Outdoor/seasonal water softener

[GON]

The city water we have is very high in calcium and chlorine. The high calcium, mixed with the ever present brown sentiment from the open desert makes an awesome cement like product. This makes washing the brown sentiment off of walkways, porches, exterior walls, etc an impossible task.

Decided to install a seasonal outside water softener, separate from the inside the home water softener.
Hooked up to an outside spigot. Anytime I want untreated water, takes just a second to put the softener in bypass mode.

The challenge now is how to protect the softener from the desert heat/sun. I am also thinking the softener water is better for outside plants because the chlorine and calcium is removed. Many experts state to not use softener water for plants, I will be doing more research.

 

[Nukeman7]

I'm not familiar with the WaterBoss unit, but won't the salt content in the treated water kill the plants?

 

[RhondaHonda]

I think you need a filter, not a softener.

 

[andy2001]

Use Potassium chloride in the water softener, it's better for plants.

 

[tmorris1]

I'm not familiar with the WaterBoss unit, but won't the salt content in the treated water kill the plants?

The salt is used to recharge the softener. There isn't much more salt in the water that you use. It will dump salt water somewhere when it recharges.

 

[GON]

I think you need a filter, not a softener.

For the chlorine, a filter is significantly better than the Water Boss, but a proper chlorine filter is a large and expensive device. A cartridge chlorine filter would likely require replacement every couple of days and not remove the calcium.

The Water Boss was the best course of action I came up with. One piece unit, easy to move from the outside to the garage for winter storage, removes some chlorine, which most softeners don't, proven design and manufactured in Ohio (most named brand softeners sold at big box stored and just licensed names and Chinese manufactured).

 

[GON]

Use Potassium chloride in the water softener, it's better for plants.

I'm going to research that, thanks.

 

[Delta]

You need a carbon block filter before the water softener as chlorine doesn't play very nice with the softener resin.

 

[GON]

You need a carbon block filter before the water softener as chlorine doesn't play very nice with the softener resin.

On the current in house water softener the resin prematurely failed due to the chlorine. Last summer when I replaced the resin, I went with what I believe is called a number 10 resin, which is reportedly more resistant to chlorine.

Not ready at this time to install a carbon block filter, working with what I have. So far the number ten resin seems to be doing well with the chlorine, but under the right way to address the chloride is the carbon block filter.

 

[Delta]

On the current in house water softener the resin prematurely failed due to the chlorine. Last summer when I replaced the resin, I went with what I believe is called a number 10 resin, which is reportedly more resistant to chlorine.

Not ready at this time to install a carbon block filter, working with what I have. So far the number ten resin seems to be doing well with the chlorine, but under the right way to address the chloride is the carbon block filter.

Ah, that was your post. I remember reading something that on here as well as the manufacture of my particular softener. The kit included a filter housing with a carbon filter, which didn't last long at all with my silty well water. That was a mess... I no longer run those...

 

[Mazomopar]

If you have any extra 6 bucks laying around maybe you could invest in an anti siphon/drain back hose bib connector. It could be threaded on your output line to help cross contamination. One in a million but someday you might be hooking up herbicide or insecticide sprayer or foam cannon type things.

 

[mk378]

The wall spigot is neither anti-siphon or freeze-proof. Is that new for this project as well?

 

[GON]

The wall spigot is neither anti-siphon or freeze-proof. Is that new for this project as well?

This is the spigot I replaced last summer. I didn't think about the anti siphon, I will look to install th device, but I stall after the water softener. For the freeze proof, another thing I need to address. The last two seasons I put cheap insulated covers over the outdoor spigots.