Water Softner's

[cleaning up mud]

Does anyone know how much drop in water pressure there is normally between city pressure and then on the other side of the softner?

 

[trentu]

wow, that is a good question. I don't know but I do know that I have seen our city water pressure fluctuate from between 20 and 60 psi. We put a booster on one of the 1" lines to the RO to even out the fluctuations and it really helps (cost us about $1100 for the 1" line, it is a bladder tank with pump and motor on the top and a pressure regulator tied into the motor).

 

[MEP001]

It depends entirely on the softener and the size of the tanks. Typically the media in the tanks will cause more flow restriction than the head or the plumbing.

Are you having flow problems that are solved with opening the softener bypass? I know that the water in your area is very hard on the softener resin and breaks it down, restricting the flow.

 

[ken-pro]

If the softener is sized correctly for the site than the maximum drop across the softener is 10-15 PSI depending on manufacturer. If the softener is too small (1" head when a 1.5" is required) then the drop will be much more significant.

It is possible for the resin to plug up, or the laterals at the bottom to become scaled or damaged causing flow issues.