Full Installation Service on all equipment
Water Softeners
What is hard water?
The original source of all the water we use is rain, which itself is
soft. Once it falls however, it dissolves mineral salts such as
Calcium and Magnesium, from the rock it perculates through.
The Calcium and Manganese then forms a scale on hot
surfaces such as kettle elements, boilers, washing machines and
shower heads, which insulates the elements and thus reduces
heat transfer efficiency.
By eliminating scale we can
substantially reduce running and maintainance costs. Soap and
detergent is “used up” by hard water so cost savings up to 50%
can be achieved. Some people with sensitive skin may also
benefit from using soft water. All in all. Softeming makes the
household a more pleasant place to live; cooking, cleaning
washing, showering, and bathing are all nicer in softenened
water. Drinking softened water is a matter of choice but it is
recommended that a drinking water supply should be
available.
How do softeners work?
Water softeners work by a process known as ion exchange. The
hard water passes through a resin column inside a pressure
vessel. The resin removes the Calcium and Magnesium ions and
exchanges them for Sodium. When the resin becomes
exhausted it is regenerated by drawing a brine solution through
the resin which reverses the process. The unwanted Calcium
and Magnesium is then flushed down the drain. Regeneration
takes around 1 hour and is repeated as often as necessary by
either a timeclock at 2 am or by a meter which triggers the
regeneration when the resin has been exhausted. No
maintainence is required from the customer other than the
regular checking and replenishing of the salt level.
Why fit a water softener?
- To protect a hot water system from scale
- To save money on detergent and soap
- To improve the enjoyment of showers and baths
- To stop scum forming on the surface of cooking water
- To stop scaling of shower heads
- To stop scaling of dishwashers, washing machines and kettles
- To help some people with their skin care
- To make baths and wash basins easier to keep clean
- To save money on the maintainance of hot water systems, washing machines etc
- To keep the boiler woking at peak efficiency
- To slowly descale existing systems and pipework
- To reduce fuel bills where scale formation is reducing efficiency.
- To extend the life of heating elements such
as kettles and immersion heaters.
Choice of size
Choice of valve
The bigger the softener the longer the time between regens.
Typically the softener should be large enough to deliver soft
water continuously for 24 hours so that regeneration can be
timed to take place each night when usage is at its lowest.
The
size needed will depend mainly on the amount of water used,
the size of the house and the number of people living there, in
addition to the hardness of the water. The installer will be
responsible for sizing the softener and setting it up to suit each
individual customers normal usage habits.
The heart of any automatic softener is the valve head assembly
which controls regeneration and normal service. The valve size
needs to be appropriate for the size of the resin bed and the
flow rate.
They can be either timeclock or meter controlled
depending on which will be most efficient for the customers
normal usage. The valve can have either mechanical or digital
triggering of regeneration.
