frank1492 wrote in
:

The plumbers have told my grandmother that she needs a self- cleaning
water neutralizer. I really have no doubt of this as she has had
serious copper corrosion issues, and the plumbers have had her water
tested and found it to have a very low pH (high acid).
My question has to do with how much she will be paying. They have
quoted her around $1300 installed. I have seen a couple units online
for about $1000. It looks like installation is realtively simple.
She is on a fixed income and needs to watch her pennies. Can
someone give guidelines as to how much she should spend?
Help much appreciated!
Frank

Frank,

I went though the same thing last year, dumping an unnecessary softener
and a green sand unit which had not been touched by previous owner in
years. (bought house a couple of years ago) I used a local well supply
company and paid about $900 for the unit which then needed to plumbed in
using an adaptor block with bypass valves built in. The plumbing was
very straightforward and it is installed right after the pump, before
any of the house plumbing.

The $1300 price you stated sounds about right in this area, southern New
Jersey, and the diagnosis for needing the unit also sounds correct to
me. I periodically test the water myself with pool test stips and the
unit appears to be doing the job. As it is a fiberglass tank, I can
check the level of the chems easily by shining a flashlight through the
tank and have not needed to add chems. for two years. I did use a
mixture of the calcium pellets (sorry I do not remember the exact names)
using 3 times as much of the less aggresive stuff as of the more
aggresive. This was suggested by the supply company folks to reduce the
speed of the chemicals desolving. The pellets cost maybe $20 for a 40
(ish) pound bag of the less agressive stuff and maybe $10 for a 2.5
gallon bucket of the more agressive stuff. I used all of the forty pound
bag and maybe half of the of stuff in the bucket.

Hope this is of help.