Oh pshaw, on Sat 02 Sep 2006 08:14:29a, Gary Slusser meant to say...


David Martel wrote:
Ed,

How do you adjust the softener? My softener removes hardness by
releasing
sodium and sequestering calcium. There's no control over this, it
removes calcium as long ass it has sodium, I think. Do you rig a bypass
so some hard water is mixed with the output of the softener?

Dave M.

To my knowledge, there is no provision on any softener to mix hard
water with softened water. You would have to do so in the plumbing. I
do not suggest doing this.

Ion exchange does not sequester, it removes the positive charged ions
in the water with negative charged sites on the resin beads. As those
ions are removed, two much smaller and weaker positive charged sodium
or potassium ions are released into the water. The sodium is added at
the rate of 7.85 mg/l per grain of 'hardness' removed. A slice of white
bread usually has 120-160 mg of sodium, a glass of V8 has 560 mg.
Softeners remove more than just calcium and magnesium (hardness
minerals); such as ferrous iron, lead, copper, manganese etc.. Water is
either hard or soft and the hardness varies in all waters.

If a softener is sized correctly and set up correctly, the softened
water will be 0 gpg hard every time you use any volume of water (in
gallons per minute flow); otherwise the softener is not working
correctly and there's little sense in using/having it. The vast
majority of people like the feel and get used to it in about 3 weeks,
then they really hate the feel of hard water when they go somewhere
that has hard water; or if their softener breaks.

Gary
Quality Water Associates


I hate the feel of softened water. I had a softener installed for 7 years
and, while I got used to the feel, I never liked it. I appreciate the
advantages of using soft water for appliances like the clothes washer and
dishwasher. If I were able to do so, I would install a softener for those
purposes only. As it is, I cannot easily alter my plumbing.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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Useless Invention: Double-sided playing cards.