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. 

Can A Water Softener Remove Iron

Do Water Softeners Remove Iron

The question "Do water softeners remove iron" is often times asked for a couple of reasons the first being the cost of both a water softener and an Iron Filter.  Depending on whom or what company you buy your water softener from you can pay as little as $600.00 found HERE  up to over $5,000.00 and though the salesman may not agree with my statement they are work basically the same in that they do remove hardness from the water.  Here is a water softener review that you may like; https://youtu.be/QBn3Y2ykhHM

Iron filters can be expensive as well whereas you can buy one HERE for as little as $750.00 or up to around $3,000.00 or more depending on your water dynamics and what kind of system the sales person is trying to sell you in order for them to make the most money since many of them work off commission.

How to Remove Iron From Your Water

There are many ways of removing iron from your water and they can range from easy and relatively inexpensive to expensive.  We will cover just a few of ways of how to remove iron from your water; The method used most is an iron filter which will either use air, chlorine, ozone or hydrogen peroxide in order to oxidize the iron and precipitate it into a solid which is then caught in the filter media and then removed by back washing the filter.  Some people will just install an ozone generator and others more commonly will use chlorine which will not only remove iron but will remove odor and disinfect however in many cases a storage tank of some size is necessary for best results and making mention of a storage tank some people will just put a piece of PVC pipe into a storage tank and drill hole in the PVC to allow the water to spray into the tank (called a spray bar) thus mixing the water with air in order to oxidize it.

Using a Water Softener to Remove Iron

As most people know we use a water softener to remove calcium, manganese and other contaminants from the water however it's primary purpose is to soften water but there are also other benefits to a water softener.  It can remove barium, strontium, cadmium and other constituents in the water but more salt is needed to remove these constituents as well as calcium from the resin beads inside the tank.  So let's talk about using a water softener to remove iron from the water.

I have had a couple of occasions where my customers did not have enough money to purchase an iron filter and water softener so I used a water softener to do both, one case in particular I can remember is when the lady hard approx 17 gpg of hardness and 3ppm iron.  She however did not have the money for an iron filter and as you can see she really needed both.  What we did do was also figure how many ppm iron = gpg of hardness, so we multiplied 4x3ppm iron and got 12 then added 12 to 17 and got 29 so we estimated So she had 29 gpg of hardness.  Not many people would agree with doing this method but we did what we could for our customers and we never got a call back to fix the water softener.  However, what I did was install a water softener with a "Turbulator" distributor tube. The difference is that on a normal distributor tube the water is forced down to the bottom during regeneration and stirs the bed from the bottom up

Turbulator Distributor Tube

however with a turbulator you can see that there  is another screen towards the top which is there to ensure that the entire bed gets stirred up in order to allow the brine mix to be used at full advantage and that the bed is lifted completely.  If this doesn't happen then over time the weight of the iron since it has not been removed will foul the entire bed and either a super good cleaning is necessary or just replacing the media beads would be the other step.  Speaking of good cleaning you can do a couple of things in order to maintain the health of your water softener when using it to remove iron also, that is to adjust your salt setting a little higher according to your water softener size and hardness or you can purchase Resup which I highly recommend.  You can get a gallon of the cleaner HERE  keeping in mind you will also need a feeder which will help in cleaning the resin beads in your water softener and definitely extend its life.  Get a feeder HERE

Now we can see that a water softener can be used to remove iron though it is not recommended but can be done with the right equipment.
https://www.facebook.com/Low-Cost-Water-Softeners-1490645221225279/

What kind of water filter do I need

What kind of water filter do I need

This is one of the most asked questions there are in the water treatment world and that is What Kind of Water Filter Do I Need.  Many people in the United States have problem water and it really doesn't matter if they have ground water (from a water well) surface water (from a lake river or stream) city water or rural water which may come any of the above or a private water well.  In order to answer the question of what kind of water filter do I need we will first have to identify which contaminant is in the water.

Problem Water

Most people that have problem run into the challenge of determining which kind of contaminant is actually in the water though many guess or listen to the advice of a neighbor which is not always correct. For example a lady who lives near the Guadalupe River told me that her water well gets water from the river.  I explained to her that she was misinformed and yet she still insisted though I am a licensed water well expert and not only have a license but must have continuing education classes each year.  So then I had to show her by means of what is in her water and what is in the river water.  Her water well had iron in it and left red marks on her trees and out buildings but the river water was always green and never stained the dock or boats in the river.  After she saw the difference did she actually begin to believe me over that of her neighbor whom she thought knew what they were talking about. So I explained she needed an iron filter since we could tell that she had iron in her water but in addition to the iron she also had hard water.  Now the difference is in this case that you need an iron filter to remove iron and a water softener to remove calcium or hard water.  Find out the difference HERE

 What's in My Water

The next and most important step is to find out exactly what is in your water in order to know which kind of water filter you will need.  Here is a kit that you can use to determine what kind of contaminant is in your water;  https://amzn.to/2RmQjOP   Once you know what is in your water you can get the right kind of filter because to use the wrong filter for the wrong contaminant not only brings frustration but will also cost you time and money which is the most important thing we have in our busy world today.  Most of what we find in our water is Sediment, Iron, Sulfur, and Hardness which doesn't need a water filter but a water softener.  So let's get to what you came here for

Water Filters

Sediment Filter Needed for sand and sediment

Click For Link

  

 

Click For Link

 

Iron Filter- Removes Iron

Click For Link

Sulfur/Chlorine Filter-Removes Odor Caused by H2S

Click For Link

Whole house

 back 

washing carbon filter

The Best Water Filters

The above water filters should take care of any of your needs for filtration however if you do not find what you are looking for then you may want to watch this video and then you can ask questions to narrow down your search for your water filter needs; https://youtu.be/Uq847l8Nho4

https://www.facebook.com/Low-Cost-Water-Softeners-1490645221225279/

Do I Need A New Water Softener

Do I Need A New Water Softener

Over the past few years I have been called out to homes and the home owner asked me "Do I need a New Water Softener" because the guy that was here from the other company said that I need a new water softener.  It usually agitates me when I hear this because usually you never need a new water softener.  If there is a reason you need a new water softener they are far and few between.

 The Reason You Need a New Water Softener

I was called out to  a home and the home owner had another company at her home to see if there was a problem with her water softener.  It was a plumbing company and so I thought she had a plumbing company there because she had a plumbing problem.  Well, when he left she called me into her home and asked me to check here water softener.  I went outside and and ran it through its systems and found nothing to be wrong.  I then went into the house and tested the water and found it to be soft so that indicated to me that the water softener was working.  The home owner showed me the report and suggestions to her water softener problem,  the plumber said he "Pressed the button and the water softener didn't work" well that is a true statement, if you press the button it will not go into regeneration unless you press and hold the button.  He said she needed a new water softener and  quoted one that costs around $4,200.00 

Water Softener

The Real Truth About Water Softeners

As you are able to tell it only takes a few things to determine if the water softener is working, and if it is not then you most likely need some replacement parts but you will almost never need to buy a new one.  The most difficult thing is to find someone who will tell you the truth about the findings and not try and rip you off.  There are some things you can do to help.  Like get a water hardness test kit, watch a couple of videos on how to tell if your water softener is working, ask friends who they use for their water softener service and ask questions on forums or ask this guy on these videos, he seems to be honest and trustworthy and answers questions that people ask on his videos

She also asked me to check her reverse osmosis system, so I took my TDS tester and checked her water and did the numbers and found it to be fine though we did change the filters and membrane since she requested it.  I hope this article helps you to find the answers you need.

.

 

https://www.facebook.com/Low-Cost-Water-Softeners-1490645221225279/

Why is my water softener using more salt

Why is my water softener using more salt

This is a question a lot of people ask after having their water softener for some time.  Why is my water softener using more salt?  Well that is a question that must be investigated depending on the type of water softener you have, sort of.  For one thing it is not the type of salt you are using and it is not how the hard water you have.

What's The Best Water Softener Salt

There are some people who are under the impression that the correct type of water softener salt makes a difference in how much salt is used.  In reality the type of salt that is used has nothing to do with how much salt is used.  There are two determining factors that make the, one being how much salt is used during regeneration and how often the water softener regenerates.  

How Much Salt Should I Use 

Essentially the amount of salt used depends on the size if the water softener, for instance if the water softener is a 1 cu ft then you will want to use 9 lbs of salt to regenerate and if it is a 1.5 cu ft then you will want to use 12 lbs of salt and a 2 cu ft then 15 lbs of salt or you can click here to see the recommendation. 

Am I using Too Much Water

The other reason a water softener uses salt is because of the amount of water that is being used.  Many people say they are not using any more water than what they have been using but there is a sneaky little critter that most don't catch and it may be what the culprit is.  The first thing you want to do is to ensure that all faucets are turned off and no water is running, then look at your water softener to see if any water is running, note you can only do this with some digital models, if you do not have a digital model then my next suggestion is to check all your toilets because 99% of the time the culprit is the toilet and no one notices it because they flush it and leave the room immediately.  If no toilets are running then you may have a leak somewhere and you'll need to find it and get it fixed as soon as possible.  I hope this helped, please subscribe for our other updates and information.

What's The Best Water Softener

What's The Best Water Softener 

In today's world that is the most common question "What's The Best Water Softener" because there are so many out there and the people who sell them say that theirs is the best water softener.  So what I wanted to do was give you some answers based on my experience as a water softener company owner to help you in your decision.

Types of Water Softeners

There are various types of water softeners and they all range differently in price and looks but the performance is basically the same.  So I thought I would start with the most popular and give the pro's and con's and then my recommendation

Rain Soft- Pro's works great, con's expensive, you need them to come fix it

GE/Whirlpool, Kenmore, Northstar- Pro's works great, inexpensive, inexpensive parts; con's can't find anyone to work on it
Kinetico- Pro's works great, needs no electricity; con's- expensive, only they can work on it
Culligan- Pro's works great; Con's- expensive, not everyone can work on them, parts expensive
Hague- Works great, lifetime warranty; con's- expensive, parts expensive, only they can work on it
Fleck-Pro's works great, inexpensive, parts inexpensive, easy to work on; Con's - none

Water Softener

https://youtu.be/QBn3Y2ykhHM https://www.facebook.com/Low-Cost-Water-Softeners-1490645221225279/