Capitol wrote:

The Natural Philosopher wrote in message ...


And at £5 a month for salt, that's a lot of months before they pay for
themselves.


Superficially that is correct. However, my experience is that the washing
machine and dishwasher last a lot longer, she doesn't make me descale the
taps etc every 6 weeks, the car is easier to wash( not rinse), so I think
it's worth it!



You have missed the point. I was comparing the cots of a 1000 quid
microprocessor equipped machine with a simple 300 quid 'recharge every
week timer' machine.

My point being that all the expensive one does is save on salt.

But you can buy about 140 months of salt with that 700 quid, so if - say
- the 1000 quid one saves half teh salt - at £60 a year on the cheapo,
thats £30 quid a year saved for the extra 700 quid. Now to borrow the
700 quid you are probably talking about - say - 6% APR? so it costs you
£42 a year to save £30?

Its a no brainer.


By the way, I don't believe the electronic controllers are worthwhile when
compared with a crude timer. The chance of buying electronics spares after a
few years can be very iffy and if you have a large enough loft tank, the
volume of water in the tank may maintain a lower hardness level even if
regeneration is a day delayed. Anyway, you soon notice if the soap doesn't
lather, and do something about it. Generally, refill it with salt!


Precisely. I have one that wasn't too expensive, and does regenerate
automatically depending on flow rate. I preprogrammed water hardness in.
That seems to be about right. I only notice hardness building up when it
runs out of salt.

However if I could have got the flow rate on a cheaper model I would
have gone for it. Maybe there is a cheap high reate one out there, but I
didn;t come across it.


BTW on electronic descalers, these only ever claimed to stop scaling by
adjusting the crystal types of the calcium solids. They don't soften the
water as far as soap goes at all. They merely stop (allegedly) hard
scale developing - the chalky stuff is supposed to stay in suspension
and run out with the waste.

If you want a better wash and less soap, you need ion exchange and thats it.


Regards
Capitol