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Water systems...

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
So my quest for a new dishwasher has brought me down another path. I learned about Kinetico water systems and this made me look at my current water softener...it's not working. Fugg! Not working at all, it even dumped all the stuff from inside it. Little brown balls have filled my sub pump. (Need a new one of those now to)

Anyways. I'd never heard of Kenetico water systems before Phil brought them up. I got an estimate from them today on a couple of different systems and the price seems steep. $2,500-4,200

They also tested the water:
TDS-300
PH-7.0
H-33g
I-1

Not sure what those numbers mean, but I guess the H is hard water and is a pretty damn high number. Add that with the amount of water we use and we need a big ass system to keep up efficiently. Looking at around $1,000 for your conventional water softener.

I don't mind spending money on my house, as it always seem to come back. My concern here is spending it wisely. Getting 4 years out of a water softener (way under sized, only 30,000) isn't spending money wisely IMO. So here I am, wondering down a path looking for better options.

Anyone else have a fancy water system in their house? I'd so, I'd like to hear about it. I know a bunch of us live off a well, so tell me what you have. (I think the houses at the road have county water. I'm gonna check on that and if they do, get an estimate on bringing it a 1/4 mile to my house.)

Thanks in advance, extra (I think) thanks to Phil for bringing it up. Lol
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
I'll be listening too, Dave. We don't have a system and our water is hard as a rock.

 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
I am a cheapskate. BUT. . . When I spend it, I only want to spend it once when it comes to things like this. I'd do a search for this style softeners in your area. I'd think Culligan would have a comparable one to the Kinetico system. Maybe not. I know we text about this but I'll post it up so others who are shopping can read up too.

We had your standard box store or Tractor Supply or Ace Hardware style conventional softener when I bought the place. Water still hard. Still had iron stains. Etc. Ate salt like no other. Water often still hard. Seasonally we would see higher levels of iron for whatever reason. I assume it is due to water tables. Not sure really. Thankfully we did not have sulfur issues.

Bought a Kinetico off Peacock Water. It is a dual tank setup which is not supposed to have hard water. Ever. (As long as you keep salt in it.) They came in with the big sales pitch. (Think walking into the Harley shop or a big city car lot.) We sifted thru the sales pitch and told the guy "We don't need all that. We want option "xyz". We aren't paying $3000." He knew we were interested. He knew I wasn't spending that much. He sharpened his pencil. Then he tells me they offer 'refurbished' units. Then he tells me they will rent you a system. At the end of the day we ended up buying a refurbished unit. Essentially it is one of their rented units which they bring in, put new guts in it, and sell. They allowed us some options as well. I believe we "rented" it for 6 or 12 months and had it in writing IF we decided to purchase all our monthly rental payments went towards purchase. I believe they even offered a 12mo same as cash financing. At the end of the negotiating I think we paid 6 mo of rent, then $100/mo for a year or something similar. Price was around $1500.

For a softener??!!?? I know. I know. I thought the same. Here is the kicker: I buy one pallet of salt per year. Roughly one bag per week. $4-5/bag pallet pricing or $200-250/yr in salt is what it cost me. Prior to this I was going thru 2-3 pallets per year AND I still had hard water with iron in it. We now make our own ice cubes (before this softener the cubes were nasty and the salt separated out of them for whatever reason.) We actually use the water maker on the refrigerator. The whole family will drink our water. Appliances seem to last longer. I am very happy with it. I'll admit I was in shock when I bought it. Thought for sure it was going to be a sales gimmick and our water would still be crap. This is why we did the 6-12mo rental initially. After this time period it was clear we were purchasing it. Hope this helps some of you.
 

Redhunter1012

Senior Member
Supporting Member
I have a well and softener system I rent from Hempe Water. They are the most popular company around here. I think we pay about $30/month for their system and I go through maybe a bag a week. We used to have everything rusty as hell, couldnt drink the water, and my old lady's hair was orange ish from the iron. They come out once a year to check on the system, free of charge.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,063
223
Ohio
Kinetico makes a decent system. Like Phil said, you just have to sift through their bullshit so you don't get swindled.

That being said, get the rural water if it's possible. No more softening, no more depending on electricity for water, and it will help home resale value considerably.
 

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
Knits heard a radio add under promo code "Brian" for $1k off if you go to the home and garden show or if you call them for a new system.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
So we decided to rent a unit. It seems they all have problems and I don't really feel like dealing with it. So for $35 they will come out next week and install a new double tank system and dial it in for us. Then it's $32 a month...seems like a good deal to me.

Thanks for everyone's advice!
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Hope it works out. So if it breaks they come out and fix it for free, how's that work?

Yes, $35 flat rate call out charge. And looking at the paper again, it's $30 a month. Considering the cost of these systems to buy, then throw on the cost of repairs…seemed like a no brainer.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
I have the top of the line Kinetico system and I'm on a well. It was $ 3,500 and came with reverse osmosis drinking water system. It uses no electricity.

Water is one important item I will not make sacrifices on. Cancer runs in our family so we'll see how well water purification works for me over time.