Pelican Water Softener

[Halfathumb]

I'm considering getting one. Any experience with this brand, or any other suggestions?

[fredhargis]

I've never heard of those....I've always insisted on one with a Fleck control. The rest of the unit can be whatever, but the Fleck control valves are serviceable and parts are readily available. Did you give up on the other one (Kenmore?)?

[Halfathumb]

I've never heard of those....I've always insisted on one with a Fleck control. The rest of the unit can be whatever, but the Fleck control valves are serviceable and parts are readily available. Did you give up on the other one (Kenmore?)?

Yes, $367 later and a service call I figured it was time to cut bait and bail. What is Fleck control? Is it compatible with Kenmore?

[fredhargis]

Others will be more informed on this than I, but when I replaced my last system I asked here and other places about the best softners. The Fleck brand came up often. The Fleck control is the working part of the system, and some places seem to have bought just the control and placed them on a variety of resin tanks. The tank on mine was labeled Clack. I'll be buying a new one this year and will again go with a Fleck control I have no idea if it will work on your Kenmore, and wouldn't recommend you try (you've wasted enough effort/money on it). A  completely new system isn't that expensive if you install it yourself. I did my own and the only part that was a headache was purging the air out of the tank...seemed like it took forever since the water had to be introduced slowly. Wait for more replies, but I'll bet that Fleck and a few other brands come up as good choices. Forgot to mention, another name that came up regularly was Autotrol, and that was actually the control valve on the last softner I replaced. Like Fleck, they can be serviced by many and parts are readily available.

[Bill Bob]

Others will be more informed on this than I, but when I replaced my last system I asked here and other places about the best softners. The Fleck brand came up often. The Fleck control is the working part of the system, and some places seem to have bought just the control and placed them on a variety of resin tanks. The tank on mine was labeled Clack. I'll be buying a new one this year and will again go with a Fleck control I have no idea if it will work on your Kenmore, and wouldn't recommend you try (you've wasted enough effort/money on it). A  completely new system isn't that expensive if you install it yourself. I did my own and the only part that was a headache was purging the air out of the tank...seemed like it took forever since the water had to be introduced slowly. Wait for more replies, but I'll bet that Fleck and a few other brands come up as good choices. Forgot to mention, another name that came up regularly was Autotrol, and that was actually the control valve on the last softner I replaced. Like Fleck, they can be serviced by many and parts are readily available.

Does that brand activate with the amount of water used or is it on a timer that runs weekly or so?  No sense having it re-charge if you have not used much water.
Bill

[fredhargis]

Does that brand activate with the amount of water used or is it on a timer that runs weekly or so?  No sense having it re-charge if you have not used much water.
Bill

I think Neil covered this in his excellent reply, but the one I bought recycled based on water used. If it came due during the day it would wait until the designated time to recharge, for us that was also 2 AM.

[Snipe Hunter]

I think Neil covered this in his excellent reply, but the one I bought recycled based on water used. If it came due during the day it would wait until the designated time to recharge, for us that was also 2 AM.

That may be. I have one set to cycle at midnight every 3 days and the other to cycle at 2:30 am every 2 days so they never fire off at the same time.

[Snipe Hunter]

Pelican is quite expensive. Not sure why.

Fleck is the the brand I recommended in the other thread. I'm a big fan for several reasons. One reason is they use one actuator valve. And a heavy duty motor. So if a valve goes bad, you know which one it is. It can be set up one of 2 ways. By water volume or set on a timer. Mine is set every 3 days. This way I know it will backflush at about 2 am, when nobody is using water. It's an old tried and true design.

A Fleck system should be in the $500.00 range.

I buy from Ohio Pure Water.

They will drop ship it to your home, tanks, yolk and resin media for the media tank. You'll have to buy your own salt. They'll email you PDF instructions for your unique set-up.

Ohio Pure Water will recommend how you set your timer based on you usage and how many people in the house.

Their prices seem to be about 30% cheaper than plumbing suppliers and up to about 50% cheaper than buying if from a plumber. They also provide exemplary customer service. We have two Fleck systems to treat our well water which is awful, brown, high iron water and out of whack PH. These two systems fixed our problem. At the last house we had a similar Fleck setup but also needed a water softener. I had a problem with it at about this time last year and I couldn't figure it out. It turned out that the float valve in the pick-up tube wasn't moving. They helped me diagnose it on the phone and sent the part out the next day.

Ohio Pure Water will want you to perform a flow rate test and test your water. You can do this with a 5 gallon bucket and a cheap home depot water test kit. They won't sell you a system if you don't do this. So, you go to their website, read about how to perform the test and send them the information. They will tell you which system you should buy for your flow rate and based on your test results.

You will have two choices for bypass Yolks. I recommend the stainless steel ones, the are less prone to leaking.

Even if you don't install this yourself, I would still consider purchasing from them for the cost savings and the customer service. Then hire a plumber to install it.

This is our fleck system. Everything came from Ohio Pure Water. The tank on the left has the same control head as a Fleck water softener, different valve but the same control head. This one can either be set with a timer or by volume. A Fleck Mechanical Timer head is about $50.00 cheaper but only allows the backflush function on a timed schedule. Which is really all that most people need. And it's easier to set up/program.

[farmerj111]

I will second the recommendation for Ohio Pure Water.  I'm in California and I bought a system from them and was very pleased with the level of service.  Mine was for PH adjustment not a softener, but the same concept, it just used marble chips instead of salt.

[Snipe Hunter]

I will second the recommendation for Ohio Pure Water.  I'm in California and I bought a system from them and was very pleased with the level of service.  Mine was for PH adjustment not a softener, but the same concept, it just used marble chips instead of salt.

The tank on the right is full of marble chips for PH. Which reminds me... it's past due. I'm off tomorrow, should get it done.

From what I understand, Ohio Pure Water is just 2 brothers and their wives. Most everything ships right from the manufacturer. Low overhead, low margins, lots of loyal customers.