Water Softener Review

[throgmartin]

I rarely jump on here and tout a product but wanted to post my experience with a new softener I bought for my coach. I wanted some experience with it first before posting about it and now have 2 regeneration cycles I have gone through so can comment now with more info.

The softener is a - Pro-Aqua 16,000 grain unit. The build quality is very good but what I like about it is the regeneration process. It is the easiest one I have ever experienced and I have owned 2 softeners prior to this one ( On-The-Go & Essential ). I hated unscrewing the top cap and feeding table salt down through the top ( while poking clogged salt down the throat ). With the Pro-Aqua you simply remove the pre-filter, dump 2 - 1lb containers of table salt into the cartridge filter canister, screw the top on and adjust the flow. Very simple. The nice thing is being able to see when all the salt has dissolved. I do encourage those who buy it to spend the extra $ 50 and get the regeneration kit. It makes things even easier.

I am so impressed that I am buying a second one to be used for washing coaches at the shop in addition to my private vehicles, Farm Tractor and Kubota RTV. Florida water is notoriously hard, loaded with calcium which impacts everything from water heaters to faucet screens and spray nozzles. I also despise the spots it leaves on vehicles, windows, etc. , which really sends my OCD into over drive. Like I have done with all of my softeners, I will pickup some hardness test strips from a pool supply store and test the water coming out of the softener periodically which will more accurately tell me when I need to regenerate.

Just wanted to post this in case someone is considering a new RV softener.

Here is the Pro-Aqua unit:  https://www.amazon.com/PRO-AQUA-Pre-Filled-high-Capacity-connectors/dp/B079N2L7L6/ref=pd_lutyp_d_sim_sccl_3_2/142-7237555-6326956?pd_rd_w=8BJqK&content-id=amzn1.sym.47380f6c-b66a-4c76-8776-af610be1f13d&pf_rd_p=47380f6c-b66a-4c76-8776-af610be1f13d&pf_rd_r=EC6176A4EHD9K09FFDXF&pd_rd_wg=2lC2w&pd_rd_r=1be3bd84-2d53-4b68-a3da-bb0f252c6edc&pd_rd_i=B079N2L7L6&th=1

 

[Steven P]

Good deal Chris!  I bet that'll do wonders for mine and your hair too!!  🤣

[Donflem]

Thanks for the heads up Cris. I’m on my second on-the-go unit. I do love it but I don’t like the regeneration process. I should add on my second one because I got sidetracked and forgot it🤬🤬🤬.

Don

[Dr4Film]

I totally agree with the evaluation that Chris has provided about the RV Pro-Aqua Water Softener.

I had purchased the TravelSoft Water Softener back 20 some years ago from Camping World as the southwest area of CA where we were living had very hard water. We were living mostly at Valencia Travel Village where recently they lost some RV's due to the heavy rains.

RVs, other vehicles fall into raging river in Santa Clarita Valley (ktla.com)

After using the manufacturer's recommended procedure, which was a PITA, I devised my own system. I installed more resin beads to the tank where normally the salt would be placed allowing just enough room for the beads in the tank to expand when backflushing. This also allowed me to extend the time interval between the regen process.

I then took a clear household filter canister and used that filled with salt crystals to "charge" the resin beads with the salt. The canister would be in line with the TravelSoft tank plus I would throttle the water speed to a very small pencil point allowing the salt to flow into the tank slowly. The output side of the tank would be discharging into the sewer line.

This process is basically exactly what the Pro-Aqua is doing with its Regeneration Kit.

[1nolaguy]

We have the same (but older) model that we got about 18 months ago. Initially we where camping mostly in soft water areas but our first trip to Florida I kew we were headed to an area with harder water. I love the unit and find it very easy to use. In our coach there is a partition on the left side of the wet bay that holds the softener perfectly. As a result I plumbed with a shortened water (white) hose a connection from the softener to the water inlet. I use a quick disconnect to attach the softened to the filtered line connecting to the spigot. This make set up fast and easy.

[Mike H]

Chris,  I have the On-The-Go water softener and yeah it is a little PIA pouring salt into it.  Wouldn't the Pro Aqua regeneration kit work the same way with the On-The-Go unit?

For spot free rinsing I use a Di Rinse Pro 50 system and carry both it and my water softener strapped to the wall of one of my bay compartments. ( https://rv-mods.com/store/DI-Pro-50D-p105868875 ).  I've had both for several years now and they have worked well.  In fact I just ordered my first refill bag of Di resin about an hour ago after using it for about 4 years.  It sure makes washing our coach and cars much easier plus I was using it for topping off my flooded batteries every month until I went to AGM's a year ago.  This is the bracket I used for securing the bottles in my bay compartment ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08M3NH4NJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) .

[throgmartin]

Mike, yes you can use the Pro Aqua regen kit for your On The Go softener. Check out Richard's setup ( Dr4Film). Since I rarely travel, setting up the softener inside the bay is something I wont have to tackle.

When I do travel it is for limited time periods. Since I travel alone, I fill my fresh water tank and use that water. I once got into bad water at a CG that was on a private well and got sick. I had to flush my entire water system, sanitize the tank and system and then run 100 gallons of water through the system. I was PO'ed. I knew it was the CG water as the couple traveling with had the same thing happen to them and their coach.

I miss camping sometimes. Every trip I make is for business purposes so I overnight in weigh stations and rest areas and live off my fresh water tank. I hate overnighting in CG's and my schedule is always so tight I have no time to sit. The CG residents also hate me firing up the coach at 5 am departures. I did do a trip at Christmas time alone to Richmond, VA to see my daughter. I left with 100 gal's of water and returned home with a 1/4 tank. You can conserve water when alone. I also learned how to take quick showers in the Marine Corps. 🙂

The bracket you pictured is a pretty cool idea.

[birdshill123]

After spending 5 weeks at Q I can see why people buy these softeners. My concern would be drinking water. We have a residential fridge with a water/ ice dispenser. Soft water makes for bad coffee and horrible ice.

[Dr4Film]

We don't drink anything that comes through the coach water system. We have been bottled water users since living in the southwest with our diesel coach. I have two 3-gallon refillable bottles that we use for coffee and cooking which are filled at a Primo Water Station in Walmart's. We also purchase the Sam's Club cases of water for drinking purposes.

On board water is for showers, toilet, dishes, etc.

We don't even drink the tap water while at home in Florida.

[1nolaguy]

3 hours ago, birdshill123 said:

After spending 5 weeks at Q I can see why people buy these softeners. My concern would be drinking water. We have a residential fridge with a water/ ice dispenser. Soft water makes for bad coffee and horrible ice.

Everyone's taste is different. I actually prefer soft water for ice as it stays more clear as oppose to hard water that will be white.

FYI- in our setup the water is regulated for pressure at the spigot, goes through a gradient  filter to 5 micron , then 0.5 micron carbon block and then softener. Our gig is set up with a two way valve on tank fill and city water, so all water that goes in the system is treated. I do treat the tank when ever it has been in storage with a bleach solution just to make sure the tank remains sterile.

[Mike H]

The biggest reason for getting a water softener wasn’t for washing my hair and taking showers, it was to protect the water system in our coach.  I used to manage a fishing camp for several years here in Central Florida.  We had a well and a Culligan water softener system.  Even though Culligan serviced their system once a month they still didn’t take real good care of it.  When my new $4,000 ice machine quit working I had a service guy come and look at it.  He found about a 2 ft long 1/2” tygon hose in it that was completely blocked with crud.  It looked like someone had poured concrete through it.  We had to beat on it with a hammer to break it up to clear the hose.  After hearing about how bad/hard the water can be out west the last thing I wanted to happen was to have any of that crud building up in our coach plumbing.  Yes I know, it won't happen overnight but over time, and not a real long time, it can impact your plumbing.  Probably more for full timers. 

I sleep a little better now making sure ALL of the water that goes into our fresh water tank goes through our On-The-Go water softener.  Yeah, it’s a little more work to set it up but I’ve learned I really don’t have to connect to the campground water every time we stop for a night or two but when we do it goes through the water softener.  I also use one of those blue Camco water filters right after my pressure regulator at the campground spigot and then we have house carbon and a sediment filters in our wet bay and of course another filter in our refrigerator.

We have no problem at all brushing our teeth or drinking water from our refrigerator dispenser.

[throgmartin]

Mike, I went without a softener for 2 years. My water heater was so loaded with calcium deposits it took hours of flushing to get all the deposits out. My shower head was getting plugged off and the faucet screens were nearly plugged off. Every drop of water that goes into my fresh water tank is softened. I just ordered a second softener for washing coaches and all my equipment and vehicles. Which reminds me our 2 service vans need washing. This the season for pollen in Florida. My beautiful burgundy Ram 2500 is now yellow. 😞

Ever been to Yuma, AZ ? There is a reason why there are large bottled water dispenser machines on every corner.

[Guest Ray Davis]

3 hours ago, throgmartin said:

Ever been to Yuma, AZ ? There is a reason why there are large bottled water dispenser machines on every corner.

Yeah, the salty water there is awful.

[Chris Leedle]

Thanks for posting.  I have an on the go softener and hate the regen process.  I am now ordering the regen kit to add to mine.

[Mike H]

Chris Leedle, let us know how it works out.  I'm curious to hear if it saves any time and how easy it is to set up.  I might do the same thing.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Mike H

[throgmartin]

19 hours ago, Mike H said:

Chris Leedle, let us know how it works out.  I'm curious to hear if it saves any time and how easy it is to set up.  I might do the same thing.

Mike:  It saves time and it saves a lot of aggravation, unless you like poking salt through a hole with a pencil. I wished I had discovered the regen kit a long time ago. I also recommend their pre-filters. They are of higher quality then the camco blue filters and last longer. I am so sure you will like the regen kit that I am authorizing Dave Pratt and Tom Cherry to refund you your money in the event you don't like it. 🙂 lol

Besides, $ 50 is a drop in the bucket to a guy like you who has almost as much money as Elon Musk. 🙂

[FishAR]

I have an on the go and when I add the salt I have a pitcher of hot water with me, it fills up I pour some water in. Only takes a few minutes to add the 2 containers of salt.