Aqua Rex water System

[laportjm]

Has anyone at the Villages installed one of these units?

[Trish Miller]

My husband and I put one in December 1st and notice a BIG improvement right away!!! Water is definitely softer!!!

Amazon is the cheapest place to buy it.

[laportjm]

Thanks for the input. We were originally talking water softener to install then we heard about this. I'm having a Hard time wrapping my brain around this concept.

[villagetinker]

I did a Google search, as much positive as negative on these devices. Did not spend enough time to see if I could find a certified test lab results, but lack of these could speak volumes.
In any case, we installed a Sears water softener and whole house filter. Two months after, Sears came out with a combination unit.
Results, very soft water, very good tasting water, no salt in the water (by testing).
We use 4 bags of salt (40# bags) about $5 each every 6 months. Very happy with this system.
Cost of 2 separate units was around $850, combo unit is less.
Hope this helps.

[tuccillo]

Sounds like a lot of salt. We use 1 bag (40 lbs) every 6 months.

I did a Google search, as much positive as negative on these devices. Did not spend enough time to see if I could find a certified test lab results, but lack of these could speak volumes.
In any case, we installed a Sears water softener and whole house filter. Two months after, Sears came out with a combination unit.
Results, very soft water, very good tasting water, no salt in the water (by testing).
We use 4 bags of salt (40# bags) about $5 each every 6 months. Very happy with this system.
Cost of 2 separate units was around $850, combo unit is less.
Hope this helps.

[villagetinker]

The amount of salt depends on the setting of the water softener. I had the water tested, and then set to the measured hardness (at the time). I know you will get soft water at much lower settings, but over the 30+ years I have been using these, I always noticed the water getting harder near the end of the cycle.
I may need to check the hardness and adjust the settings on our unit. Thanks for the feedback.

[tuccillo]

My water softener allows you to specify the water hardness ( 12 grains per gallon as measured by a titration test ). It winds up regenerating about every 8 days or so. I have checked the water hardness just before a regeneration and it has come up as 0 grains per gallon (the precision of the titration test is 1 grain per gallon ). I just double checked my records, I am using a 40 lb bag every 5 month, not the 6 months I thought.

The amount of salt depends on the setting of the water softener. I had the water tested, and then set to the measured hardness (at the time). I know you will get soft water at much lower settings, but over the 30+ years I have been using these, I always noticed the water getting harder near the end of the cycle.
I may need to check the hardness and adjust the settings on our unit. Thanks for the feedback.

[villagetinker]

Yes, I was wrong also, it was 4 bags per YEAR, so much closer to your results. I thought I had measured 18 grains of hardness, but that was 2+ years ago. Will check later this month as I need to turn off (bypass) the system to refill the hot tub, so I will have lots of hard water to check with.

[tuccillo]

Yes, that sounds more reasonable. The 18 grains per gallon sounds a bit high. If you lower that setting it will probably save you some salt but the stuff is pretty inexpensive. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I was wrong also, it was 4 bags per YEAR, so much closer to your results. I thought I had measured 18 grains of hardness, but that was 2+ years ago. Will check later this month as I need to turn off (bypass) the system to refill the hot tub, so I will have lots of hard water to check with.

[Trish Miller]

With the Aqua Rex system, NO salt is needed, which is a plus!!

[tuccillo]

The "salt-free" systems don't actually soften the water because they don't remove the calcium and magnesium ions that cause hardness. You need a ion exchange system (which is how a salt-based water softener works) or a reverse osmosis filter to remove hardness. If you measured the hardness before and after your system you would find that it is unchanged. These systems are sometimes referred to as "water conditioners". They attempt to "crystallize" the hardness to reduce scale build-up. I don't believe they provide the same feel as softened water. However, if you are happy with the system then that is all that really matters.

With the Aqua Rex system, NO salt is needed, which is a plus!!