Tier1 - High Efficiency 32,000 Bean Compact Water Softener System with Sediment Pre-Filter, Mineral Tank Prefilled with 1 Cubic Foot of Cationic Resin | Filtration System

We have well water that is of excellent quality across the board for iron, sulfur, mercury, bacteria, etc., EXCEPT for hardness where it literally measures off the chart (the test strip color was darker than the top of the scale at 425ppm). This hard water has made our laundry come out feeling "crunchy", caused our soap dispenser door in our dishwasher to repeatedly stick shut (thus not releasing dishwasher detergent), leaves white spots whenever I wash our cars, clogged up our coffee maker, yields pore tasting water for drinking and, of course, clogs up our shower heads and faucets. Now we have good tasting, soft water (somewhere between 0 and 25ppm, if not completely eliminated -- hard to tell with test strips) and we no longer need to regularly spend the extra money on all the water softening laundry and dishwasher products and bottled waters. Some reviewers state the instructions are hard to follow, or that they did not receive instructions on how to use the automated pump. The instructions I received were clearly laid out, with accompanying pictures, that walked me through the process to piece the system together; I had no issues at all. The instructions also included directions for programming the automated pump -- the only issue I had was regarding the initial start up of the system upon plugging it in the first time. The instructions stated I should see a specific code when first plugging it in, but there was no code displayed at all; I figured out I had to go to the menu and scroll down three times to show the code. Other than that, the entire setup process was very easy. The instructions also provided a schematic of how to plumb the softener into your home water supply. My setup was slightly different due to the orientation of the way I had to install the filter, so while the schematic is absolutely accurate you may need to tweak the layout a little bit based on your own system install orientation. I plumbed the system into existing household PVC pipes; PVC is very easy to work with and much simpler and quicker than plumbing into copper pipes. If you are not handy, I do not recommend you plumb the system yourself, but if you are handy, doing the plumbing yourself will save you several hundreds of dollars in labor costs.

Easy enough to set up and install if you have the right tools for the type of pipe you plan to use. I used 3/4" PEX and only needed to buy some threaded adapters to connect the filter and softener to the PEX. Keeps the water nice and soft once adjusted properly. The water softener has not had any problems in the year since purchase. However, the filter is a different story. The filter developed a leak in the top black portion that contains the in/out water connections and the four mounting screws for the wall mount. For some strange reason, water started leaking out one of the screw holes to the wall mount. There is no water passage there so there has to be an internal crack I cannot see. I put in a bypass for now and will get a different filter that does not use the same mounting design.

IF YOU ARE ON CITY WATER DO NOT BUY!!! We ordered and installed the unit, nicely built, easy install BUT can only get 450 gallons of soft water from unit before having to regenerate!! The support department worked with me even sending new media, which I installed but unit still does work properly. We should be getting 1750 gallons before regenerating, but measure/tested hardness returns after 450 gallons...Tampa City water which has a relatively high chlorine level, but this is our 4th water softener since we moved in 44 years ago, never had this issue... I was hoping the ceramic valve unit would be a long term resolution but I'm going to have to replace the unit....

I bought this to replace an AO Smith that started bleeding resin. I need a softener that had a high flow raye and would fit inside a suncast shed, since I dont like leaving electronics to the elements. The flow rate really helps if you have a two story house or just dont like losing water pressure. This one is 18gpm compared to 5-8 in the big box stores. I had one question about install and lubing o ring on control valve. I called and someone living in the US picked up right away. She was friendly and helpful. I'll only recommend tier1 from now on for softeners.

Missing parts (shelf feet). I emailed them but no response. I improvised and it is working great.