I find hard water that smells bad, tastes bad and makes my skin itch to be unacceptable, no matter who says it's "in acceptable limits." Your neighbor either gets his water from a different source or is much m ore forgiving. I'll stick with my Nova system.

Fro tec water softeners are made in Guandong China

https://frotecpure.en.alibaba.com/

I had to look it up.

Nova sells the replacement filters and wrench directly to consumers. You can stop by their warehouse SW of SR44 and Powell. If you are going to DIY, you need the wrench, but it's not expensive and it is reusable.

We have a Pegasus system. It came with the (resale) house. We have their tech come out every 12-18 months for service and so far, so good (6-7 years)...

Nova water softener shuts off water to house during regeneration weekly
 

If you're considering their water softener system be aware that the water will be shut off in the house unless you manually bypass the softener during regeneration. Just had it installed and discovered it when using the sink at 2 AM this morning. It is explained in their installation document I hadn't read at that point.

Most water softeners do this unless there is an automatic bypass installed. Generally, more expensive units have this feature.

Expensive?lol
 

Most water softeners regenerate, the brine tank needs flushed and refilled to get rid of the hardened minerals. The cheaper softeners are difficult to mandate scheduling and a little less user friendly. High end softeners are Wi-Fi connected and can regenerate on demand. Regenerating at night is typical and not some high end luxury lol.

I think you misunderstood my comment. What I was trying to say is, automatic bypass valves which will keep water available during regeneration are mostly found on higher priced units. Any you are right, the user interface on most systems are very criptic but once you set up your softener, there is no reason to go in and change the settings.

If you had a phone app for your softener to change the settings what would you use it for?

The only thing I can say is useful is to know when to refill the brine tank with salt vs going over to the tank periodically and taking a look or setting an alert on you calendar each month.

Not Needed
 

Water softeners are an add on and not necessarily needed in the villages. My mom has lived here 20 some years without one. There isn’t calcium build up on faucets, the shower walls are clean and the water heater has only been changed out one time. Beware of salesmen that tell you that you need one. I haven’t met anyone yet who needed one here. In my opinion they are a gimmick and certainly not a necessity.

It's not that they are "needed" but some may prefer it since our water generally has a hardness of 10-13. Sort of in the middle, not too soft and not too hard.

Or just right
 

In other words, just right.

Like the 3 bears LOL. If you are used to soft water then it's too hard. If you are used to hard well water then its fine.

Nova just told me all three of my canisters needed replacing
 

Six years, with filters replaced by Nova annually, and now they say I need to get a complete new system! I'm guessing that the Complete New System will just be 3 new canisters. But $270 to replace 3 plastic housings is high and I don't see how the pressure got over 100 psi. Even if it did I don't see why it would crack the bottom of the canisters.

They also suggested I get a water pressure regulator for an additional $150. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I like to go fishing but this process seems a little fishy to me!

So what Village do you live in?
Did you try calling the water department to find out if it's possible for the water to go over 100psi unless something is wrong?

I can understand Nova looking at your canisters and seeing cracks and guessing the water pressure was high at some point but since all these canisters all have the same psi ratings, even if you buy new or another brand unless you find out the reason for the failure, you will be back in the same boat and having to put on a water pressure regulator.

Nova Systems installed outside
 

Do people install their systems outside or in the garage? if installed outside are they UV resistant? Do you need to cover them? Why does Nova reps say they will be ok outside?

Are you sure they said that? I find it hard to believe because regardless if the cannisters are UV resistent, they use a steel mounting frame and metal covered gauges. My guess is after a year the mounting frame and gauges would be all rusty. As for the water softener, I'm positive the control is not water proof so that would fail eventually unless you covered it.

I've never seen a Nova system installed outside.

I have seen another manufacturers water softener installed outside but it had a special cover.

The pressure absolutely can go over 100psi and does so on occasion.

Well there you go. That's dangerous so I guess a pressure regulator is in order to solve the problem.

I would still call the water department and see what they have to say.

I've had two neighbors across the street that had their Nova under-sink reverse osmosis filter canisters break within 2 weeks of each other. The first one just left for a two week vacation and flooded their house. They had to have their flooring replaced along with baseboards and a few cabinets. The other neighbor was in his garage and heard a pop and found water gushing from under his sink. Luckily he caught it fast with no damage but a lot of mopping. Nova was blaming high water pressure and installed pressure regulators. I'm across the street and never seen my pressure over 70 psi but admit I don't check it on a regular basis.

Please don't tell us which Village you are in. :confused:

I'm in Hawkins. These filters were just under 4 years old.

I believe there was another incident with the same filter canister down the street but that was second hand info.

I think if someone does install a pressure regulator it would be good if they share what they installed, which company installed it and how much it cost so those here can benefit from the experience.

That said, I still feel the Villages water must have some way of limiting the water pressure to our homes to avoid situations like this. This is why it's important to tell us which Village you are from so we can figure out if the problem is in a specific area supplied by a specific source or not.

Nova Systems
 

Yes when they were installed I asked if it could go outside and was told That the red relief buttons needed to be covered so I covered them. When they did a filter change I was told the canisters needed to be replaced because of UV damage. So now I must change them. I had an outside water system before nova and never had this problem. I am disappointed in Nova system at this time. I also found out the time before when they changed the filters they put them in backwards.

Domestic fixtures are nominally rated to 80psi. I.e. this is the pressure they can expect to run without issue.

If you are seeing pressures well above 80, there is something else going on. I have seen pressure hitting around 100 in a home with a failed expansion tank on the water heater.

If the supply side was exceeding even 90psi, toilet valves and sinks everywhere would be failing constantly in that neighborhood.

Certain neighborhoods have a lot of pressure relief valves that start popping off between 75-80. I see these in a lot of homes off BV, north of LSL. These relief valves are in some other areas too, but practically every home up that way has them.

I am a licensed, certified and working home inspector. I get into a lot of homes. I have never found any home with a functional expansion tank where the pressure exceeded 80psi.

When Nova installs their system they always check the expansion tank if there is a tank hot water system installed but most people never do any maintenance on their until it fails, including the expansion tank. Typiclly they only last 5ish years then need to be replaced and that's if they were installed properly with the correct air pressure.

Which outdoor water system did you have installed without any problem because I haven't seen any like the Nova system with the three canisters that are rated for outdoor installation.

If that is the case, why doesn't Nova automatically install a water pressure regulator and add an additional $150 to the cost of a complete system?

I've had Nova in my garage for 3 years. No issues so far. I do my own filter changes. But if this is really an issue, seems like they should just install them universally rather than end up with angry customers.

I think this problem is relatively new and Nova is Just trying to deal with it best they can. I think if you order a new system, they will offer or ask you to get pressure regulator, but I’m not 100% sure.

I have the 3 filter system that they installed outside 4 years ago.

Or....was there a defective lot of canisters? No way to know.

If it's a "new" problem, why haven't water pressure spikes been a problem historically? Are the pressure spikes "new"? Or are the current run of canisters unable to handle the pressure like previous ones did?

Typically, a pressure regulator is a one way device that will control the incoming water pressure to the house. However, if the pressure increase is caused by a defective expansion tank, the pressure regulator will not control the pressure inside the house and at the filtration system equipment.

Yep. Which doesn't explain why this is a "new" problem. Weren't expansion tanks failing before?

When I said it was a "new" problem I meant, I hadn't heard anyone complain about it before. When I purchased my home here in the Villages four years ago, I did a lot of research on Nova and no one mentioned this problem and I've not heard anything until recently on TOTV. As I mentioned, I know they always check the expansion tank if the homeowner has one at installation but very few ever maintain that. And if it was the expansion tank causing the problem, why wouldn't we have heard about this years ago? Nova has thousands of systems installed in the Villages for 10+ years now.

My "guess" is 1) Maybe there was a shipment of canisters that were faulty. They all come from China so I'm not sure how you guarantee 100% quality. 2) Something new with our water system causing a problem with high pressures because we should not be seeing pressures that high at the water supply.

The only way to debug this is for those who can see the pressure over 80+ psi for example, they need to turn on the water in the house and then tell us what the gauge says. If the pressure only drops a little then the high pressure is coming from the supply. If it drops a lot then it's something in the home like a bad expansion tank.

This is my "guess" also. It's the most logical explanation. Occam's Razor.

I’ve had them for 4 years and never had any issues. I have my filters changed every 6 months.

Every 6 months may be a bit of overkill. I believe they use standard 20"x4.5" filters. I have a dual canister 20" x 4.5" system with a 5 micron pleated sediment filter and a 5 micron carbon block filter. The main purpose of the sediment filter is to extend the life of the carbon block filter by removing any sediment that would clog the carbon block filter. The pleated sediment filter can be hosed off and reused. Given the chlorine level in The Villages, the amount of water we use daily, and the chlorine absorption specs of the carbon block filter, I replace the carbon block filter every 2 years. At that time, I hose off the sediment filter but it is always pretty clean. I do replace the pleated sediment filter after 6 years ( two hose offs). I have tested the water at 2 years for chlorine leakage and found none so 2 year replacements on the carbon block filter is fine.

It really depends on where you live in the Villages. Some may need a change once a year. I have a friend who does what you do but goes every 5 years no problem. I have another friend who's trying to go 10 years.

The chlorine level in The Villages potable water is advertised. Carbon block filters are spec'd to handle a specific amount of chlorine. How much potable water you use is easy to determine from your water bill. The calculation of how often to change the carbon block filter is a simple calculation. 5 years or 10 years between filter changes, unless you use very little water, if almost certainly outside the spec for a 20"x4.5" carbon block filter. However, people are free to do whatever they want, regardless of whether it makes any sense.

Nova recommends changing the filters every 26,000 gallons. I asked how they determined that figure and the answer was basically that they are dirty enough at that point to be icky and inefficient.

If someone has a better MEASURABLE metric, please share. Saying 2 years or 5 years is meaningless since every household has different usage needs. A home of 4 people that lives in TV year around is vastly different than a single person that snowbirds.

The 26,000 gallons that Nova came up with is their measurement given what the filters are rated for and the quality of the water here in the Villages. If we had well water, the recommendation would be different for example.

That said, you are right. Depending on how much water you use will depend on when to change the filters. So, what you need to consider is first, how fast is the sediment filter getting dirty in your home since sediment varies in different areas of the Villages? Most here in the Villages are not going to open their filters to check. You can't clean the carbon filter so you can measure your water to see when you start to see chlorine and then change them. Or you can just say I'll change them once a year and not worry about the $125 or whatever Nova charges. Remember, no matter what anyone tells you, these filters are very heavy when filled with water so if you get the tool and try to change the filters yourself, be very careful because when you unscrew them, they are going to drop off the mount like a rock and you can get hurt.

The question you need to ask yourself is for $125 or whatever Nova charges, is that money worth the trouble of trying to test and or guess when you need to change your filters which may vary since the sediment and chlorine levels change a lot here in the Villages? If not, then just change them yourself or have Nova do it once a year. If you find the filters are clean after a year, do it every 1 1/2 or 2 years if you want for example. Here in Osceola Hills mine and my neighbor's filters looked mildly dirty after a year for a couple of years then this year after a year they were very bad. I tried to clean mine and it was a mess they were so dirty so I just changed them.