[jrref]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

The biggest mistake made by most people is buying a softener and filter system that has far too much capacity for their needs. For example, Nova is a reputable local seller/installer with a good product. However, both their softener and their 3-filter system is easily double or triple what is needed for a two person household. Instead, go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a basic softener where the exchange tank sits inside the plastic bin that holds the salt. GE has a nice unit, although there are many similar ones. Next, buy a two-filter system (Nova sells a three-filter unit, the third filter being for heavy metals, which is completely unnecessary with The Village's water). Again, HD or Lowes has what you will need. Finally, buy the 10 inch model filter and not the 20 inch filters. One is for sediment and the other of activated charcoal is to remove the chlorine smell. Again, the 10 inch filters are more than you will ever need. However, the best reason to buy 10 inch filters is that the 20 inch models are very difficult to change. The filters are vertical and the plastic body screws into the metal head. When changing the filters (most likely once/year), you will be working on your knees, wrestling with a large wrench that slips over the plastic body, and unscrewing the plastic body upside down. The filter and body are filled with water and are very heavy, particularly as you will be working in an awkward position. That's why it is much easier with the 10 inch vs. 20 inch filters. Changing the 10 inch filters once/year is more than enough. Once/year with the 20 inch filters is overkill. You'll know when you need to change the filters when the chlorine smell returns.

If you have minimal DIY skills, you can install the system yourself. It is nothing more than cutting, fitting and gluing plastic pipes. You will need an electric drill to install the two, three, or four concrete bolts in the concrete block where you will be mounting the head of the filters. You can photograph and measure any of your neighbor's or friend's systems. There are several videos on YouTube. If you don't like doing it yourself, there are plenty of plumbers and handymen to do the job.

If you had a softener/filter system at a previous home, you know their benefits. If this will be your first system, you'll be amazed how much better the water will smell; how there will be no "white" build-up on your faucets and shower head, how much better your skin and hair will feel after showering; how there is no soap "scum" on your bathtub or shower walls, and how much cleaner your clothes are after being laundered.

I know you "mean well" with your response and you have a lot of good information but a couple of corrections. The "Capacity" of the system relates to how many gallons per minute can it "process". This is important because when you are taking a shower and washing cloths at the same time or have the dishwasher running or someone flushes the toilet, you want to make sure you have enough water for all these devices. The Nova system, as you mentioned was sized for a typical home in the Villages meaning there are one or two residents vs a whole large family. I believe the system is good for 1-4 residents but the point is that it's not oversized. No matter which system you get, the filters and the softener have a maximun flow rate at a given water pressure and it's pretty consistent across filter types. This is why if you get a Nova, or a Pelican or a Rheem or GE or whatever system that has filtration, they will always have a rating on it's capacity related to water usage in a home with "X" number of people living in it.

As far as the size of the filter cartridge, the 20 inch filters have 2X the flow rate as the 10 inch filters. In my opinion and experience using 20 inch filters, you need the 20 inch ones to get the flow rate needed in our homes here in the Villages. In my home with the 20 inch filters, if i'm taking a shower and my wife washes cloths or flushes the toilet, I can see a slight reduction in water pressure in the shower. Part of this is due to the filter flow rate and the other is the capacity of the softener. You may be able to "get away" with 10 inch filters but I don't think it's a good idea.

The Nova filter three stage filter consists of two sediment and a carbon block filter. The sediment removes the sediment as the names says. The carbon block filter removes the chlorine and other chemicales in the water. You need a carbon filter to remove the chlorine. That said, once you have the filter system in place, you can change the filters once a year yourself. Nova has a system where you can buy the filters from them and DIY. Or you can get exact replacements from Express Water or the other numerous filter companies on Amazon. If you want more filtration you can get a 5 micron sediment filter, a carbon filter and a carbon block filter for example. They will go into the system since they are standard replacements. You are correct you don't need any heavy metal filters. But this is good for a DIYer. If you are a typical Villager you just call Nova and don't worry about it. As you said, when changing the filters yourself, they are full of water and heavy so most Villagers probably won't want to or be able to change them, themselves.

As to the units that you refer to at the big box stores, they are very good as well. The Rheem unit is good and has wifi with an app so you can monitor it but the thing you need to remember is if you go the big box store route, no matter how it gets installed, by you or a plumber, You will be very involved if something goes wrong vs just calling Nova and let them take care of it.

As I mentioned, water filtration and softening is not rocket science. There is no right or wrong, just be aware of the conseques of your choices. There is no real magic technology out there that you can buy or would potentially buy for a residence here in the Villages that would make one system cost 2X the cost of another unless other services or extended warrenties were included. Hope this helps.