Water Softener Purchase/Installation (Lutz, Wesley Chapel: house, to buy, inspection)

[LKJ1988]

Just more snake oil.

[MovingEast8]

Do you need to live in a house to install a softener/water filter or it works for a condo or apartment too? Anyone here who has a landlord installed a softener/water filter in his/her rental?

[bentlebee]

We never saw any LL install a water softener. The rentals we manage that have a water softener all had them installed when owners lived at the property.

[bobandsherry]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

Lowes has a 44,000 grain Whirlpool system for $497.00. They also will refer you to a local contractor to install it. I would image that would be another $300. I would think you can get it done for under $1,000.00.

Shop Whirlpool 44,000-Grain Water Softener at Lowes.com

Just to note, that's a softener only. Ideally one should also get a filter, but YMMV.

[MovingEast8]

Thanks!

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by bobandsherry

After doing a little research and getting a couple quotes, I decided to bite it and went with Culligan. I could have went with a Sears, Lowes, Home Depot unit (they are essentially all the same) and had a plumber install and would have cost $1000-1300. I had local company come out and they quoted $1,300 for softener only and $1,700 with softener/filtration system. This was outside install and they were going to run a pipe underground for the regeneration run off. They would not run to street.

I had Culligan come out and the obviously leave LOTS of room for negotiation. They originally quoted more system than I was looking for and at $5,900 (crazy). At the end of it I let him know that price is more important than all the bells and whistles (don't need the reverse osmosis, wifi connectivity, etc). I was looking for softener and filtration system, plain and simple. He came back with $2,899 (let's say CRAZY once again). I showed him the other local company for $1,700 and without batting an eye he said if I was willing to pay that he'd be able to match the price. This was for Medalist Plus 10x54 (40,000 grain) system. The other units quoted were smaller (31,000 - 32,000 grain). They also ran piping to the street for the regeneration. In addition, Culligan also provides maintenance check (every 2 months) and free salt for a year.

I could have saved a few bucks but Culligan stood out with their warranty and went with a name brand vs. no name (lesser named) brand. Sears/Lowes/Home Depot units come with 1 year warranty, local company came with 5 years, and Culligan came with 5 years on the circuit boards, 10 years on control valves, brine valve and internal parts, and lifetime on the filtration resin. I figure with Culligan I'll be able to get parts for a much longer time than the other units as well.

That's my story and sticking to it. Good luck.

thats the same reasoning I had for buying, I guess it depends what your stating with for water. Ours is pretty bad (very high Iron) and their best units can barely do the trick - we have 2 different units which are maxed out on their regenerating/filtration ability and it just gets the job done.

If I wasnt stuck, I would go with the Kinetico unit. our neighbors have one and have less issues with service and water quality.

[Dianna.Cooper]

I recently replaced mine and very happy with the 10 year warranty. It's not a digital system and most systems you buy from Home Depot, Lowes, Sears are one or two phase systems that last maybe 3 years (mine lasted 2.75 years)

I went with a company that's local in Land O Lakes after seeing the Culligan speel...and GE speel..

Advanced Water - Cost me $1,050 for a water conditioner and reverse osmosis drinking water tank in my kitchen... very happy with the the water now.

I had very hard water and the month or two I didn't have a system really was bad...

Call Tim or Judy - 727-641-5240 or 813-299-7167

[MovingEast8]

A local told me that Dunedin has an reverse osmosis plant, so I need not worry about hard water, is that true? I find it a little hard to believe Dunedin can afford to spend so much money on reverse osmosis for the entire city... 24/7.

[The Chap]

Just to follow up on this... we ended up getting a Kenmore hybrid filter / water softener from Sears. So far so good... the installation went smoothly and the water quality has improved dramatically.

The search process, specifically getting info from plumbing companies - painful. It felt like I was working with Nebraska Ave used car salesmen rather than plumbing professionals. Water softeners, I assume, are pretty big profit centers for them based on the pitches we were given. But they came across as shysters trying to sell us overkill systems / features that wouldn't be true necessities unless we were running a hotel.

So hopefully the Kenmore works out. It has so far.

[ilikepizza]

Originally Posted by The Chap

Just to follow up on this... we ended up getting a Kenmore hybrid filter / water softener from Sears. So far so good... the installation went smoothly and the water quality has improved dramatically.

The search process, specifically getting info from plumbing companies - painful. It felt like I was working with Nebraska Ave used car salesmen rather than plumbing professionals. Water softeners, I assume, are pretty big profit centers for them based on the pitches we were given. But they came across as shysters trying to sell us overkill systems / features that wouldn't be true necessities unless we were running a hotel.

So hopefully the Kenmore works out. It has so far.

Did you instantly notice a difference in your water and recommend the system you bought? How much was the installation?