"Ian_m" wrote in message
...
"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.


....hmmm... well not really. The resin potentially escapes as it is in
the form of quite small granules. The resin bed in the container is
held back from escaping by a filter formed from a fine nylon mesh. The
containing cylinder needs to be strong as it may have to take mains
water pressure. Ask why I know this: I use approx 21 tons of water a
day spread over three shops and get the salt delivered by the ton load
!

AWEM