Portable Soft Water Units

[keigm]

While at a RV park one of my neighbors suggested it would be prudent to get a portable water softener.  I’ve seen several rv’ers use one of these blue portable units and wondered if I should get one.  Any thoughts?

 

 

[five]

Depends on where you will be.  We spend lots of time in Biloxi, MS.  There the problem is the water is so soft you can't get the soap off after showering.

[manholt]

FIVE.  But, look at all the soap you save!

Keigm.   I have never used one.  Sometimes I have FIVE's problem and not, but I always get clean!   So, it's a matter of personal taste!  Now, it does make it easier to keep the toilet bowl clean!  

[CarlAda]

I travel the southwest often and find that the water tends toward the hard side.  I prefer to use a water softener to minimize mineral buildup in the water lines (and it feels nice in the shower, too!)

[tbutler]

After years of enduring hard water we purchased a Travelsoft water softener in the fall of 2013.  This isn't the blue in-line filter that you see some people using.  That is simply a water filter.  The Travelsoft water softener is a real water softener that works the same way a household unit does.  It requires salt, crystal, not pellet as you have to feed the salt through a 1" opening.  A charge of salt will last several weeks to several months depending on the water where you are staying.  One of the primary driving forces for us was the water at our daughters home.  They have a deep well in Missouri limestone and the calcium from the rock is a significant part of their water.  People in our Texas campground, now home, said that water was soft water but when we put a Sears home water softener in our mobile home, there was a real difference. 

I transport the water softener in the storage compartment next to my water/electric compartment and pull it out and hook it up in a few minutes.  One hose from water supply to water softener, another hose from softener to water input for the motor home.  I have always used the quick connectors for our water connections so the number of connections is never a problem.  I also carry several additional lengths of hose for the occasional long distance water supply so that also isn't a problem.  When finished I shut off the water at the supply spigot, release the pressure with a drain at the bottom of the water softener and that also drains it as I'm unhooking and storing hoses.  You don't have to drain it to store it but it makes it lighter to handle.  Still, it will be 31 pounds, I have the model 1200 which is the smallest.  It can be stored/transported lying down, it measures 21 inches tall.  I get a 40 pound bag of crystal water softener salt and carry it in a plastic container.  I keep a two charge supply of salt under the kitchen sink and when that runs out, I dig out the container with what remains in the bag and refill my small container.  We are out on the road in late April or early May and return home in October so that works for the long haul.  If you were vacationing using the small container would last you for a month or more.  It takes six pounds of salt to recharge this softener.

We have used this for four seasons now, I use this at every stop, even a single night stop.  Besides conserving soap for shower and laundry, soft water also leaves less residue around water fixtures and on the shower walls, etc. 

[tbutler]

3 hours ago, manholt said:

So, it's a matter of personal taste!  Now, it does make it easier to keep the toilet bowl clean!  

What an interesting observation.  I hope that you asked your dog about the taste part of this statement! 

[wayne77590]

Tom, you beat me to it. I was going to tell Carl that personal taste and keeping the toilet bowl clean should not be grouped together.

Oh well, that's Carl.

[hermanmullins]

Linda and Carl have two wonderful old dogs. But it has been several years since either of them were able to use Carl's watering bowl. (snik)

They have moved to a bowl on the floor and Carl to a larger Wine glass with handles.

Herman

[manholt]

 Guess, I could have left the, "personal taste" part, out of that statement !   The things one must endure, among friends.

Tom.  We are going to be at the Fig Tree RV Resort in Harlingen, Texas the 4th-18th of January. 

Linda, has 3 water wells.  1 for the house and it's treated with a water softener, same with my house on the Island, even though, I'm on city water.  It does make a difference!  Never thought about having it in a coach.

[txiceman]

We are full time and have a sediment filter, a carbon  filter and a water softener on the unit. 

Never know what the water will be like where we go, so we treat everything going into the RV.

Ken

[wildebill308]

Ken, that is a good setup. I like to run a little water to flush out the campground pipes before I hook the hose to my carbon filer. I have gotten some nasty water when first turning on the campground water. 

The other thing I didn't see mentioned was a pressure regulator.

Bill

[elkhartjim]

I recommend spraying the hose bib with a little bleach mixture before connecting the hose. I've seen an occasional dog mistake the faucet for a fire hydrant and raise his leg.

[wildebill308]

12 hours ago, elkhartjim said:

I recommend spraying the hose bib with a little bleach mixture before connecting the hose. I've seen an occasional dog mistake the faucet for a fire hydrant and raise his leg.

Another good point.

Bill

[keigm]

Thanks for all the info.  I guess I better get one!

[manholt]

Keigm.

What make RV are you installing it on?

Jim S.  Water spigot/Dog?  Just what I needed to read at 6am, before Breakfast..

[jleamont]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 5:28 PM, wayne77590 said:

Tom, you beat me to it. I was going to tell Carl that personal taste and keeping the toilet bowl clean should not be grouped together.

Oh well, that's Carl.

Really depends on personal preference. We only have an inline filter on the coach, but a softener system at the house. They do work but like everything else there is a cost for the luxury that you will have to balance out. 

[Fmcaun1175]

I installed a SUMO I softener. It is the smallest one I have found. There is a SUMO II and Sumo III if you have the space.

The SUMO I is only 9.3" wide and fits perfectly between my basement slide and the wall to the utility hook-ups. It is NON-ELECTRIC and recharges on demand according to the settings you program into it.  There is no clock so it will recharge when it needs to. You can start it manually to minimize the chance of it going into bypass mode at an inconvenient time. The control is by Kinetico. It is small capacity but fine for the two of us. Discharge hose is just a small plastic hose that dangles out of the bay door when parked.

I cycle it when we hook up and am careful not to discharge onto nice grass. Gravel sites are preferred. I do not like the idea of hooking the discharge line to the sewer system where contamination might occur. I ran in-and-out lines internally so it is stationary in the basement. The campground water goes through an inline filter and then into the softener.  Be sure to remember to put the discharge line outside the coach when you are parked.

[schoolsout2]

The blue softener is the “on the go” brand.  It does a great job.  The shower and laundry are much better, no more white spots on the counters or faucets.  We have a dishwasher and it was unusable at times before we got this.  

 

Wife loves it, that says enough!

[f330021]

If you have AquaHot soft water is important.  We have it installed in the water bay.