We are thinking of adding a water softener and have looked at Home Depot and Lowes. Anyone use the GE water softners?

Fleck is the correct answer:
https://www.amazon.com/Fleck-5600SXT-Softener-Digital-Metered/dp/B00OGN3162/
The one above is 48,000 grain...amazon has one thats double that.

Gallons used per day times grains of hardness the water is.

5 people x 100 gallons x 10 grains of hardness = ~5000 or that 48,000 grain one linked above would work.

Will treat up to 12 gpm service flow rates (28 GPM peak)

Cant go wrong with the fleck. Easy DIY install too.

Watching

I just posted a similar question. The GE has a WiFi meter and shut off built in...I wish the fleck did

We have the kinetico and like it.

I have a dual tank setup. I like it a lot. Of course modern technology may negate the need for dual resin tanks but I don't think it's possible to regenerate immediately with a single tank and have soft water.

We've had the GE 48,000 grain model for 3.5 years now. No issues, works great. I do wish I had opted for the WiFi model though. Next time.

I've never been able to understand why people pay such a premium for Kinetico, Culligan, etc.

How many people in house? How bog of a house? There are three of us in a 3/2 and have been debating between the 42,000 and 48,000

4 people
3,000 sq. ft

Just get the 48,000 if you're looking at single tank. It's nice to have extra capacity for guests, holidays, special occasions, etc.

The sizing also depends on your water hardness. Ours is quite hard, hill country aquifer water.

Well gee, I'm looking online now and it seems things have changed in the last year or two. GE has totally redesigned their water softeners and the sizing seems to be lower now.


https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-category/water-softeners

You can also just call a plumber. I called my local plumber and had a 48,000 fleck installed for $1500 out the door.

Picard said:

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We've had the GE 48,000 grain model for 3.5 years now. No issues, works great. I do wish I had opted for the WiFi model though. Next time.

I've never been able to understand why people pay such a premium for Kinetico, Culligan, etc.

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A lot of folks say to go with the Fleck b/c of parts and whatever else. However, the newer GE's you reference are < $650 and include wifi and a smart shut-off that can be controlled while you are away on vacation. Those shut-offs from 3rd party companies like Moen or others run $300-$500 by themselves!

The Fleck 5600 doesn't have that and is a no frills system.

You should also look into if your city does heavy chlorine/chloramine - that will eat up the resin, and a carbon filter can help make your softener last longer.

we have a GE single tank setup that came with the house. No issues to date.

For those with the GE do you have filters in front of it?