Fleck 5800 Review

Fleck 5800 Review

As time progresses the water softener industry is always trying to make a better water softener and invent ways to better transform water full of constituents to clean healthy water that is tasty and not full of contaminants that make water unpalatable and not suitable for drinking.  Through the years I have seen many variations of water softeners both new and old and have found that they for the most part all work the same.  However, some companies keep trying to make a water southerner with more features than what is really necessary though it may be helpful for the maintenance tech but not necessarily for the consumer which is why I'm here to help support and give objective opinion not only in blogging but in my youtube videos-low cost water softeners.  There you can find helpful videos for the consumer that answer most questions and if not then you can ask the questions you need answered and I will get back with you.

The Next Generation Water Softener 

Over time Fleck has made some very good water softeners and the ones they have made are still on the market and functioning still today.  I suppose that every now and then a company may hire a young vivacious individual who is wanting to show what they know and try to make what is already great even better.  Now Fleck has to very popular valves, the 5600 and the 2510 for the consumer.  These are my most favorite valves when it comes to longevity and durable.  The only thing that needs replacing after many years is the piston seals and spacers.  Aside from those particular parts there is absolutely nothing else that really needs to be changed to include the motor.  On occasion one may have to replace the motor but more often than not it is the piston seals and spacers that need replaced. Around 2010 Fleck came out with the 5700 series valve which was seemingly built to be the competitor with the Clack valve.  It wasn't very long after its arrival that it soon left.  From my understanding there were too many flaws and it didn't live up to its name which I find interesting because I know these engineers spend a lot of time trying to perfect these valves and I would have thought that it would have made a big hit but it soon fizzled out and then Fleck came up with its next big idea.

Flecks Next Big Idea

Fleck has now recently come out with the 5800 valve in which I from a technicians point of view is a superb model.  It has many functions that a technician needs sometimes in order to troubleshoot the water softener when other valves won't allow you to do so and when that occurs you must rely on total experience in order to troubleshoot the valve and fix the problem.  From a DIY point of view it has way to many moving parts and is too difficult to work on for your average person in my opinion and that is why I always stick with the Fleck 5600 for the DIY type of person.  Below you can watch the video on the Fleck 5800 and decide for yourself, I hope it makes the cut for the sake of Pentair and their Fleck products.

Why do I need a water softener

Why do I need a water softener

Some people like their water just the way it is and think that hard water is just fine and have no complaints at all with their water.  Some people don't like the slick feeling that softened water makes when they are in the shower.  Needless to say everyone has their own sense of feel and what appeals to them.  There are benefits to having a water softener that you are usually told about but in this blog you will not only be told about them but shown in an actual case of a homeowner who did not have a water softener and how it affected his quality of life as well as his pocket book.

Do I really need a water softener

The answer to that is almost always yes, and the reason for that answer is because not all water is soft  or reasonably soft and actually the large majority of water is hard.  I have also found that when hard water is combined with chlorine for disinfection purposes the calcium is precipitated out and you will see it sticking to the ends of faucets or on the faucet handles and over time it becomes very unsightly and very difficult to remove so the homeowner is now force to spend more money to buy a new faucet if they want their home to look nice for guests and or for themselves. 

Now you have probably heard how hard water affects your clothes by leaving stains on them and how you need to use a larger amount of laundry detergent in order to get your clothes clean as opposed to soft water where you only need to use 1/2 the amount of laundry detergent and shampoo and conditioner which over time save the homeowner hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the life of the home and water softener. When most water softener salesmen give their presentation they talk about all that and some even have a little kit to show the difference in hard water and soft water when it comes to the sudsing of the water as hard and soft.  There really is a difference but here you are going to see the larger impact that not having a water softener will do to your appliances.

Is my water really hard

Many people I run across will say that their water is soft when indeed it is not but the homeowner swears it is soft, so I will show them that the water is hard by using these little test strips to see exactly how hard the water really is.  You can see how hard your water is considered by the Water Quality Association here-https://www.wqa.org/learn-about-water/perceptible-issues/scale-deposits

Once you have established that your water is either hard or soft then you can make the determination of whether or not you want to buy a water softener or water conditioner.  Whats the difference between a water softener and water conditioner https://youtu.be/Uq847l8Nho4

How hard water effects appliances

Here is a video that shows just exactly how hard water can affect your appliances which in turn can affect your energy bill.