28 grains is HARD water.
I suggest that you either go as cheap as possible or you get one that can be serviced by
pros. Heres why.
After usage with such hard water the unit has to 'recharged'. This is where they take the
material inside and replace it. The cheap ones from Sears isn't worth the effort, the more
expensive ones are about the same as Sears, but the companies who sell them usually can
and do change this material. They 'may' change the Sears, but why should they support the
competition?
Some of our customers with such hard water buy the cheapest ones they can and change them
when they die. Others go for the frills and salt savings. Its a tough choice for you to
make.
Try a search in Google. Water Softener ratings
Also, please remember that the harder the water the better it is for heart tissue. Soft
water is bad for the heart, it has no minerals in it, and the added salt is also bad for
people with high blood pressure. You may consider Calcium Chloride, but it costs almost
double of the price of salt.
rich
"Bruce E. Harang II" wrote in message
...
I have the Kinetico 2040s Overdrive model. I don't know how it compares to
the Kinetico that you are looking at but I must say that it is wonderful! I
have 28 grain hard water and it handles it beautifully for my wife and I.
The local Kinetico dealer is a friend of the family and said that it will
handle 4 to 6 people and since there is no electronics you don't have to
reset anything if the power goes out. (You only have to manually turn the
unit to rinse if you run out of salt or potassium.) I was looking at a full
height unit and choose this one since it only takes 11 minutes, 7 gallons of
water, and only 1 pound of salt or potassium to regenerate.
Bruce
"wendi" wrote in message
news:mWAwc.52098$mm1.31428@fed1read06...
I'm in southern california with very hard water, household of 2, and
possibly one to two new family additions 
in the next 2-5 years. What
size of a water softener would I need? Also, how do I know what size of
pipes (1/2", 1", or 1-1/2") do I have?
I have narrow down my selection of water softener to the followings:
1. Sears Kenmore 100 or 150A or 200(?Not Listed)
http://www.sears.com/ and type "water softener" in search box
PROS: Popular Brand
CONS: Big; Might Required Complex Installtion; Tedious Salt
Replacement (Monthly basis?)
2. Kinetico 2020c:
http://www.kinetico.com/
PROS: No Electricity Required; Small and Compact
CONS: $$$$$ (Price unknown, but probably very expensive)
3. HardWaterWizard
http://www.alloysafe.com/?Page=../ca....cfm&CatID=337
PROS: Small and Compact; Cheap
CONS: Unknown brand, might be scam???