softner info please

[buildersteve]

Quite a while ago we had a softner installed as we live in a hard water area and the hot water heat exchanger in the combi boiler was constantly needing replacement. Also the washing machine was suffering from much of the same.
The softner is the type that takes the salt tablets from Wickes so you can tell how old it is!
As things have probably moved on a bit since it was installed I thought I may as well get on here to hopefully find a recommended "in-line" softner that works on a cartrige you change once a year as the salt has more than doubled in price in the last six months!
I've looked at the previous discussions on softners but the latest I can see was in 2009. There must have been some movement since then.
Thanks in advence.

 

[Exedon]

I live/work in a area that has mains water described as 'aggressively hard'
Only thing I have seen work effectively round here are proper ion exchange water softeners ie what you have.
Not noticed salt been twice the price, around £10 for a 25kg bag (minimum order 10 bags)

 

[buildersteve]

Thanks for the input. I buy my salt from Wickes 25kg for £22 and even if I took advantage of the ten bags offer I'm not sure I would have the space to store it! I'm sure there are other systems that don't use the salt tablets which is why I posted this.

 

[RandomGrinch]

I'm sure there are other systems that don't use the salt tablets which is why I posted this.

I'm afraid it's down to chemistry - you can't beat salt!

In an Ion exchange system, magnesium and calcium are captured by a negatively charged 'medium'.
The system needs to frequently regenerate itself; the Mg and Ca are displaced from the 'medium' and flushed away, when positively charged brine is pumped over it.
The cycle continues, as the Mg and Ca are captured, so Na is displaced into your water - providing a softer water - until the next regen.

Reverse Osmosis filters could be used to soften water, but they are more expensive, more complex, and are usually a lot slower (have a lower flow rate) than ion exchange systems.

 

[flameport]

The only other option is one of these: https://www.combimate.co.uk/product/combimate-limescale-prevention-device
however note the warnings about effectiveness in certain situations, and that it is not a water softener, but adds a small amount of chemicals to the water to prevent scale.

Everything else are the snake oil affairs with magnets, coils of wire and other nonsense that only works in the minds of people who paid money for them.

The softner is the type that takes the salt tablets from Wickes so you can tell how old it is!

Does it meter the water and regenerate based on actual usage, or is it one of the ancient versions that just uses a timer and therefore could be wasting vast amounts of salt?

 

[omph]

I'm afraid it's down to chemistry - you can't beat salt!

In an Ion exchange system, magnesium and calcium are captured by a negatively charged 'medium'.
The system needs to frequently regenerate itself; the Mg and Ca are displaced from the 'medium' and flushed away, when positively charged brine is pumped over it.
The cycle continues, as the Mg and Ca are captured, so Na is displaced into your water - providing a softer water - until the next regen.

Reverse Osmosis filters could be used to soften water, but they are more expensive, more complex, and are usually a lot slower (have a lower flow rate) than ion exchange systems.

But then does the reverse osmosis system need to remove everything ? I think the focus should be on reduction, not elimination. Lets say your property has a hardness of 375ppm, you can set up a RO kit to bring it down to 200ppm by mixing filtered/unfiltered water - this would mitigate the low flow rates of the reverse osmosis system. Not sure if anyone does any products of this nature though.

 

[RandomGrinch]

But then does the reverse osmosis system need to remove everything ? I think the focus should be on reduction, not elimination

Good point, I hadn't considered blending.
My experience is only with lab systems, where purity counts.
Our smallest RO units (a suitable size to fit under a sink), have a small storage tank, but the production rate is a pretty pitiful 5L/hour - all for the bargain price of around £5k +VAT!

 

[polesapart]

Everything else are the snake oil affairs with magnets, coils of wire and other nonsense that only works in the minds of people who paid money for them.

Well expressed.

My opinion exactly.

Well, almost exactly, I tend to use expletives when such devices are mentioned.