Nov
2
Water Treatment Questions & Answers
November 2, 2007 |
The following are quotes from our Contact form with answers to real questions. All personal information has been omitted and some spelling and grammar mistakes were corrected.
Question: Do you ship to Canada? Ontario specifically? I have tried and tried to source a system like your 56MR400 or a 70MR400 locally but despite living in a “hard water” area, choices are few and “wholesale” is non-existent.
I appreciate your feedback
Answer: There certainly are water treatment dealerships in Ontario. Their prices are higher than ours because of the import duty applied to US made products when they cross the border. Also, local “hands on” water treatment has more of a cost over-head but it’s usually worth it. Your system is installed and set up for you and if there are any problems, all you need to do is call the dealer. If you are handy and can install and setup one of our systems, then you’ll be very happy with our service, but be sure to add the cost of the import fee to the cost of your order. And yes, we are now shipping to most parts of Canada.
Question - Regarding the size of the by-pass valve tube connectors. The diameter of the pvc pipe connecting the component parts of our water system (from bladder tank to inline filter and house)is 1 9/32″. Should I be ordering the 1 1/4″ connectors? Thank you
Answer: Choose the tube connector that is equal to or larger than your water pipes. It is better to end up with a larger connector than a smaller one. If you choose a smaller one, then you could possibly restrict the flow of your water system. And it’s important to keep in mind that with most of our water softener/filter systems, the connector is either brass/copper sweat or standard pipe thread. In either case, you will be required to obtain some sort of fitting/adapter from a plumbing supply store to complete the connection. The manufacturers of the equipment we carry provide a wide range of tube connectors, but with rare exceptions, you will need an adapter.
Question: I’m building a new home (7 months out) before I need a system. We have very hard water here. I was going to go with a Water Softener unit. Will the FLECK carbon system remove or reduce the hard water deposits a well as a water softener(salt) system. Also if so do I need to install a pre filter for a whole house system? Since it’s a carbon based system I don’t have to consider a RO unit, Right?
Answer: A whole-house carbon filter is a great idea. It enhances even well water and improves the taste, but it does not remove the contaminants that a reverse osmosis system will, and it certainly will not do anything to remove hardness. A carbon filter system is best used to remove chlorine and reduce fluoride. Chlorine is great for keeping municipal water supplies free of bacteria and algae, but it makes water taste bad. The activated carbon media will greatly improve the taste of the water. A reverse osmosis system will remove all contaminants and usually requires a softener as pre-treatment to remove hardness.
Question: I have a customer who bought 2 Fleck 5600 tanks instead of a dual 9000 unit and wants me to connect them together, parallel should work I think, any suggestions?
Answer: No, two softeners in parallel will not work like a Fleck model 9000, but they will work. The Fleck 9000 automatically alternates between its two media tanks so that one is always in use and available while the other is in standby mode. One media tank can be regenerated while the other is in use. With a two softener parallel system, you are using both softeners at the same time. If they were to both backwash at the same time, you would be out of treated water. The Fleck 5600 is designed to schedule its regeneration at 2am. You would need to offset the time on one of them to prevent this from happening.
Question: Any recomendations for a well water system with 5 family members? Will the Clack system work? Regardless of which system I purchase, can I get replacement parts from you?
Answer: The Clack system will certainly work, but you would first need to know how much hardness is in your water before you can properly size the system. Once you know your water’s hardness content, the number of people using water in the home and iron content (if any), then you can use our softener sizing chart to determine the size you’ll need. Beyond that, check for flow rates. The Fleck 5600 has lower flow rates than the Clack WS-1. If you need higher flow rates, go with the Clack. Because the Clack systems are relatively new (to us), we do not have repair parts listed for them at this time. Rest assured that we fully support any product we have listed on the web site.
Question: Info: Autotrol 55-MR-320
-Total height I will need to install/maintain unit (understairs) of my home
-there is a toilet right behind the wall, can I just drain the brine line into the tank or toilet?
-also if I have to go up high and over a hallway to drain the brine line, I need to go up ten feet or so. Is there enough pressure to do that?
Answer: All of the dimensions for all of our softener/filter systems are listed right next to the item. There are also plenty of links to the owner’s manual, specifications and for most products, installation instructions. Please be sure to read those. They do not recommend draining the system to a toilet. The drain line (not the brine line) is under pressure. The pressure comes from your water system. Only you can determine your water pressure. While is is always more desirable to run a drain line down, in certain cases these drain lines can actually run up hill, but 10 feet sounds like quite a run, so it would be best to try and find some other solution first.
Question: Fleck, Clack, Autotrol: how do I pick which brand? And are they all made in the USA? I don’t want any made in China products in my house. Finally, who honors the five/ten year warrentees? How do you get a hold of the right people?
Answer: None of our products are made in China. Some components may be manufactured in Canada, but everything else is made in the US. These products - Fleck, Clack and Autotrol - are professional grade and the absolute best you can buy. There is nothing better. To help you choose which one of these brands, go to our “What’s The Best Water Softener” section. Warranty is simple, we support the manufacturer’s warranty. You can go through Water Value Company if you have a problem, or the manufacturer. An important point to make here is that this equipment is designed for the water treatment professional and quite simply does not break down. We have been contacted for what were perceived as warranty issues, but after evaluation - either by return or troubleshooting - were not found to be manufacturing defects.
Examples of perceived warranty issues include, a leak that developed due to impact with an automobile mirror frame. Sorry, that’s not a defect. Another interesting issue involved a radically low pH feed water problem. After about 2 years, a Fleck 5600 was returned because of a leaking piston. The pH level of the supply water was well below the specifications for that controller. Fleck covered the piston and seal kit replacement anyway, but the customer was warned that unless he treated the water for low pH, the controller would probably start leaking in another 2 years. Finally, no Autotrol warranty issues have occurred since the introduction of the Logix controllers. The older 460i models did tend to burn out in electrical storms (which is actually not a defect, but it was covered anyway).
Fleck, Clack, Autotrol, Microline, Nimbus, HM Digital, GE Water & Process Technologies, Structural and Nelsen Corp. all maintain very solid warranties against defects. When you purchase from us, you can rest assured that there is no better equipment available.
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