Water Softeners

[brobox]

Originally Posted by PJL

This will sound silly, but how much of a problem is hard water. If we have a 5 micron or less whole home sediment filter, what issues are you averting by adding a water softener? Just trying to learn.

The problem hard water has in a MH is the faucets, toilet valves, sediments in the hot water tank and spotting of shower glass. Many of the RV parks are on well water, which in most cases, is harder than treated city water. There is no guaranty of water quality from one part of the country to the other. My S&B water is 354 PPM at my kitchen sink even after a water softener. Our RO water is only 54 PPM. According to the map that was posted, I live in a hard water area, extremely hard areas are really bad

[DeeGee]

You're doing well, Chuck - my S&B measures 560 ppm. I put in a RO unit and get 50 ppm out of it. Still need to do that for the Entegra.

[weirba]

Originally Posted by 50sbuckeye

So which one would you recommend for a RV?

They have a variety that are all for RV's, they all work the same with the only real difference is the dimensions of the tank, which in turn determines the amount of resin , which then determines the softener's capacity.

I picked the largest capacity, short fat model I could find. I wanted short so it would store easily and large capacity so I would not have to regenerate to frequently. I picked the 9 x 16 tank. I can easily store it, standing up, on the pull out tray bay in our 2014 anthem. Now they have a 10 x 16 model which I would have got but they didn't have that option when I purchased.

I syohon the water out prior to storing to make the softener lighter.

[BigSkyBob]

To answer the OP's question, I have the Mark 8000 unit and love it. It's been in service over 8 years and still works good as new. I'm sure there are equal or better units out there but I wanted to answer your question.

[GoneWithTheWind]

I installed a completely automatic water softener ( never needs to be removed from the Entegra ). Just dial in the grain hardness of your current water supply.
And add salt to the salt tank , when needed. Can a person post a picture of the water softener with the use of a smart phone?

[firedoc]

Originally Posted by GoneWithTheWind

I installed a completely automatic water softener ( never needs to be removed from the Entegra ). Just dial in the grain hardness of your current water supply.
And add salt to the salt tank , when needed. Can a person post a picture of the water softener with the use of a smart phone?

Yes, using the iRV2 app. It even gives you a choice of choosing the size of the pic to make it easier for others to see it. Wish everyone would do that.

[johnnyreno]

What you do is go to Costco buy the kirland brand vodka pour about a pint to 100 gals, sftens my water every time. Just Sayinn.

[johnnyreno]

Originally Posted by brobox

The problem hard water has in a MH is the faucets, toilet valves, sediments in the hot water tank and spotting of shower glass. Many of the RV parks are on well water, which in most cases, is harder than treated city water. There is no guaranty of water quality from one part of the country to the other. My S&B water is 354 PPM at my kitchen sink even after a water softener. Our RO water is only 54 PPM. According to the map that was posted, I live in a hard water area, extremely hard areas are really bad

On top of that you need to exercise you aquahot tempering valve very often so it don't cake up with calcium a lot f people don't realize that.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by johnnyreno

On top of that you need to exercise you aquahot tempering valve very often so it don't cake up with calcium a lot f people don't realize that.

Another thing that softened water will help with. It does pay to exercise those as well.... something I forget to do. Thanks for that reminder Johnny.

[TurboDaveTX]

Originally Posted by Selah

Pretty much identical to the On the Go unit that I use. Get which ever one is cheaper. These units work very well. The nylon fittings that come with it are suseptable to stripping the threads. I put Gilmore quick connect fitting so nothing has the be screwed or unscrewed plus it makes setup easier.
Don't use the quicken extend from Home Depot or Lowes. Those are aluminium and corrode quickly. The Gilmore fittings are solid brass.

While the nylon fittings may strip more easily than brass, there is a reason for using the nylon fittings other than cost. Most brass fittings contain lead. Read the disclaimer and warnings in the attachments. Have not seen a Gilmore QD fitting that says it is lead free. Shop Home Depot plumbing department for Watts lead free brass fittings. Not being able to find a lead free QD fitting, I am using Melnor nylon QD on my water softener.

Don't assume a brass item is lead free unless it states "lead free". Read the disclaimer a commonly sold RV Camco fitting. Then read disclaimer on Watts fitting. Same goes for water pressure regulators. Remember Flint, MI!

[hawgguy]

Originally Posted by johnnyreno

On top of that you need to exercise you aquahot tempering valve very often so it don't cake up with calcium a lot f people don't realize that.

Right you are Johnny. Even after adjusting mine a year ago, I had to use pump pliers (gently) to break free my tempering valve last week to "exercise" it. After it was free, it turned easily.

[rljacobs]

What and where is the aqua hot tempering valve that has to be exercised?
How do you exercise it. Does it need that activity whether or not using a water softner?

[BrianGlenn]

To convert from hardness measurements that are in ppm to grains per gallon, divide ppm by 17.1.

Water softeners replace Calcium and Magnesium ions in the water with Sodium. Some people with sodium sensitivities, or sodium reduced diets (salt) may need to avoid softened water if it is their primary source of drinking water.

[BrianGlenn]

Originally Posted by rljacobs

What and where is the aqua hot tempering valve that has to be exercised?
How do you exercise it. Does it need that activity whether or not using a water softner?

The Aqua Hot tempering valve, or mixing valve is on the aqua hot unit. It tempers/mixes hot water coming out of the domestic water heating coil in the Aqua Hot unit with cold supply water to meet a set outlet temperature.

Exercising it simply means turning the setting knob all the way open or all the way closed and then set back to the original setting. If it does not turn it is stuck/scaled from the "hardness" in the water (Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Carbonate). It is important to count the turns (I mark the top of the knob) open or closed to make sure it is returned to the same setting.

Here is a picture (from Roger Berke - I highly recommend Roger and his site and forum).

Is it required and what frequency? Not sure, but harder water will scale faster. i do it as a preventative maintenance measure.

Hope that helps,
Brian