DIY new water softener install

[CWO4GUNNER]

As promised and for those like me who have excessively hard water. A water softener is an alternative to having to use excessive amounts of expensive RO. The following are basic water softener install procedures I conducted today on my rental home and for my tenant who wants to keep fish. Total cost plus extra parts and tax $430. Cost for comparable water service installation $1725. Meet "Morton System Saver 30,000 Grain Water Softener".

(STEP 1 BELOW) Pull back the top cover to expose electromechanical valve block and install the bypass valve with O-rings included in your pats package. Spit or Vaseline the in/out bypass valve O-rings so they slip into the valve block female in/out ports, all the way in.

(STEP 2 BELOW) Make sure the bypass valve is seated all the way against the manifold base stops.

(STEP 3 BELOW) Install special locking clips to prevent bypass valve blow out from water pressure. Locking clips provided in your parts bag.

(STEP 4 BELOW) Install locking clips on both inlet and outlet ports.

(STEP 5 BELOW) Next install 5' section of drain hose to manifold black drain port and secure hose with metal crimp. Both are provided in the parts bag.

(STEP 6 BELOW) Install 2nd 5' drain hose, grommet, and hose crimp to back of softener tank overflow pre-cut hole. These parts also provided in parts bag.

(STEP 7 BELOW) Push ends of both drain hoses together into wall or floor drain seen in orange.

(STEP 8 BELOW) Now lets hook up the home water pressure. First note that almost all water inlet and outlet water softener ports are 1" size and thread while the home pipes are almost all 3/4" size and thread. This is a problem which requires an adapter.

(STEP 9 BELOW) Also most standard metal flex couplings for attaching water softeners are also 3/4" size and thread at both ends. Although it will fit the home pluming it will not fit the water softener inlet and outlet ports without an expensive $40 propitiatory adapter specifically for water softeners. However thinking outside the box their is an effective low cost alternative.

(STEP 10 BELOW) To make a low cost adapter for $5 instead of paying $40, go the your LHS and buy a PVC female thread 1" coupling and a 3/4" male coupling and PVC glue them together using 1" PVC tubing. After the glue has dried (5 minutes) simply thread the 1" female side of your homemade adapter to the male 1" inlet / outlet ports using thread sealer or Teflon tape. Now the 3/4" male tops of your adapters are ready to accept the female flex pipes from your home water source. The flex pipe has its own washer so no need for thread sealer or tape.

(STEP 11 BELOW) Now make sure all threaded fittings are snug not over tight or you will strip the threads and have to start over. Make sure you have the home water source (one with the on/off wall valve) flex pipe attached to the correct INLET port marked IN and the OUTLET port marked OUT hooked up to the flex pipe without an on/off wall valve. Plug in the water softener transformer and turn on the wall valve (water supply line) and check for leaks.

(STEP 12 BELOW) With leaks fixed or corrected ( I had none) open the bypass valve by gently pulling to open until it stops allowing water into the softener tank and system.

(LAST STEP BELOW) For the last step fill the outer tank with either sodium softener salt ($4/40Lbs) or Potassium ($20/40Lbs). Now press the menu button on the LED face control and follow the prompts date/time/hardness level (40)/ auto or saver auto. Then press and hold the recharge button for 5 seconds and the unit will come alive and start charging the 10K zeolites pellets with positive electric charges to exchange Calcium and heavy metals with either sodium or potassium. Both in vary low levels but the ladder (potassium) more beneficial even essential to both mammal and plant growth. Congratulations you just saved yourself over $1200. The End

 

[Riiz]

Awesome pictures and build.... but is there a way for your tenant to use the bypass water as well?

Artificially softened water is not any better for fish than the original hard water. If you used Sodium based salts, the high sodium is terrible for plant keeping and removes the calcium and magnesium that growing plants and juvenile fish need for development.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Awesome pictures and build.... but is there a way for your tenant to use the bypass water as well?

Artificially softened water is not any better for fish than the original hard water. If you used Sodium based salts, the high sodium is terrible for plant keeping and removes the calcium and magnesium that growing plants and juvenile fish need for development.

Like I said this DIY post is for those that understand and have to deal with hard water at levels that are toxic to fish, in So Cal where you live the hardness levels don't even come close to what some experience, see and understand first hand its effects on fish and the difference a water softener can make in extreme hard water. I can tell you that high levels of Cal/mag are toxic to fish far before being unhealthful for human consumption, because we don't breath it. The numbers and toxicity levels are published and out there but the folks that have to deal with it already know and understand that while everyone else speculates. Believe me my fish are way better off and show it by not dieing. My tenant always has the option of using the garden hose for un-softened water.

 

[Native American]

If you substitute Na+ for Ca++ for Mg++ salts (I'm using 'salt' in the chemical fashion of ion pairs, not equating it with common table salt), the fish are still faced with the same osmotic challenges (although with reduced levels of Ca++ and Mg++). The only true way to reduce the overall concentration of metallic salts (versus generic ion-exchange column "softening" for washing clothes and bathing) is to mix the tap water with RO water.

I live in SW OK...the water here is hard enough to break with a 10# sledge, so it's either mix with RO or simply live with hardy fish that can tolerate the local water conditions. As well, although in many locales in SoCal the water is not too hard by any means, I've lived in SoCal (24 years), and in some places the water is as hard as any other place in the USA. That's because some municipalities use groundwater wells to supplement the water supply, and it seems every well in that state has to be drilled at least through several layers of decomposed granite (try using a demolition hammer to carve out footings for a house foundation cement pour in SoCal, and you'll get the picture).

I'm glad you posted this, though. I'm getting a 40k grain softener for our house, and am pondering the ways to install it.

NA

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

I will admit that I have not been using measured results as I have been putting off buying an API tester to get accurate before and after results, they are not locally available and require special ordering. But I can tell you I notice big differences in the way my fish act between using strait up city well water and softened water especially the Cory's and angels. The Cory's act like they want to jump out of the tank when I use too much strait well water but when Iv used either the sodium and more recently pure potassium nitrate, they no longer act stressed and the little bit of persistent fin problems that were starting up all over have all but disappeared.
But I'm also curious about the real numbers so as soon as I get a liquid tester ill post the before and after soften water results. What I can tell you is that I did test the water with the test strip Morton salt provided in order to set my softener level and it was bright red off the chart at least 1000 PPM Cal/Mag. even though they only provided 1 test strip they did warn not to accidentally test the treated water which would give substantially lower results, so there you go.