalDave]

Something like this Whole House Filter and this Water Softener ?

Just had a vendor come by last week. Quote was over $6,000

We have hard water and chlorine in the city water. 4 bathrooms, 2 adults and 2 kids in the house.

Well not knowing your exact situation on feed to the house and location yeah its been around $1200-1600 for all the materials, that includes isolation valves for bypassing maintenance or if needed pieice of mind to go back to hard water in an emergency.
A water softener is the only system to remove all the minerals from the system....belive me.
Your wife will love it as no more water stains to clean on anything...no more fighting shower glass, sinks, silverware, you fukin name it. Yeah they'll be other deposits (soap scum, ect) to clean every now and then but no more calcium to deal with.
Bonus is taking that first shower with yore partner once fully in cycle...

 

[DalesSpeed]

Well not knowing your exact situation on feed to the house and location yeah its been around $1200-1600 for all the materials, that includes isolation valves for bypassing maintenance or if needed pieice of mind to go back to hard water in an emergency.
A water softener is the only system to remove all the minerals from the system....belive me.
Your wife will love it as no more water stains to clean on anything...no more fighting shower glass, sinks, silverware, you fukin name it. Yeah they'll be other deposits (soap scum, ect) to clean every now and then but no more calcium to deal with.
Bonus is taking that first shower with yore partner once fully in cycle...

Thank you for the info. My wife has bugged me since we built the house in 2018. If I recall, chlorine was 1-2ppm and hardness was between 6-7. We are on city water and have 1-1/4” main coming into the house with two tankless heaters.

 

[SoCalDave]

Thank you for the info. My wife has bugged me since we built the house in 2018. If I recall, chlorine was 1-2ppm and hardness was between 6-7. We are on city water and have 1-1/4” main coming into the house with two tankless heaters.

Being a 1.25" feed one would need to consider how much of that feeds outside sources versus the inside use. That separated from the treated water in the house can be another $$$ if it can't be addressed at the source...chlorine and hardness are out of the equation once installed and operational.
Your results may vary...

 

[BigQ]

I would test the water first at an independent lab if you have not done so - how else will you know what type of filtration you need?

 

[VinceA]

Watching this thread. Needing a new water and currently doing research on a number of water softener solutions to extend the life of th heater. Leaning toward the DIY option as well. One solution I was told about by someone in the industry, is an electronic descaling system That wraps around the heater supply, plugs in and is ready to go with no maintenance. Not sure how much difference there is between descaling and the filtering types beside the install cost. Descale systems are readily available and only a couple hundred bucks. All my appliances have filters that are regularly changed. The trick for me is in separating city water (outside hose bibs) and treated water inside the house.

If it were only a question of DIY vs. plumber install, it seems that the descale option would be the decisive winner.

So wife got a some quotes for a water softner and filtration system for the house. About fell down when she told me what they want to charge. 8 to 10k. So im looking at doing it my self. Cant be hard, Water comes out of main and through the tanks and then ties back into the house.

Has anyone done a DIY system? Where can I buy good equipment? Looking for a system that I can maintain easily and easy to get parts/filters for.

I'm a licensed plumber out of San Dimas, CA and I deal with these regularly. We are based out of California, so we don't do installs out here, but I did one for a good friend of mine who has a house in Havasu and I'm constantly out here on the weekends. There's a couple different options that you can go with, there's the traditional salt which works fantastic and you can get it from your local Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, or Tractor supply. Only issue is it puts sodium into the water, so if you have an icemaker line to feed a refrigerator, or have pets that you give tap water you'll need to install a separate reverse osmosis to filter out the sodium. But these options are great. They do require more maintenance though and a drainage pipe for rejuvenation cycles. They are a little less DIY friendly than one that we installed for my friend which is a NUVO system. It's not your traditional water softener, but it has a filter for taste, helping the water quality, and citrus filter that acts as a "softener ". This doesn't require any additional water treatment for drinking water and has actually helped the water quality tremendously. This just requires filter change out every 12 to 18 months. No dedicated drain, power, or anything fancy.

Unfortunately, many homes out in that area are built with copper, this requires either learning basics of soldering, or you can use shark bite connections, which we tend to advise against. But you just have to cut copper, and essentially ensure these fittings are completely pushed in. But if you feel like soldering, there are plenty of DIY videos on YouTube on how to solder it is not difficult, you just need all the equipment to do it. And depending on your level of handiness could be figured out pretty quick. Here's a little article if you want to read more about water softeners https://www.alpineplumbingandrooter.com/are-water-softeners-worth-it/

Below I've attached how we run our water softener loops where the water comes into the home. After the sprinklers, but before it enters into the home to feed hot and cold side. Water softening is definitely a big investment and not cheap, but definitely worth it. There's a ton of information that may guide people wrong and not get the results they want because of how many different types of units that are. If you have more questions about it, I'll be more than happy to give any opinion or two cents to hopefully help guide you in the right direction. We charge to install, but knowledge is free . Feel free to reach out (626)513-1852. My name is Vince.

WHERE TO BUY EQUIPTMENT:
Lowes/Home Depot/Ace/Tractor Supply

ELECTRONIC DESCALERS:
Good add-on, but do not actually treat the water and will not make any difference on the water quality other than slightly helping to prevent water staining on fixtures due to disrupting molecules that stick together and cause staining.

 

[spectras only]

@VinceA,
we had a quote on a system by WatersoftBC. Seems a bit pricey, albeit it's in canadian dollars. I'd appreciate your input if you wouldn't mind me asking. There are two concern of mine about their offering is, one, filtration is 5 microns, two. mentioning salt use.
Some of my neighbours have systems in the 1400-1800 range. I know it could be apples to oranges, just would like to know the quote is within reason. The company has 5 star rating, has been in business since 1989 The quote is 4,800 cdn, UV, reverse osmosis, watersoftener, sediment filtration.

UV Disinfection - Watersoft BC - Water Softeners, Drinking Water Systems, Water Filters, Kelowna Winfield, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Penticton, Kamloops

Residential and commercial UV (ultraviolet) systems safely eliminate the threat from bacteria, viruses and parasites, without the use of harmful chemicals.

www.watersoftbc.com

 

[VinceA]

@VinceA,
we had a quote on a system by WatersoftBC. Seems a bit pricey, albeit it's in canadian dollars. I'd appreciate your input if you wouldn't mind me asking. There are two concern of mine about their offering is, one, filtration is 5 microns, two. mentioning salt use.
Some of my neighbours have systems in the 1400-1800 range. I know it could be apples to oranges, just would like to know the quote is within reason. The company has 5 star rating, has been in business since 1989 The quote is 4,800 cdn, UV, reverse osmosis, watersoftener, sediment filtration.

UV Disinfection - Watersoft BC - Water Softeners, Drinking Water Systems, Water Filters, Kelowna Winfield, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Penticton, Kamloops

Residential and commercial UV (ultraviolet) systems safely eliminate the threat from bacteria, viruses and parasites, without the use of harmful chemicals.

www.watersoftbc.com

Difference between those two is if you want water softening for hard water issues (hard water), or if you want water to be "disinfected" (treated well water, poor water quality).
They are both good systems, but have different purposes. Most times we install UV systems along side of water softener, or conditioners. What is the issue with the water that you're trying to solve? Maybe I can better guide you on what I would recommend.
As far as that price goes, I think that's a fair price if the company is reputable. Typically for us to install air conditioner or softener our starting price is right around US $5500 and can get upwards of $10,000-$15,000 for a whole home, conditioner, softener, and UV treatment whole package.

 

[Orange Juice]

So wife got a some quotes for a water softner and filtration system for the house. About fell down when she told me what they want to charge. 8 to 10k. So im looking at doing it my self. Cant be hard, Water comes out of main and through the tanks and then ties back into the house.

Has anyone done a DIY system? Where can I buy good equipment? Looking for a system that I can maintain easily and easy to get parts/filters for.

I suggest for the shower these. Replace it when it you need to, but they work great in showers. Glass shower doors are easier to clean as well.

20-Stage Shower Head Filter for Hard Water High Output Water Softener to Remove Chlorine and Fluoride in Chrome

I cook drink with bottled water, because every public water system has major problems…..some days worse than other.

 

[Justfishing]

I've installed several water systems over the years and they have been tried and true. In the last year I have installed 4 systems for friends/family consisting of a Whirlpool 40k grain softener with a whole house pre-filter to remove sediment/chlorine that is 5 micron. It simply works all for about $1,300 in parts/materials. Softener and pre-filter can be purchased from Amazon so.all you'll have to source would be the plumbing to tie it in.
Don't fall for that magnetic BS people try to sell, it is snake oil.

You can get whirlpool softeners at Lowes for $5-700 depending on size. Whirlpool seems to have the best reputation in the self install category.

 

[spectras only]

Difference between those two is if you want water softening for hard water issues (hard water), or if you want water to be "disinfected" (treated well water, poor water quality).

We have hard water and recently got the boil advisory in our area. We didn't have boil advisory before but several area near us and across the lake we get our water from did.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is planning to take over the Lakeshore Waterworks and Vintage Views Wastewater utilities, located in the Okanagan Falls area. This plan involves a transfer of ownership from a private operator to the RDOS. The RDOS is also taking steps to acquire the utilities, including a vote by residents in the affected area. Residents voted in favor of the RDOS taking over the utilities, with a majority supporting both the Lakeshore Waterworks and Vintage Views Wastewater systems. The RDOS plans to invest significant amounts in upgrading the systems, with potential for grant funding and municipal financing to help reduce costs for residents, according to Castanet.