Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

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Richard

Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

Post by Richard »

Are this water softener cartridge ($8.00) and this extruded carbon filter ($7.00) from Wateranywhere equivalent, drop-in replacements for the filters that Chris' Coffee sells for $29 and $20, respectively?
JohnB

Post by JohnB »

Same specs & dimensions. Those are the ones I'll be buying when its time to replace mine.
Richard

Post by Richard »

JohnB wrote:Same specs & dimensions. Those are the ones I'll be buying when its time to replace mine.
Thanks for the confirmation, John. Those are my observations, too.

How is your water "down there" in CT? I'm not far from you, but water sources may be wildly different, of course. The municipal water here is from well fields in the Blackstone Valley, not far from the river, in fact. The village water guys say the hardness ranges from something like 0.75-1.2 grains, depending on season and which of two well fields is in operation, and that comports with what little testing I have done. It's low enough that with those simple 10" softener cartridges I've never had any scaling issues, and I've had a plumbed-in machine running here for several years.

Last summer I installed an additional kitchen counter specifically for coffee "stuff," and included a beverage faucet plumbed to the filtered-softened water, used both for coffee and cooking. At the same time, I put a water meter on the feed line to the filters, so no more guessing about when it's time to change filters.

EDIT TO ADD: They charge a hefty amount for shipping. I just ordered two each, which brings the unit cost down quite a bit.
JohnB

Post by JohnB »

My well water tests around 6g to 7g/120ppm. At .75-1.2g your water is soft right out of the tap. Chris says to shoot for 50ppm which is 2.9g to keep the boilers clean.
shinto
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Re: Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

Post by shinto »

How do you calculate the time to replace the water softner?
my water test show 7g
Shinto
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MDL
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Re: Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

Post by MDL »

I don't calculate, I test every month with a test strip and have replaced the cartridges every 12 months (even though they are still functioning and the hardness has not increased).

I use SofCheck test strips that I have purchased here:

http://www.diywatertesting.com/sofchekx3.html

These strips are less expensive then some others and have a clearer range of colors that make them easy to read.

Most of the meters available are conductivity meters that measure total disolved solids. They do not correctly measure hardness and do not show correct changes in hardness following softening. This is because the softener is exchanging hard ions for soft ones and the total remains essentially unchanged.

Take care,
Mark
BillK

Re: Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

Post by BillK »

MDL, are you saying that you get a year out of a water softener cartridge without ever re-charging it?

If yes, are you using the hot water tap much for things like Americano's, tea, etc?

BillK
MDL
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Posts: 329
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:29 am
Location: San Diego

Re: Water softner and filter replacement cartridges

Post by MDL »

Yes, I use a set of cartridges for 12 months and then replace them although the water is still softened. I don't feel comfortable leaving the cartridges for a longer period.

My Vivaldi is used every day but only for a few drinks and I don't make many Americano's or much tea. The hardness of my incoming water varies during the year because the water can come from a number of sources. I test every month and would replace the cartridges before 12 months if the hardness went up, but it has not in 2.5 years.

The cartridges are so cheap if purchased generically that I don't think that it is worth the time, effort or water to regenerate them. I just toss them every year.

Take care,
Mark
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