"Unix Guru" wrote in message
...
Hello,

After researching the UK domestic water softener market it becomes
obvious that many (if not most) products use common components from the
same few manufacturers. In particular Autotrol and Fleck valves.

So I ask myself why pay a middle man's hefty mark-up when I should be
able to do it myself. And, as an added bonus, a self-assembled unit
should be cheaper to maintain.

So do people commonly assemble their own water softeners from commodity
parts? The parts themselves do seem to be readily available. But alas
the information and guidance is not.
I found that people make their own water softeners in the US. They buy
prefilled resin large tubes, you have to buy these else the resin "escapes",
this is to do with the fact that the resin volume changes during use and if
not in a strong container will rupture the container and escape. They
installed these in their much larger than UK garages and just recharged by
manually pouring in salt water, leaving and manually washing out every
couple of months.