[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by bayview6

Your family friend should have used soften water. What size is the water tank in your garage?

I can understand not wanting to drink any water that contains alpha particles, but showering and clothes washing?? Better not go out on a sunny day.

This guy was the type who bragged that "real men chew their Las Vegas water." He thought that was funny until the contractor's bids started arriving. He's got a softener now. Although I doubt he's going to live long enough to see his plumbing clog up again.

Like I said earlier, showering with RO water is like showering in a rainstorm. Softened water and (ick) regular tap water aren't the same. It's also less wear and tear on our appliances.

The tank is 300 gallons.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by ScoopLV

Two minutes to fill a coffee pot? Must be nice to have that kind of time.

1) A family friend lives a few miles from us. He's been here... forever. He had to have all the plumbing ripped from the walls and replaced because the minerals had clogged up his system to the point that it was unusable. That was a $60,000 job.

2) We had our water heater inspected last year. The plumber installed my mother-in-law's water heater, and we got him to throw in an inspection on ours. When he arrived, he performed the inspection and then asked why we were having a new water heater inspected. We told him the heater is five years old. His reply? "Impossible. There aren't any mineral deposits. That tank is brand new."

3) We never have issues with the dishwasher, the washing machine, or icemaker.

4) When I use the shower at my mother-in-law's place, it simply doesn't feel right. (I'll grant you that paying that kind of scratch for better showers is a tad excessive.) There also aren't any water spots in the shower, tub, or our dishes for that matter.

5) Another exercise. Go to the water main near your driveway and turn off the water supply to your house to simulate an emergency. I'll run out and do the same. First one to head to the store for a bottle of water loses.



There's five more reasons. But the main one always goes back to "I have so little trust in our water that I won't even brush my teeth with it."

Uhh you really will defend the absurd past all reasonable limits.

My home is over 20 years old and has the original copper piping which is in excellent shape. Flow is great and there is no sign any significant buildup anywhere. It has always used conditioned water I believe.

To redo the plumbing in a 2500 to 3000SF home completely is about a $12,000 job. If he paid $60,000 and does not have a 12,500SF home he should hire a lawyer. Get them for elder abuse if nothing else.

Water heater inspection? You into snipe hunting? The failure of a water heater is virtually always due to leaking from internal or external corrosion. RO water is highly corrosive. If it get through the glass to the steel it will go real fast. Normally you use all plastic plumbing because of that corrosion potential.

We never have problems with wet appliances either other than parts wearing out because they get so old with conditioned water.

My shower door and tile are crisp and sparkle...though 20 years old. That is because of the conditioned water.

Turn off your power and see how well you do. We would have a similar problem except we have a large array of bladder tanks that will maintain flow for half a day...if no one irrigates.

[ScoopLV]

You should say, "PURE RO water is highly corrosive." We have the system dialed back just enough so there aren't any issues. This isn't an industrial RO system pumping out basically distilled water. I have said this many times in our many "discussions" about RO systems.

A swimming pool isn't a particularly good investment. But people install them anyway because they like it. I have never said that our system is a good investment. I have ONLY said that the water is fantastic. Don't like the idea? Don't get one. But many people like the idea. And we're only talking about $5K here. This is hardly an extravagant luxury. I'll wager that many people on this forum have a wristwatch that cost more than $5K.

And I certainly enjoy our water system more than a Rolex.

[macgeek]

Scoop is right on this, we probably pay MORE for bottled water over our lifetime, even if we don't chug the stuff
5K is not a lot of cash in the long term scheme of things.

Jonathan