Report-Water Softener January 18, 2008, 03:22:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88548Some of you may remember that several months ago we had toilet trouble, and in fixing the problem, we discovered a huge amount of calcium buildup in the bathroom which led us to find more sediment in the hot water heater and at every faucet.At that time, I was also having to vinegar my teakettle at least every three weeks or so. New Mexico has HARD WATER!!! This led me to ask this group about portable water softeners and we ended up purchasing one.I just wanted to tell everyone that we love it. I did a lot of research prior to purchasing, and truthfully, I found them all pretty similar, so if you're considering a purchase, look at the reviews, but go for price. While I don't think everyone needs a water softener, depending on how much time you spend in the rig (we're pretty much full time) and where you camp (we favor the southwest, seemingly the hard water center of the universe) it has been great for us.In the 3+ months we've had the water softener, our teakettle has stayed pristine, and we haven't noticed any buildup at the faucets at all. One other note. If we're at a park with showers, I will usually use them once a week or so for the luxury of unlimited hot water. In showering at campgrounds, I have REALLY learned to appreciate the soft water in the rig. I love how it makes my skin and hair feel, and I use so much less soap, shampoo, rinse, etc.So that's my report, hope someone finds it useful.Katehttp://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #1 – January 18, 2008, 03:47:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88549which one are you using??
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #2 – January 18, 2008, 04:14:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88551It's called an "on the go". Works great and uses table saltKate http://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096
Re: Water Softener Reply #3 – January 18, 2008, 04:24:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88553Thanks for the update, Kate! A few questions: How often have you had to backflush/regenerate the water softener? How long does it take? Any idea how much water the backflushing process takes? Since the process requires both water and sewer hookups (the latter not available at most state park campsites), do you go to a commercial campground when you need to do this? Or can you do it at a park's dump station?Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #4 – January 18, 2008, 04:25:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88554wrote:It's called an "on the go". Works great and uses table salt --- I have no experience with the "On the Go" or any other RV water softener, but if Kate says it works, I'm sure it does! Just offering an additional source of information: http://rvwaterfilterstore.com/ABSofteners.htm Joan
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #5 – January 18, 2008, 04:32:56 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88555Quote It's called an "on the go". Works great and uses table saltKate Thanks.....
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #6 – January 18, 2008, 04:39:04 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88556Kate,Where is it installed?Will you be adding this to the "Improvements" section of your "Cholula Red" site?Thanks,Bob & Judy, Right Coast Wannabees
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #7 – January 18, 2008, 04:57:01 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88557QuoteWhile I don't think everyone needs a water softener, depending on how Quotemuch time you spend in the rig (we're pretty much full time) and where you camp (we favor the southwest, seemingly the hard water center of the universe) it has been great for us. Kate, I've been debating adding a water softener and have questioned the cost benefit of a $250-$300 investment since we are not fulltimers.Here is a product that may be of interest to some in this group. Softeners used by boaters and RVers are all resin based and require regeneration depending on the level water hardness and water usage. The Waterstick http://www.watersticks.com/rv.htm will treat 150 gallons before regeneration at 10 grains of hardness. Regeneration, as described by Waterstick is a simple process using common table salt. Cost: About $100.Thanks for the tip.Malcolm In hard water Hill Country Texas
Re: Water Softener Reply #8 – January 18, 2008, 05:18:01 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88558"Thanks for the update, Kate! A few questions: How often have you had to backflush/regenerate the water softener? How long does it take? Any idea how much water the backflushing process takes? Since the process requires both water and sewer hookups (the latter not available at most state park campsites), do you go to a commercial campground when you need to do this? Or can you do it at a park's dump station?"We backflush about every 6 or 7 times (they say 300 gallons) It takes about 5 minutes (they say 15 but we only go 5 and it seems to work fine. The stream is about the size of a pencil, not strong, so it isn't a ton of water. You say it requires a hook up, but we haven't found it to be a lot of water, we just put it in a bucket and water a tree if we don't have a hookup. All you really need is water,Kate http://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #9 – January 18, 2008, 05:23:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88559"Where is it installed?Will you be adding this to the "Improvements" section of your "Cholula Red" site?"BobIt's portable, not permanently installed. And OUCH! I know I haven't updated the webpage in ages, but really, I do have pages I'm working on for the website, detailing a lot of new changes to Cholula Red, but I'm just a lazy (and I am doing better on the blog, but that's just an excuse).It will go on the webpage one of these daysKate http://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096 O[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #10 – January 18, 2008, 05:32:20 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88561bmwgt31995 wrote: The Waterstick http://www.watersticks.com/rv.htm --- What's with all the junk that appears when this site connects? I did get to the site content by scrolling down, but that list of blue- background "warnings" that first appears is a bit startling!Joan
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #11 – January 18, 2008, 07:43:05 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88567"What's with all the junk that appears when this site connects?"Looking at the error messages thrown by the page, it appears to me that the person who built the site left most of the assets (such as the logo and navigation bar graphics) on a personal server, /home/rick/public_html/rv.htm, instead of putting them in the www.watersticks.com server directory.What's amazing is that s/he failed to notice the resulting major problems... which were probably exacerbated by the fact that the page is coded in XHTML, rather than the more widely compatible HTML. Clearly this was an amateur job. (The fact that all the body text is centered is a dead giveaway--only amateurs do that.) Not that all that means anything about the Waterstick product, which looks interesting. :-) Anybody actually used one of these?Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #12 – January 18, 2008, 07:51:50 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88568wrote: Clearly this was an amateur job. --- I hope the "Waterstick" product quality is a lot better than the site designer's skills! Thanks for the explanation!Joan
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #13 – January 19, 2008, 09:24:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 88579Hey Andy, I was wondering since you hangout in the so-called "hard water capitol of the world" if you have ever had any of the calcium/sediment buildup that Kate is talking about and in your opinion is this something we should really be concerned about?............mikeNever miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #14 – January 19, 2008, 09:40:07 am Yahoo Message Number: 88581QuoteNot that all that means anything about the Waterstick product, which looks interesting. :-) Anybody actually used one of these? No, but I thought it looked interesting, too. The thing that bothers me though, is that there is NO information about who is selling this product or any contact information. What if you order it and it doesn't work or comes damaged, etc. Who would you contact for a replacement? (Maybe the contact information would be available if the website wasn't all screwed up with the warnings?) Although it may be a great product, I think I'd find someplace from which to order it.Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
An unusual metrological event Reply #15 – January 19, 2008, 12:05:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88582Please pardon this interruption. It snowed in Alabama this morning. I have read that the Inuit's have dozens of names for snow. I don't happen to know what they would call a flurry of more wet than dry tiny flakes that fell for less than three hours, but that's what central Alabama got this morning. And George and Carol in their snazzy new RB missed it. However, they may not mind missing the 17 degrees it will be Sunday morning.Now back to regular programmingCheers, Don
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #16 – January 19, 2008, 12:10:31 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88583Linda,Try this. I found it by doing a google search for on the go water softeners.www.portablewatersoftener.com/faq.htmThere is contact info.Bob & Judy, Right coast WannabeesQuoteThe thing that bothers me though, is that there is NO information about who is selling this product or any contact information. Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ
Re: An unusual metrological event Reply #17 – January 19, 2008, 12:25:34 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88585Don Malpas wrote: It snowed in Alabama this morning.--- Hey, I thought it was "*Stars* Fell on Alabama *Last Night*"! ;-)Joan
Re: Report-Water Softener Reply #18 – January 19, 2008, 01:10:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88586QuoteLinda,Try this. I found it by doing a google search for on the go water softeners.www.portablewatersoftener.com/faq.htmThere is contact info. Thanks, Bob, but that's a different water softener than the waterstick to which I was referring at http://www.watersticks.com/rv.htm>Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Re: Report - Water Softener Reply #19 – January 19, 2008, 01:39:53 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88587Hey Andy, I was wondering... if you have ever had any of the calcium/sediment buildup that Kate is talking about and in your opinion is this something we should really be concerned about?" Well, it doesn't help your toilet seal to have a bunch of calcareous crud on it, and your water heater will need to be flushed more often, but other than that I don't think it's harmful. Still it would be nicer to have soft water, and I was thinking about the Water Stick last night as a possibility. This morning I went looking for reviews. I found remarkably little, but eventually I stumbled upon someone who complained that it didn't work, followed by this reply from what is evidently a company employee: "The Car Washing Water Stick works well in areas with low TDS (total dissolved solids) which are not removed by water softening alone, which only removes calcium, magnesium and some iron. The reason Serious Enthusiast above couldn't get good results is due to him being in a very high TDS area (Laguna Beach, CA) and because the Water Stick he purchased was a sodium based Deionizing unit (regenerated with salt), the salt residue left after regeneration raised his TDS reading with the test unit he was using."To resolve this problem we have developed a new 'Car Washing Deionizer/Softener' which is not sodium based but hydroxide based to handle higher TDS situations. The downside here is that hydroxide based resins cannot be regenerated with salt... the resin must be replaced when it has collected all the minerals it can hold. This makes it more expensive to use. "Best to check with your water company to find out what the TDS (total dissolved solids) are in your water. If 100ppm or less the 'Car Washing Water Stick' should work fine, but if the TDS is higher than 100ppm you will need the 'Car Washing Deionizer/Softener' for best results." Now the water I see here in New Mexico typically has between 250 and 900 ppm of dissolved solids, so according to the post just quoted, I'd have to use the non-regeneratable version and discard it after every few tankfuls. That doesn't sound too appealing.Which brings up another question for Kate. I know you have the same digital TDS tester I do. What levels of dissolved solids are you seeing after treatment with your water softener?Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Report - Water Softener Reply #20 – January 19, 2008, 02:24:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88588Now the water I see here in New Mexico typically has between 250 and 900 ppm of dissolved solids, so according to the post just quoted, I'd have to use the non-regeneratable version and discard it after every few tankfuls. That doesn't sound too appealing."AndyFirst, I tested the water from the outside faucet, I'm getting 270-350, so the water here isn't near as hard as other places in NM. Then, I tested from my kitchen faucet and was getting between 32 and 66.I'm really impressed that y teapot is no longer crudding up, a huge plus.Also, looked a the water stick prior to purchase, but, like others here, just couldn't find enough info. I also didn't like the idea of hav ing to prepare the water prior to putting it in the softener. The larger softener is more expensive and larger to store, but has great reviews and is a proven unit.We've been really happy with ours.Kate http://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Water Softener Reply #21 – January 19, 2008, 03:33:14 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88590"we just put it in a bucket and water a tree if we don't have a hookup"==============================Kate: I have a hint for you: taste that water you are pouring on trees. If it is as salty as I think it must be; that's just about the best way to kill a tree. If it's salty, dump it somewhere where nothing is trying to grow, 'kay?Anne JohnsonLovely La Verne, CA
Re: Report - Water Softener Reply #22 – January 19, 2008, 05:09:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88592"from the outside faucet, I'm getting 270-350 [ppm]... [versus] from my kitchen faucet... between 32 and 66."That's an impressive reduction! Your water softener is really doing its job. If I had a place to store it, I'd consider buying one.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Water Softener Reply #23 – January 19, 2008, 05:11:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88593"taste that water you are pouring on trees. If it is as salty as I think it must be; that's just about the best way to kill a tree."Good point, Anne! I was wondering about that too. Pouring brine on plants isn't going to make them happy.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Water Softener Reply #24 – January 19, 2008, 05:50:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 88594AnneWill do, thanks for the tip.Katehttp://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.comWant to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096
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