Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We've got some pretty hard water here in Jacksonville; even with City water, plumbing fixtures usually don't last long due to the soft limestone that permeates this area. When the low-end Whirlpool unit we purchased from a home warehouse store 10 years ago finally gave out, I looked everywhere to find a moderately priced, high capacity unit. Over and over, I read great reviews for Fleck, and reading the reviews here on Amazon really made up my mind. The seller - Abundant Flow - shipped the unit so quickly it arrived at my home several days ahead of the earliest estimated arrival date. The resin tank was well packaged. Likewise with the brine tank - the control unit was packed inside the brine tank and it was well cushioned and protected. The only issue I had was boxes/bags the resin beads were shipped in. They must have gotten some rough handling during shipping, because both bags were split along the bottom seam for about 3 inches. Not apparent while the bags were still in the shipping boxes, but as soon as I lifted them out there were (and still are!) resin beads everywhere. I didn't lose much (maybe 4-6 cups of resin beads total), and that really was my only issue during this installation. I discovered Shark Bite fittings, too. Wow, what a time saver! I couldn't believe fittings you simply push together would form a watertight seal, but they do. With the 'do-over' tool, you can remove the Shark Bite fitting if needed. I bought one (just in case!), but didn't need it. I also installed a Watts WH-LD Premier Whole House Filter System at the same time. Between the softener, the whole house filter, and a couple of trips back to the home warehouse store, it took me just about 2 hours. The pictures I attached show the finish product supply layout. Isn't the prettiest job by a long stretch, but it works, and doesn't leak a drop. As other reviewers have pointed out, installing the resin beads seems to be the single hardest task. The 'funnel' that comes with the unit doesn't really fit the neck of the tank all that well, and is very loose. You really should have a second set of hands to hold the funnel steady while you pour the resin in. The resin beads seem somewhat damp in the bags, and they can be pretty heavy. You DON'T want to have to split your concentration between pouring the beads in while keeping the funnel in place - you'll wind up with resin all over the floor if you're not careful. I didn't have anyone available to hold the funnel down, so I used duct tape to fasten the funnel to the tank while I poured, and that worked out pretty well. If you DO spill some resin, be certain to clean it up promptly and thoroughly - the beads are round, and could cause you to lose your footing and take a nasty fall. Doing the installation yourself is pretty easy if you have just a little experience with DIY plumbing. Do yourself a favor, though, and make adequate preparations before you begin - your home's water supply will be OFF while you're installing the unit, so you must minimize the time your household can't use the toilet. 1. Make sure everyone takes their shower and uses the can before you begin. 2. Put a few gallons of water in the bathtub for flushing toilets and have some drinking water set aside. 3. Be certain you have the right tools on hand before you get started. SILICONE LUBRICANT IS A MUST!!! It doesn't come with the unit, so you'll have to purchase that ahead of time. Don't substitute a petroleum based lube - that will eventually turn your O-rings to mush and possibly damage your unit. 4. PLAN YOUR LAYOUT, and have the needed supplies at the ready. The decision to also install the whole-house water filter was a last-minute decision; it caused my layout to change, and thus, the hardware I needed also changed (reading between the lines = 'Another trip to the store'). As you can see in the photos I attached, I used 3/4" braided stainless flexible hoses. Because I was originally connecting 3/4" CPVC pipes directly to the unit's bypass valve, I purchased two flex hoses where one end was a shark-bite connector, while the other end was a 3/4" female connector that connected to the bypass valve with two 3/4" brass nipples. Adding the whole-house filter, however, required adding in another braided flex fitting (both ends 3/4" female connectors and a third brass nipple. The drain tubing also doesn't come with the unit, so you'll need to purchase enough to run both the backwash and the brine tank overflow to the drain. Purchase the right size for the push-on connectors on the valve head and the brine tank, and lubricate the connectors with silicone lube before pushing them on. The backwash tube will have water under pressure, so it can be run at virtually any angle to get it to the drain. Be sure you fasten it down so the end of the hose doesn't work out of the drain. The brine tank is a gravity-feed hose, so it has to run down and flat to the drain area. Be sure it isn't obstructed or blocked - should an overflow condition occur you want to be sure the brine will flow to the drain, and not all over the floor where you have the unit installed. So, with just a little thought and planning, the time your home's water supply is shut off can be minimal - just a couple of hours. Oh, one other thing to consider - your water heater may be filled with hard water, and it'll take a bit of time to replenish the hard water already in the tank with soft water, so be patient - it'll take a couple of days under normal usage - more or less, depending on how many people live in your home that take baths/showers, or how often you run the dishwasher or do laundry. All-in-all, a great unit that was pretty easy to put together and install. The seller was fantastic, and provided some fairly easy to read guides that were pretty helpful (both via email and US mail). I very much like having those flexible braided hoses instead of rigid copper or CPVC - it gives me the ability to quickly disconnect should the need arise, and I can move the tank around a little for cleaning the floor around it. **UPDATED December 7, 2015** Wanted to check back in now that I've been using the unit for a couple of months. I neglected to speak to placement of the brine tank during my original review, and I should have. The natural inclination (at least mine was) is to put the resin tank front and center because it's smaller, and that makes it easier to monitor the control head. Really, however, it's the other way around - the brine tank should be placed to the front where it gives you easiest access to replace the salt. The brine tank is essentially a big garbage bin filled with salt pellets and water, so it's really heavy. So are the bags of salt you'll pour in, so make it a bit easier on your back and place the brine tank in a location with clear, open access so you aren't trying to reach into an uncomfortable position to pour the salt. I couldn't be more pleased with the unit's operation. Everything just works as expected, and those Shark Bite fittings I was so happy to discover still don't leak. I need to mention that whole house water filter. I was AMAZED at the stuff I found in that filter after a couple of months - grit, stuff I can't even identify, and rust - LOTS of rust. I recall watching one of those YouTube installation videos - the tech was talking about the very fine mesh filter that fits into the brine hose connecting the brine tank to the control head. He said 'don't even install this little guy, because it'll constantly clog on you.' I didn't put much thought into it at the time, but after seeing the amount of gunk the whole house filter is trapping, I totally get what he was saying. I installed the filter with my installation, but if I hadn't installed the whole house unit, I'd certainly be experiencing clogging issues. Just to be certain I DON'T, I purchased 5 micron Culligan filter cartridges to trap even more solids before it gets to my water softener. I just replaced one after running about 8,000 gallons through it, and the deep red color and visible grains of 'something' embedded in it makes me VERY glad I thought to add it into my water supply. It adds another layer of protection in front of my water softener, and makes me feel a lot more confident with the quality of water we're drinking. If you're getting ready to install a water softener, I VERY HIGHLY recommend you consider adding a whole house filter in front of your water softener, with 5 - 10 micron filters.You won't ever regret the few extra dollars when you see with your own eyes what it's keeping out of your drinking water.