I am looking to replace a water softener.

I've read about the Fleck 5600.
I saw an ad on line which presented the VORTECH TECHNOLOGY.
Does any one have any experience with that?
Recommend a brand or technology? I believe I need a 32,000 to 40,000 size and I have city water WITHOUT iron.
Thank you CONFUSED

The Fleck 5600 is a time and industry tested valve that performs extremely well. You really can't go wrong with any Fleck valve. I have not used the vortech tank yet but the premise behind it is higher back washing rates and flow rates. This seems to be a good functional design. The vortech technology simply is designed to replace the gravel under-bedding in softener tanks. I am concerned that if the manifold ever plugs up or cracks it can not be replaced. The whole tank would need to be replaced.
A metered/demand initiated system is the most efficient. These systems use flow meters to measure the water usage and regenerate accordingly. When sizing a water treatment system for residential use several things need to be considered.
1. Water chemistry (the most critical)
2. Gallons of water used per day (average 75 gallons per person per day)
3. Flow rates/fixture count
4. Serviceability (parts availability, warranty, longevity)
5. The company backing the equipment
6. If you're going to do this yourself then you need a company with strong customer support.
The first three determine the sizing and capacity of the system (30,0000, 40,000, 45,000 grain capacity etc).
Fleck has the most availability on-line for replacement parts.
Clack Valves are also very reliable and efficient and they are 1" valves and can help provide higher flow rates for modern households. The Clack WS1 valve is an excellent piece of equipment with good electronics, but is only available from plumbing suppliers and water treatment dealers.

I was timed out before I was able to finish. Either of these valves will give you excellent service and years of durability. All of the factors mentioned need to be considered to get the best "Value" in a water treatment system. If chlorine is also a problem than a point of entry carbon tank should be considered or KDF55 media for chlorine removal.
I hope this helps you in your decision,
RJ

Most of our customers buy Water Softeners from Sears. They use model Genius III Plus . It is their top of the line model with highest capacity. We never hear any complaints.

Thanks. I've beer searching since I posted my question and have bee leaning away from the Vortech. You helped me make up my mind . Thanks again popritz1

Just curious as to which system you decided on.
RJ

I am going to order the FLECK 5600 SXT
Reading further- I see the Clack can no longer be sold over the internet.

I have a question about size. Some of the information suggests the need to buy a larger unit to use less salt to regenerate to the level I need.

Understanding True Water Softener Capacity
The capacity of a water softener is simply the amount of hardness it can remove before it needs to regenerate. Water softener capacity is one of the most poorly understood aspects of water softener sizing by both dealers and consumers alike. There is a great deal of misinformation regarding capacity, and most of the water softeners advertised for sale on the internet or elsewhere are often inaccurate or misleading when it comes to softener capacity.
What You've Probably Seen Online
The internet is littered with websites selling 24,000 / 32,000 / 48,000 / 64,000 grain water softeners. What does this mean? As mentioned above, the capacity of a water softener describes how much hardness it can remove before it needs to regenerate. A "grain" of hardness is 1/7000th of a pound of dissolved calcium and magnesium. A water softener advertised as a "32,000" grain system should be able to remove 32,000 grains of hardness before it requires regeneration, right? There are, however, two aspects of this statement that are misleading.
What is sold typically as a 32,000 grain system contains 1 cubic foot of water softening resin. If one looks at the specification provided by the resin manufacturer you will see that 1 cubic foot of resin under ideal laboratory conditions can remove about 32,000 grains of hardness. But ideal lab conditions use carefully controlled flow rates, water temperature, water pressure, etc. These conditions are never met in the real world. So, the true maximum softening capacity of 1 cubic foot of resin is perhaps 30,000, and probably a little less.
But more misleading than the maximum laboratory capacity, is the amount of salt required during backwash to achieve the maximum capacity. One cubic foot of resin requires between 30 - 36 pounds of salt to achieve 30,000 grains of recovered capacity! This is a statistic not mentioned by most dealers. It may be possible to achieve 30,000 grains of recovered capacity with 1 cubic foot of resin but it will be very costly in terms of dollars and the environment to use 36 pounds of salt during every regeneration cycle. A softener regenerating once a week at 36 pounds of salt per regeneration will use 1,878 pounds of salt in a year! That is a staggering amount.
What is very interesting, is that the same 1 cubic foot of resin can be regenerated with 5 - 7 pounds of salt and this will yield 20,000 grains of recovered softening capacity - one third of the amount of salt yields two thirds of the maximum capacity. This is a much more efficient way to operate a water softener. Less salt means fewer dollars spent, fewer trips to the salt store, less salt to lug, and less salt discharged to the septic system and the environment. But beware - not all water softeners can be set up in this high efficiency mode.
The Result of This Marketing Technique
When softeners are sold by grain capacity, such as "32,000" or "48,000" grain systems, it is a severe disservice to the consumer. It ultimately leads to customer dissatisfaction for one of a number of reasons. When a consumer purchases a "32,000" grain system expecting to get 32,000 grains capacity there are three different ways the consumer may be disappointed with the purchase:
The consumer programs the softener as a 32,000 grain system but only programs it to use 5 or 6 pounds of salt per regeneration. In this case the softener will only remove about 20,000 grains of hardness but the softener will think it has 12,000 grains of capacity remaining and will not initiate a regeneration for several days. The result is that the softener provides soft water for a few days and then provides un-softened water for a few days before regenerating.
The consumer realizes upon receiving the softener and reading the manual that it will take 36 pounds of salt to get 30,000 grains of capacity from the system. The consumer programs the softener to use 36 pounds of salt per regeneration and ends up spending much more money on salt than anticipated.
The consumer realizes upon receiving the softener that the most efficient settings are to use 5 - 7 pounds of salt per regeneration and to set the system capacity to 20,000 grains. In this case, the softener will regenerate more frequently than anticipated and this creates extra wear and tear on the valve mechanism. This probably results in premature repair/maintenance costs and inconvenience.
A Better Way To Describe Softener Capacity
The only accurate way to describe water softener capacity is by cubic feet of resin and how much salt it will take per regeneration to achieve the stated capacity. In some U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions a water softener manufacturer must state the salt efficiency of the system being sold. The efficiency is stated ingrains/pound of salt. This is the most accurate, honest, and direct way to describe a water softener. Rather than showing the consumer a make believe capacity that can only be achieved in a laboratory or with massive amounts of salt, the efficiency shows how much salt will be used and how much softening capacity will result.
Common Sense May Not Be All That Common
Despite this concept being around for a long time there are many, many dealers - both online and in-store - who do not understand this concept or refuse to accept its validity. But rest assured that the salt use data provided by resin manufacturers doesn't lie. When you're deciding where to buy your softener, look for a dealer that understands this concept and can help you select a water softener that will minimize salt use and maximize your satisfaction.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?
I HAVE TWO PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE - 21/2 BATHROOMS. ( SOME WEEKENDS 4 TO 6 PEOPLE-A COUPLE TIMES A YEAR)
WHAT SIZE UNIT AND HOW MANY LBS FOR THE SALT SETTING FOR REGENERATION. WOULD I NEED?

As in our previous conversation these factors must be known to properly size the water treatment system.
1. Water chemistry (the most critical) Proper water analysis.
2. Gallons of water used per day (average 75 gallons per person per day)
3. Flow rates/fixture count
1 cu ft of resin does not require 30+ lbs of salt to achieve total capacity. To achieve a full regeneration of 1 cu ft of resin it takes 15-16lbs of salt. Granted this is in ideal conditions but many factors weigh into this. The most efficient setting for 1 cu ft of resin is 10 lbs of salt. This achieves a capacity of 24,000 grains. Many factors weigh into resin efficiency, water chemistry, water temperature, flow rates, total usage, system design, etc.
Please post the results of the three factors above then we can size the equipment according to your application.
RJ

The hardness of the water is reported by the water company as 14.5 to 16 GPG. (someone commented that as a figure when it leaves the water company--it may pick up additional hardness) So It was suggested I use 17 as the figure.
The flow rate is approximately 8 gallons per minute as estimated in the bathtub with both faucets opened wide. There are 2 and 1/2 bathrooms. There are two people in the house at this time. Occasionally that could rise to 6 on some weekends. I guess we might meet the average of 75 Gallons per person per day.

Also it was suggested that KDF to remove chlorine would improve health aspects / drinkability, life of media and decrease deterioration of washers and o rings on appliances would be a wothwhile addition.
I am inclined to purchase the KDF. Looking forward to your response. Thanks

Great! I would go with a Fleck 5600SXT 1.00 cu ft metered system. This will give you plenty of capacity for your normal usage and sufficient capacity with up to 8 people. The KDF is a great idea! I actually use KDF-85 in every softener I install for iron and hydrogen sulfide removal and it's other advantages. I have it in my softener. You may want to use KDF-55 as it is designed more toward chlorine removal. You will be very happy with the quality of the water. You only need about 4lbs of KDF-55 for this application. It is added in with the resin. The KDF actually converts the chlorine back to a chloride so there is no need to be constantly re-bedding as there would be with carbon. Ohiopurewater.com is a good source for KDF. You can set the system to regenerate at 1200 gallons (20,400 grain capacity)(about every eight days for your usage) at 8lbs of salt. This will keep the KDF back washed on a regular basis and still keep system efficient for you. Depending on your usage you should use about >30lbs of salt per month.
I hope this helps,
RJ

FYI: Sears will do your water analysis for free. At least in my area...

THANKS
You have helped set aside all concerns. If I understand you correctly the KDF 55 is mixed in with the media
Or is it a tube inserted at the top of the upflow tube?

I was leaning towards ohiopurewater.com as the company that appealed to me. If you could just answer the above question I will place my order today. THANK YOU!!

I have used the CanPro filter before, but I prefer just to put it in with the resin. Although with the CanPro cartridge the resin will never come in contact with any chlorine so this will prolong the resin life and it is easier to add KDF when needed. For your application I would recommend the CanPro cartridge.
Good luck and good water to you and your family,
RJ

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but I am also very confused after reading many charts and calculators online. I can't decide between the Fleck 5600 SXT 45K or 60K capacity softeners! I have 3 people, 2 bathrooms and my water quality is: Harndness - 26 GPG, Iron - .2ppm, PH - 7.4, Alkalinity 120, TDS - 550. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I would like to be able to regenerate as little as often and use the least amount of salt! I was told by a dealer if I bought the 60K model I could use 12lbs of salt each regeneration at 8-10 day intervals.

Forgot to mention I am on a well, not city water - no chlorine. Thanks!

That is all clearwater (ferrous) iron? 12lbs of salt will only regenerate 24k of resin. I would leave 10k as reserve capacity. Compensated hardness = 28gpg x 225 gallons (your typical usage 75x3) Total hardness per day = 6300 grains.
The 45k system would regenerate every 5 days at 16lbs of salt = 96 lbs per month.
The 60k system would regenerate every 7 days at 26lbs of salt = 111 lbs per month

Thank you for your response! So even though the larger one only regenerates less often, it has to use more salt? So would it be best though capacity wise for me to get the 60K system so it's not operating at full capacity and regenerating too often? It seems from your numbers that it would cost me more to run the larger system, but I want to think of long term wear and tear on my investment. Just checking because I found a dealer that I can get the 60K system for only $50 more than the 45K one. Thanks again!

Yes that's clearwater. I thought .2ppm would be low compared to 2ppm, even then, wouldn't I only add 3 gpg per ppm of iron to get my total gpg for removal? I'm sure it's .2ppm as that's what's on my test results. Wouldn't the 2 cubic feet of resin in the 60k system take longer between regeneration times, saving me on salt? Or not quite? I am also purchasing a turbulator to help keep the resin cleaner.

As stated in the above formula, it takes more sodium to regenerate the higher capacity. The 45k system would actually be more efficient. With .2ppm iron you can set the system at 26gpg without compensating for iron. The 45k system is only regenerating every 5 days. Full capacity would be every day. This is a very durable valve and will work fine with 20 + tears of service.
RJ

Thanks RJ, well I had ordered the 60K system, but it hasn't shipped out yet, I'm trying to see if I can get the 45K one instead. Would the 60K system take longer between regneration times since it has 2 cubic feet of resin? My reasoning is that it may take more sodium to regenerate but won't it regenerate less often? Only by a few days then? Thanks for your help though!