Perhaps it was the older unit, or the Flexi hoses but its specifically why I went for the delta as the dual chambers are different in that both are used simultaneously to maintain full unrestricted flow rate. Given I was spending on an entire replumb and change from a combi to unvented systems, the extra few £s to guarantee flow rate was inconsequential.
Water softener installation
- Thread starter dirtychinchilla
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Soldato
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- 27 Aug 2005
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Am i right in saying that this is correct for houses with water softner:
Main kitchen tap - Softened water
Seperate Small filtered tap - Hard water
Main kitchen tap - Softened water
Seperate Small filtered tap - Hard water
That's the normal setup. There are also taps that have a function to run either the softened or the hard water as well in one tap unit, but we have a main softened tap and a separate, smaller. hard water tap that literally never gets used.
There is no requirement for a non-softened water source anywhere but the installer for our system said some people like to have to option so we went with it.
I think the reason people do this is because softened water has a higher salt content, it’s meant to be safe but shouldn’t be used for kids/baby formula, etc. My intention would be to use the hard water, through a filter, for drinking and softened for everything else.
Man of Honour
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- 21 Nov 2004
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We have Kinetico. It’s great. A slightly older unit I think as it needs to be plugged in. Doesn’t look overly complicated to install, although every trades person I speak to has so much work they are basically quoting crazy prices as they don’t need more work around here.
That’s one way to do it. Our main kitchen tap is unsoftened, but we have a Brita filtered separate tap for drinking water. Everything else in the house is softened.
That’s one way to do it. Our main kitchen tap is unsoftened, but we have a Brita filtered separate tap for drinking water. Everything else in the house is softened.
Associate
Basically been covered above but yeah we got a seperate "drinking water" tap installed by the plumber when he put the softener in. There is the slightly higher sodium content issue if you have small children although for adults apparently the amounts we are talking its not a massive issue. The main other aspect is the taste, I don't mind either way as I am originally from Scotland and used to very soft water but the missus literally can't drink the stuff so we needed a hard water tap for that alone. We use the hard water for general drinking but soft water in the kettle for teas & coffees which means you avoid those bits of scale you used to get floating in your coffee. Also means the mugs don't stain as easy for some reason. I'd definitely get a seperate hard water tap instead of just keeping your main kitchen tap on the hard supply though. If you do that every time you want to wash something up you will end up with the same old limescale marks, also on the draining rack etc. As another note, if you have an outside tap that should be on the hard supply for plant watering etc, plants don't like soft water apparently.
Man of Honour
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It would also eat through the salt if doing lots of watering. It would be great for washing the car though. Ours is hard water for the outside tap.
The softener has been brilliant. Within about 3 years most appliances and surfaces in our last new build were almost ruined without one.
Associate
That is the main downside of the outside tap still being on the hard supply tbf. So much so I have been considering getting a second outside tap installed off the soft supply for this purpose. Probably get it off the hot side then it can also be used for filling up kids paddling pool etc.
If you live in a very hard water area you’ll need a drinking water tap regardless.
It’s highly recommended that you don’t exceed 200ppm sodium in your water. It’s a legal limit for water companies.
My water is over 400ppm calcium carbonate and 30ppm sodium out of the tap. Once you soften the water the sodium will go above 200ppm.
It’s highly recommended that you don’t exceed 200ppm sodium in your water. It’s a legal limit for water companies.
My water is over 400ppm calcium carbonate and 30ppm sodium out of the tap. Once you soften the water the sodium will go above 200ppm.
So has anyone got any tips on finding an installer?
I would just ask a few local plumbers for quotes and see how they compare to the one you have. TBH, it doesn’t sound extortionate, especially when you consider it would probably cost you best part of £2k through Harvey’s/Kinetico.
Depending on your location of installation, it could be as simple as teeing off after your kitchen tap and drilling an overflow hole through your wall. I did my first one myself, and the second just had a local plumber do it. 1 -2 hrs max for installation unless you also need an electrical socket installing.
A bit of a general rant here, but I'm finding that tradesmen (plumbers in particular) increasingly want to "quote for jobs", with prices quoted having no correlation to the work involved. I know a fair bit about plumbing to the extent I've done soldering etc, but will not attempt larger jobs. It frustrates me when prices are pulled out of the air (eg. half a days work max involved and I'm being quoted £1000). I tried to question one guy on why he believes it would cost that much and he didn't really have an answer, other than saying "I don't quote based on how long it'll take, I just quote for the job".
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