Water softener

I’d put the filter first

I would suggest the opposite.

From personal experience I can tell you that if you put the carbon filter first it will plug up prematurely.

8+ years full time I have experienced the nasty hard water full of calcium, iron and sulphur in Northern Arizona to water pumped from a creek in Washington taught me a lot about dealing with water quality issues.

I would suggest that you reach out to Jesse at Waterfixers in Oregon. He is a sharp guy and can point you in the right direction.

Moved from Forum Posting Help and Support

FIRST AND ALWAYS FIRST!

Comes a cleanable stainless wire mesh strainer element

NEXT inline is a one-micron filter such as a ROTOPLAS cartridge filter.

Then the R/O unit

Next the UV or O3 sterilization

And finally the charcoal.

A charcoal filter is a harbor of bacteria

And O3 sterilization is by far the preferred method of sterilization.

JaycoAngel wrote:
We purchased a water softener and a separate carbon water filter for outside our unit. Which hooks up to the water source first?

Generally, you put a sediment filter first to keep the rocks out. It sounds like you're using the carbon filter as a sediment filter.

Are you using one of those inline Camco filters? If so, they're a combo sediment/carbon filter.

I always used a particulate filter followed by carbon then the softener. The particulate filter needed changed most often but it was also the cheapest.

I use a sediment filter prior to the softener then a carbon filter after. My set up has the carbon filter in the RV, after the water pump and shore connection.