To determine the appropriate water softener size for your home, multiply the number of people in your home by the gallons of water they use each day (80 gallons per person is the average). Multiply that number by the grains of hardness in your water to figure out how many grains need to be removed each day.

How do I know my water softener capacity?

Use the following formula to calculate the proper size: Multiply the number of people in your family times 70 (gallons of water used per day, national average). Multiply the answer by your water hardness in grains per gallon (to convert mg/l or ppm to grains, divide by 17.1).

What is softener capacity?

The amount of hardness a softener can remove between regenerations is known as the softener capacity and can be expressed either in grains or in gallons. Capacity is important when sizing, configuring, or troubleshooting a softener.

What is the formula for water softener?

Daily Water Use: 4 People X 75 Gallons per day = 300 gallons per day. Daily Softening Requirement = 10 grains per gallon X 300 gallons per day = 3000 grains per day. In the example above, the softener will be removing 3000 grains per day. A softener is usually sized to regenerate about once per week.

How many gallons of water does it take to regenerate a water softener?

The water softener has a reserve capacity of 20 to 25% before it regenerates; this means that it regenerates when the resin beads are 75 to 80% saturated. During recharge (regeneration), it uses approximately 35 to 65 gallons of water, depending on the size of the water softener.

What size water softener do I need for a family of 4?

What Size Water Softener for Family of 4? A family of 4 needs about 300 gallons of water per day (4 x 75 gallons). If the hardness of water is 10 grams per gallon, then the daily softening requirement is 300 x 10 = 3000 grains.

How many cubic feet is 48000 grains?

Water Quality This family would do best with either a 48,000 grain unit (1.5 cubic feet), or ideally a 64,000 grain unit (2 cubic feet).

What is 48000 grain water softener?

48,000 Grain softener. Removes extremely high levels of ferrous (clear water) iron, up to 12ppm. 6Th sense technology learns your water usage and minimizes salt consumption. Ultra-flow valve provides up to 15% greater water flow than standard systems, convenient for larger homes.

How do you calculate water hardness?

The amount of hardness is expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L) or grains per gallon (gpg) as calcium carbonate. Hardness is calculated from the equation Hardness = 2.497 (Ca) + 4.118 (Mg).

How do you measure water hardness?

Water hardness can be easily measured using a simple soap test kit that will measure in “grains of hardness” (a little bottle with a line marked on it which you fill to the line with water, add a drop of soap, and shake to look for suds. More drops of soap – more degrees of hardness).

Article first time published on

What is grain capacity?

Grains capacity is simply the amount of hardness that can be removed by a water softener before it must regenerated. … The grains capacity of a softener is the weight of calcium and magnesium hardness compounds that can be removed from the water before the softener is saturated and must be regenerated.

How do I know how much salt is in my water softener?

A standard calculation for salt usage could be done as follows: [No. of people x gallons per person in one day x 110 (hardness)] ÷ efficiency of salt exchange. 2 x 65 = 130 x 110 = 14,300 grains in one day. Divided by 2,000 grains removal per pound of salt equals 7.15 pounds per day.

How do I know if my water softener is regenerating?

You can tell if your whirlpool water softener is working by checking to see how much salt is in its week to week and if it is going down at all or not. If it is then it is regenerating.

Should my water softener recharge every night?

Experts agree that regular regenerations are the best, because they keep the resin bed active. This should be every two to three days, although highly efficient softeners may generate every day or even multiple times a day.

How do I adjust my water softener regeneration?

It has a “regen” button on the head at the end. This “regen” button has to be pressed down and held for three seconds, and the regeneration cycle will begin immediately. Keep in mind that once the cycle starts, it cannot be canceled. While this is a simple process, other water softening systems work manually.

How do you size a commercial water softener?

Sizing a commercial water softener is based on the gallons per minute or flow rate of water used in the facility. You want to size a water softener large enough that, based on the average gallons of water used per day, the softener only regenerates once per day.

What does 30000 grain capacity 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. … So, the true maximum softening capacity of 1 cubic foot of resin is perhaps 30,000, and probably a little less.

Can your water softener be too big?

If your water softener is too big for your home, it won’t do enough work to trigger regeneration on time. When a water softener doesn’t regenerate, it’s not as effective and bacteria can grow in the tank. Make sure your water softener is properly sized for your home with the right quantity of resin beads for the job.

How many grain water softeners do I need for a family of 5?

Finally, taking into consideration salt use, the right size of water softener for a family of five would be a 40,000 grain softener.

What is the total hardness of water?

Total hardness is the sum of the calcium and magnesium concentrations, both expressed as calcium carbonate, in milligrams per liter (mg/L). You can determine your water’s hardness based on these concentrations of calcium carbonate: below 75 mg/L – is generally considered soft. 76 to 150 mg/L – moderately hard.

How do you calculate hardness of a material?

A hardness test is typically performed by pressing a specifically dimensioned and loaded object (indenter) into the surface of the material you are testing. The hardness is determined by measuring the depth of indenter penetration or by measuring the size of the impression left by an indenter.

What is the scale for water hardness?

Measures of water hardness General guidelines for classification of waters are: 0 to 60 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as calcium carbonate is classified as soft; 61 to 120 mg/L as moderately hard; 121 to 180 mg/L as hard; and more than 180 mg/L as very hard.

How much hardness can a softener remove?

An average softener should remove 4000 grains of hardness for every One pound of salt used.

What water softener is best for well water?

• SpringWell SS Water Softener Series.
• Crystal Quest Water Softener with Pre/Post Filtration.
• SpringWell WSSS Well Filter-Softener Combo.
• SpringWell FutureSoft Water Conditioner.
• Tier1 Everyday and Advanced Water Softener Series #CHEAP.
• Eddy Electronic Water Descaler.

How many grains is considered hard water?

Grains per gallon is a measure of water hardness. One grain per gallon (gpg) is equivalent to 17.14 parts per million (ppm). A water hardness of 0 to 3 gpg is soft water, 3 to 7 gpg is moderately hard and 7 to 11 gpg is considered hard. Anything more than 11 is considered very hard.

How many grains of hardness should I set my water softener?

0–3: If your hard water test strip indicates that your water is between 0–3 grains per gallon, your water doesn’t require softening. 3–7: Water between 3–7 gpg is moderately hard, causing spotty dishes and dry skin.

Is 50 ppm hard water?

Type of WaterHardnessSoft water10-50 ppmSlightly hard water50-100 ppmHard water100-200 ppmVery hard waterOver 200 ppm

How long should a bag of salt last in a water softener?

How Long Does Water Softener Salt Last? The resin beads in water softeners get their sodium ions from salt that you must add to the brine tank portion of your softener. This is usually in a tank that is completely separate from the one containing the beads. You’ll need to refill the salt once every two to three months.

What happens if you put too much salt in water softener?

Remember, your water softener is connected to the rest of your water system. If it’s using a lot of salt, it might mean you have a toilet that’s running constantly. This will deplete the salt very quickly and can be quite common if you have a bathroom that doesn’t get much use.

How do you determine the grain of hardness?

If a test for hard water is measured in parts per million or milligrams per liter you can take the total hardness level and divide it by 17.1 to get hardness in grains per gallon. For example if your water test shows 250 mg/L hardness you actually have 14.62 grains per gallon.

Why is the salt in my water softener not going down?

If the brine tank salt level is not going down it means that no salt is being used, so far so good. Most likely this is caused by a hard salt crust, also called “salt bridge“, that has formed in the bottom of the tank. The bridge prevents salt from falling down and dissolving in the water to form brine.