Anyone have water softener know how?

[wayner123]

One thing you may want to prepare for is where the drain hose will go. When placing outside, you can simply run it into the ground or make a small drain field. When it's in the garage, you will need to plumb for it. You will need to plan ahead as well for an electrical service for the unit.

I had Rainsoft in the past (yes I was once gullable and young) and dealt with the problems that arose from it. After a few years of that pain, I went out and built my own from scratch. In the end it cost ~$350. It was worth it to know how it all came together and it gave me much better service. I have sinced moved into a new home, and a new water softner is high on the list.

The Fleck 5600 models are rock solid, easy to repair, and there are many guides out there for it. IME, I would get the simple 12 day version. The metered version is nice, but it didn't save that much money for me. Plus it's one more thing that can go wrong on the unit.