RV water softeners

[2Auberts]

Good morning, 

I am looking for opinions on RV water softeners. I read this article https://www.rvweb.net/best-rv-water-softeners-reviewed/  and On The Go OTG4-DBLSOFT Portable RV Softener has excellent reviews but I would like your insight and experiences in this area.

Roy

[Purple Tractor]

We bought that model a short time ago. Where we are currently parked, the water is very hard. It's simple and seems to work well. Some of our appliances were getting constant sediment buildups even with our filter, not since adding the softener. I'm pleased with it and the DW is very happy with it, so that means all is well.

[DJohns]

I was in the water treatment business 25 years so I know a LITTLE. Simple math. 16000 grains divided by 10 grain hard water = 1600 gallons of soft water. 16000 divided by 20 grain hard =800 gallons soft. There are some other minor considerations but this is the basics.  Remember not to completely use all of the soft water or the 16000 number will start going down. I own the # 1 unit of the review. Easier to fill with the large top.

[docj]

1 hour ago, Dan Johnson said:

Remember not to completely use all of the soft water or the 16000 number will start going down

Would you please elaborate a bit about this?  I think this might have been what happened with mine.  I had a 10,000 grain softener (I think) which worked well when we are in an area with very, very hard water.  I recharged it regularly but usually not until I had noticed it had run out. Now it doesn't work at all and I guess I need to replace the resin but that's a large fraction of the cost of entire new unit.

With normal household use plus a washer a couple of hundred gallons of water doesn't last very long.  It doesn't cost much to recharge the softener but it does take a fair amount of time.  At the moment I'm not using mine at all.

[2Auberts]

Thank you Purple Tractor and Dan for your insight. 

Docj,

The regeneration process is crucial to maintaining the life of a softener. When the resin bed gets loaded up it cannot function 

[docj]

3 hours ago, 2Auberts said:

The regeneration process is crucial to maintaining the life of a softener. When the resin bed gets loaded up it cannot function 

I realize that it needs to be regenerated, but I assumed that this could be done regardless of the state of resin bed.  What you seem to be saying is that if you totally "deplete" the resin bed you won't necessarily be able to recharge it.  Is that correct?  If that's the case then these small RV softeners are a real pain because they "run out" rather quickly with our typical water usage.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

45 minutes ago, docj said:

I realize that it needs to be regenerated, but I assumed that this could be done regardless of the state of resin bed.  What you seem to be saying is that if you totally "deplete" the resin bed you won't necessarily be able to recharge it.  Is that correct?  If that's the case then these small RV softeners are a real pain because they "run out" rather quickly with our typical water usage.

We have a 16k grain ABC softener.  What I have found out is agitating ie. rolling it around and shaking it- after I have put the salt into it seems to work better than just adding salt and flushing.  

I add salt, recap, roll around/shake, let sit for 10-15 min, start the slow flush while shaking occasionally.  It takes about 25-30 gallons of water to completely purge the salt out.

Seems to work well for us for 14-21 days at a time based on 100gal usage a day.

[Sehc]

I checked that link. I have some issues with the information. Hard water is not "usually red". Red if it has iron, but it can be very heavy with minerals and be crystal clear. Putting water through a softener will remove most minerals, but it will not necessarily make it safe to drink or bathe. So many other contaminants can be present. Radon, bacteria, virus, volatile organics, hydrocarbons, and stuff I don't even remember. 

 

[Bill w/bus]

 

We have been using the FLOPUR unit for about 5 years.  Good service. Depending on water hardness lasts up to three weeks between regenerations. Manufacturer recommends agitation during the regen process.  We are in the RGV and regen about every 10-14 days  that includes 4-6 washer loads plus the normal water usage.

Bill

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

13 hours ago, Sehc said:

I checked that link. I have some issues with the information. Hard water is not "usually red". Red if it has iron, but it can be very heavy with minerals and be crystal clear. Putting water through a softener will remove most minerals, but it will not necessarily make it safe to drink or bathe. So many other contaminants can be present. Radon, bacteria, virus, volatile organics, hydrocarbons, and stuff I don't even remember. 

 

Most of the folks using filter and softener setups are only looking to improve what should be already safe potable water.  There are a few that have gone a further step and installed a whole house RO system.  

[DJohns]

Doc

Good read here 

Understanding True Water Softener Capacity - Aquatell

This explains how the capacity number is really not what is actual. If you over salt and do several close recharges you will get you softener back to close to original capacity. To all REMEMBER to take the softener inside in the winter away from freezing.

Hope this helps!

[ms60ocb]

What is the proper way to store for hot summer?

Would it be Back-Flush and Drain?

I thinking about storing the water softer with my car in Texas til winter.

Clay

[HERO Maker]

Has anybody looked at, or is using, the Template Assisted Crystallization method for conditioning water?  Salt free, no brine back into the earth, no servicing for years.

[Sehc]

TAC does not soften hard water. It changes the dissolved minerals to a form that do not coat pipes and fixtures (scale). The minerals stay in the water.

[HERO Maker]

With TAC you would still need RO for drinking.  But you shouldn't have any buildup on plumbing and fixtures.  Interesting study done by ASU comparing 4 different methods of handling hard water.  If I could only post my PDF file!

We are going to probably use this system on the next project down in Mexico at an orphanage.  Hot water heaters don't seem to last very long there.  TAC should take care of that.

[Ronbo]

If you know how much resin you need, go to the water filter companies and price resin. It will probably be cheaper.

[docj]

On 4/2/2019 at 7:32 AM, Dan Johnson said:

Doc

Good read here 

Understanding True Water Softener Capacity - Aquatell

This explains how the capacity number is really not what is actual. If you over salt and do several close recharges you will get you softener back to close to original capacity. To all REMEMBER to take the softener inside in the winter away from freezing.

Hope this helps!

Excellent article.  Thanks for sharing.  This explains a lot.  My so-called 10,000 grain softener has 0.33 cu ft of resin which is consistent with the 30,000 grain per cu ft rating discussed in the article.  But the instructions that came with the softener only called for using 2 lbs of salt which means that the effective capacity wouldn't be more than ~6,500 grains if you follow those instructions.

I've purchase a "softener cleaner" which is supposed to help remove iron from the resin.  That plus a couple of recharges as you suggest will probably get it going again.  Thanks

Joel (AKA docj)