Water Softener? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

hdhawg1340 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Water Softener?

RickandJanice · RV-Dreams Family Member

We installed a On The Go standard model and love it. Easy to use and you can find table salt and store it easily. I tapped it into the RV plumbing directly after the on board filter. I used stainless steel braided washing machine lines so I can move it to the bay door to add salt and back flow it into our sewer hose so no sal****er is dumped on the ground when recharging. The soft water and additional filtering makes for good water where ever we go.

hdhawg1340 · RV-Dreams Community Member

That's the one we are looking at. Thanks for the info.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

You can use the "Search" function in the blue bar above the forum's page and type in "water softener." You'll be rewarded with 5 or 6 different threads where water softeners were discussed. Those might help you with your research.

Terry

Sean · RV-Dreams Family Member

We (as well some friends) have this Watts FloMatic - www.rvupgradestore.com/Portable-Water-Softener-p/88-2130.htm

Works great for us and has gotten very good reviews on Amazon, although it's cheaper at the above link.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

While I have an 8000 grain unit that sits in front of my RO system, I'd actually recommend the 10,000 grain unit instead. Assuming you have the room for it. It really is not that much bigger and will cut your recharges down. An example is HERE.

I've used mine for many years and they work well.

hdhawg1340 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks all! Trying to figure out where to put it in the RV. I'm pretty sure you can't lay it down otherwise it would fit where the fresh water hook-up is.
Suggestions?
Thanks,
Lorri

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

I put quick disconnects on mine. I use a short hose to connect from it to my whole house filter. In transit I use that hose to connect the input to the output and carry it in the trunk of the car. While stopped for a while I connect it and put it under the edge of the motor home.
I have the www.flowpur.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc">FloPur Mark 8000.
Cost is $220 and includes shipping if bought from the site above. Regeneration is done with a box of common table salt.
It is similar to others like the "On-The-Go" water softener which is the one Camping World sells I believe.

Both are 8000 grain units which means they will last longer without requiring regeneration. Some folks use "Water Sticks" but the biggest one of those I have seen is only 1500 grains.

In AZ where we spend most of the winter the water hardness is about 50 grains per gallon. That means that an 8000 grain unit will soften about 160 gallons before needing to be regenerated. Since we use about 13 gallons of water per day we have to regenerate every 12 days or so.
In our home in CO we have a water hardness of 20 GPG, there the softener will last about a month.

A 10,000 grain per gallon unit would be better if you have room for one. The site above also has a 10,000 gpg unit.

hdhawg1340 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks! We live in Florida & have extremely hard water. We've had a water softener for 10+ years. Don't think we can live without one.
BTW, I see you have cats. We have 2 Golden Retrievers & 1 cat. How do your cats do in the coach?

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

As to putting the unit physically in the RV: Do keep in mind the regeneration requires access to the top and the ability back flush it, etc. I choose to carry ours physically in the hauler bed and then move it beside the RV when needed. Or sometimes if we are only stopping for the night run the quick disconnect hoses to it and leave it in the truck. An option for us, not so much with some motor home situations. It depends.

We test the water at each location and it amazes us how hard the water is around the country. We thought the southwest would be the worst. Not so. Ohio was much harder than Phoenix – at least were we stopped a few days ago. Likewise in Indiana.

Using one of these will also protect your pipes and hot water heater. Very important addition to the rig in our view.

Clay L · RV-Dreams Family Member

hdhawg1340 wrote:
Thanks! We live in Florida & have extremely hard water. We've had a water softener for 10+ years. Don't think we can live without one.
BTW, I see you have cats. We have 2 Golden Retrievers & 1 cat. How do your cats do in the coach?

Sorry I missed your question about our cats.

Our last cat Nikki spent all but the first 6 weeks of her life in the motor home. She passed on after about ten years with us. Katie spent most of her first two years in the motor home and one here in the house. Kelli about 6 months of her two in it. All three adapted very well.

Being with us 24/7 in relatively close quarters made for a close relationship in many ways.

Nicki was and Katie is quite vocal and we have learned to understand a fair amount of cat speak. They are different though. Nicki spoke about things and actions most of the time. She had specific vocalizations for bird, bug on the ceiling, hold me up to catch it, I don't want to get down etc.

Katie's are more about actions - getting down, jumping up. hello, time to get up, I am coming over to get on your lap, and several different complaint levels when she has to get down. Kelli vocalizes but we rarely know what she is saying. She is a neat little, love me ,scratch my tummy, cat though.
To me it seems that we know much more about our cats because of the close and constant exposure to each other.

Since we often had people visiting us in the motor home or sitting outside, they all were/are very well socialized.

We had two Shelties along with Nikki for the first 8 years or so and we developed a close relationship with them also.

-- Edited by Clay L on Tuesday 2nd of June 2015 03:14:40 PM

-- Edited by Clay L on Tuesday 2nd of June 2015 03:14:59 PM