portable water softner yea or nay

[mjb0908]

After 42 yrs of marriage, and as many years camping from tents, to motorhomes, we are going full time in about a month. have purchased a 2015 Grand Design Reflection 5th wheel, 337rl. We were wondering about purchasing a portable water softner. Would love to hear all good and bad experience's. Thanks for your time.
Mark & Sherri

[ncrowley]

We use a sediment filter to a charcoal filter to the water softener. We have never had an issue with bad water or with water spots. It is more of a pain than just hooking up a hose but we think it is worth it.

If you are concerned about the salt in the water, you can do what I did. I put a Y fitting on the output of the charcoal filter so I can access filtered but not softened water. I fill a pitcher with that water and use it for drinking and cooking.

[mjb0908]

thanks to all for the information. all good advice..

[BubbaChris]

sheff69 wrote:

BubbaChris wrote:
Do any of the RV units allow use of Potassium Chloride like my home softener?

As far as I could find out, they all do.
But, try to find potassium chloride in water softener crystal, or poundage sizes.
Either the crystals are too large to put in through the top, or you have to buy humungous amounts. Fine if you just RV for a few weeks at a time, but if you full time - not good.

Sheff

Thanks Sheff!

If you're staying somewhere close to a town, I'd say it's worth calling a company who sells/installs the higher quality home softeners to see if they can sell you a reasonable quantity of the correct texture.

The one dsadvantage I've found with KCL for my home unit is some brands are truly "dirty" compared to others (my nearly empty tank looks almost muddy). Where traditional salt is much more pure.

[sheff69]

BubbaChris wrote:
Do any of the RV units allow use of Potassium Chloride like my home softener?

As far as I could find out, they all do.
But, try to find potassium chloride in water softener crystal, or poundage sizes.
Either the crystals are too large to put in through the top, or you have to buy humungous amounts. Fine if you just RV for a few weeks at a time, but if you full time - not good.

Sheff

[BubbaChris]

Do any of the RV units allow use of Potassium Chloride like my home softener?

[MTPockets1]

Just as an FYI, I know the flow pure system and it functions very well. We have a friend with that and absolutely s fine system. We, however chose the SoftCell water softener. Same size and function, but liked the sturdy built in handle and piping was more rigid. It seems to me to be a more sturdy unit which to me was important as it is portable and subject to bumps and bangs. Www.softcellwater.com

[8ntw8tn]

We've used a Flow Pur the last two seasons that we've been in the Texas Hill Country. It really makes a difference, even though the park has an RO system. I have to regenerate the softener every 2-3 weeks. It's great when we're stationary, but it would be a hassle connecting an disconnecting on overnight stops. I have a medical condition that requires a low sodium diet but I cleared using a water softener with my nephrologist. I just make sure I get a really good rinse when regenerating. Hope this helps.

[FlatBroke]

We spend winter on the Colorado River in Az. The water in this area is nasty. Cullingan and Ryane rent portable water softners for about $30 a month. They also do a great job filtering. Without it my two stage filter would have to be changed once a week, as it is I don't have to change the filter at all. Sort of helps defrag the cost.

[Not_a_Clue]

rockhillmanor wrote:
It depends on the what the grain of hardness of the water being softened how much sodium will be in the water.

Hardness ranges from 6 to 25 grains per harness per gallon.
Using an average figure of 15 grain according to the WQA = 30mg in a glass of water.
The Cherrios you have for breakfast has 200mg in just one cup! :W

>>A quote from the Mayo Clinic (the doctor is referring to water hardness of approximately 7 grains)
“An 8-ounce (237-milliliter) glass of softened water generally contains less than 12.5 milligrams of sodium, which is well within the Food and Drug Administration's definition of "very low sodium." Says Sheldon G. Sheps, M.D. at the Mayo Health Clinic.<<
http://www.merleswater.com/blog/bid/144148/Drinking-Softened-Water-How-Much-Sodium-in-Softened-Water

I don't use one. I use the inline disposable blue filter which does quite well removing rusty iron water. Uses carbon for filter. IMHO No need for an installed water softener system.

If you are in a 'year round permanent site' with bad water then it would make sense to install one because you would have to replace the blue inline more often when parked.

This is kinda what I am looking for, where did you get your setup?

[blangen]

Thunder Mountain wrote:
I purchased the Flow Pur softener. Can't be happier. It makes the hardest water palatable.

X2 on the Flow Pur. In addition to the taste of water (as the above mentioned), I think the bigger concern is the deposits hard water leave on your coach. In Southern California, where the water is VERY hard, it doesn't take very long for the shower head and faucets to begin showing signs of trouble.

As to whether or not you need one... it depends where you will be with your rig. Western Washington, not needed. Southern California, a must-have, in my opinion.

[Thunder_Mountai]

I've commented extensively on softeners in the last several years. We drink a lot of water and are water snobs after drinking good Colorado mountain water for 35 years. So, here goes again. Five years ago we did an extended stay in the Terlingua, TX area. The water was just plain foul. You could see the particulates and all everything it came into contact with including us had white spots. We also travel extensively in the Four Corners area where the water can also be hard.

After the Terlingua trip, I paid attention to what I saw in the snowbird parks and asked on this forum about softeners. I purchased the Flow Pur softener. Can't be happier. It makes the hardest water palatable. We combine it with a replaceable canister filter and couldn't be happier. The harder the water the more often you have to recharge. In the Apache Junction area, we get about three weeks per carton of table salt. That includes running the washer, dishwasher and shower.

It is a bit of a pain to haul around since we didn't have the room to build it in. There are some models that are a bit shorter that would be easier to mount in a bay.

[2oldman]

Veebyes wrote:
PORTABLE water? Um confused. Potable water maybe?

A portable softener for your potable water.

[ronfisherman]

Been using a RV water softener for all our travels with our motorhome. Always use the softener even in places that claim to have soft water. Fixtures and plumbing in MH has been trouble free. When traveling we put enough softened water in fresh water tank to keep us for a few days.
We use a On-The-Go Softener.

[Veebyes]

PORTABLE water? Um confused. Potable water maybe?

As a rule we do not hook up to CG water unless the tank needs refilling.

Yes, we do have a water softener canister. One of the large ones. There are only 2 things that we do not like about RVing, dirt from campsites & hard water.

At home in Bermuda we have the best water there is. Completely unfiltered soft rainwater. Rain falls on our roof, is channeled into a 30,000gal under the house & from there the house has its own pressure system, like an RV really. No treated city water or ground water.

Pulling water that has been softened from the RV tank means that there is no need to have a site with water, no need to be hooking up a hose everytime we stop. One less setup & breakdown chore to do. Maybe $ saved on not needing a FHU site.