Discount Water Softeners Genesis 2 Premier 24,000 Grain Water Softener, 1.25" High Flow, Digital Metered, On Demand, High Efficiency Up Flow

(Please see my update at the end of this review to see why I have changed my rating from 5 stars to 3 stars.)It's really too early to rate how well this water softener works and lasts but my initial impressions are very positive. This is my fifth water softener in over 40 years and I think it's the best. Installation was very easy but I work on everything so this type of job is easy for me and I was replacing my old water softener so there was no need to cut into water lines. The only thing I needed was some 1/2" drain line because my old drain line was 3/8" and a couple of elbows simply because of my existing setup wouldn't work with the new water softener. No problem at all! I purchased the 48,000 grain unit because our well water is very hard even though there's only two of us.The water softener came with a very nice perfectly fitting blanket to prevent condensation on the resin tank. It zips on and it's made of high-quality material that stretches to fit perfectly. It also has a pocket to store the manual and quick-start guide. (This water softener, unlike some, comes with a very nice and well-written manual and quick-start guide. There's no translation to deal with. Instructions on installation and use are very clear and understandable. And the settings on the water softener are extremely simple and intuitive unlike all my previous water softeners.But the thing that really made this a pleasant purchase was the outstanding customer servce (see update) provided by Discount Water Softners. While researching many water softeners, I emailed a question to DWS and they got back to me immediately with a clear answer to my question. I had some follow-up questions and they got back to me immediately with those too with clear responses. I finally decided to buy this water softener and placed an order but then I found a bad micro switch in my old water softener that had checked out OK previously. I thought I found the problem and I requested a cancellation of my DWS order until I could determine if I could fix the only problem with my old waster softener. DWS contacted me immediately and said they were holding the order and would be happy to issue an immediate refund or they could would wait until I determined if I was going to want the new unit. It was my choice. (They were incredibly courteous, polite, and helpful and everyone spoke English!) I quickly determined that there was another problem with my old unit - the control unit (computer) was bad so I re-ordered the new water softener. (DWS was so patient and helpful all along.) Amazon estimated that deliver would be about 10 days but DWS said they were shipping it out right then and I would have it the next day and I did. In fact, I had it in less than 24 hours!I only have one minor (and it's very minor) complaint (see update) about the water softener. That is that the 24V power transformer comes with a wire only about five or six feet long. The manual says to NOT plug it into an extension cord but I was not about to run an new outlet so I did use a short extension cord. I know of no reason this isn't OK. I'm guessing they tell you not to use an extension cord because it may be hanging somewhere where it might come in contact with water but I mounted the cord safely so that's no problem but I think they should send transformers with longer cords to begin with. So if you're unit will be installed more than five or six feet from an existing outlet, just keep that in mind.So, for now, I'm very happy with this water softener and dealing with DWS reminded me what old-fashioned customer service was all about. Great folks to deal with! (Again, see update.)UPDATE: I had two problems that stopped the water softener from working that were NOT the fault of the water softener but I thought I'd mention this so others may be aware of the potential issue. (But read on because far more serious problems have happened that are an issue with the Genesis water softener.) A small bit of a silicone seal broke lose from my Premier whole house water filter and clogged and orifice in the drain of the water softener. I replaced the water filter with an identical Premier filter thinking the first one's defect was a fluke. Unfortunately, the same thing happened again with the new water filter. I cannot recommend Premier water filters because they never responded to my questions.One day, I realized that we were not getting soft water. I checked all the usual things that could cause the problem including the injector, drain system, brine tank tubing, float assembly, etc. but had no luck. I emailed Discount Water Softeners describing the problem. I got a response a couple days later from a woman and she suggested doing the things I had already done. When I told her that didn't fix the problem, she told me to "send a picture of the setup) to her. I thought that was strange because all I could do is send a picture of the water softener and it's hookup but that wouldn't give a clue to the problem. Nothing in the setup had changed when the problem occurred. Even so, I sent her the picture she requested but she never responded. But I eventually found the problem and fixed it.But then, the water softener went crazy! No brine was being drawn at all. In fact, during brining, the brine tank was actually filling when the brine should be dropping. The only thing that stopped the brine from over-filling the salt tank was the float. But now the float was at it's top position shutting off water from entering the brine well and brine from leaving it. Even worse, when the unit went back into service, a strong flow of drain water kept flowing. Once again, I checked all the known things that could cause that but everything checked out fine. So I disassembled the entire head so I could check the brine valve and the valve stack. Everything looked good. No hoses or ports were blocked. The injector was clean, etc. At this point, I unplugged the unit and put it on bypass and, as of now, we have very hard water.I found two other serious design flaws while checking things out. If you have this water softener or one that uses the same float assembly (that goes in the brine well), be aware of these problems.1) The rod that the float rides on has two rubber stoppers - like thing washers - that stop the movement of the float. One is at the bottom, under the float, and the other is at the top, above the float. On top of the float is a recess that the top stopper can slide into. There's also one inside the float that has the same issue. What I found was that the bottom stopper entered the recess inside the float and got stuck. This caused the float to get stuck at the very bottom of the rod so the float could not move and not stop the salt tank from over-filling. Clearly, the bottom stopper could also get stuck in the recess inside of the float. (The float is an inverted cup. It is not a airtight container. To fix this problem, I simply put a small stainless steel washer under the top stopper and above the bottom stopper so they could not enter the recesses in the float and get stuck. I have absolutely no idea why someone designed the float to have those recesses.2) The second design problem is equal if not more serious. At the bottom of the rod that the float rides on is the water valve. It should be open until the water stops flowing either simply because the program stops the flow of water into the brine well or because the brine well filled to the top and shut the valve (that's it's sole purpose.) However, there's a cage right above the valve that has a ball in it that acts as a check valve. When there's water in the brine well, the ball should float and that allows water to pass out of the brine tank when brining or into the brine well when refilling. The problem is that I found the ball very often did not break free and float when there was water in the brine well. That effectively stopped any water from entering or leaving the brine well and the water softener would not regenerate. If you have this or a similar float assembly, I suggest you remove it (very easy - just unscrew the plastic nut and lift the entire float assembly out. Then fill a pitcher or similar container with water and place the bottom of the float assembly in the water including the cage with the ball in it. If the ball doesn't float, your water softener won't regenerate. But try it repeatedly because, even if happens very rarely, when it does, your water softener will not regenerate and you won't have soft water. Surprisingly, I found the ball in mine to NOT float about 50% of the time I immersed it in water. I just wish that was the only problem I'm having now. As I said, I have completely disassembled the entire head and checked everything out and it's acting crazy. Brine never gets drawn from the brine tank and, in fact, it actually fills with water when it's brining (should be filling) and it rises so high that the float stops all water from entering or leaving the brine tank. And to top it all off, when the unit goes back into service, a strong stream of water still exists the unit through the drain line. It has me stumped. The only thing I can think of is the little processor that controls the unit is bad. So I'm going to call Discount Water Softeners on Monday and see how good their customer service really is. Luckily, I live only about 25 miles from DWS so, if nothing else, I can drop it off for repair. But, here's the thing: Even though the softener claims to have an excellent warranty, a sheet came with it that all but tells you defects won't be covered under warranty and, if you're one of the rare (their word) people who do have a defect that is covered, the first thing you have to do is send them a picture OF the problem as proof. But how can a picture show an internal problem with the unit? It simply can't. That sheet was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen that came with a product.I will update this review again to reflect how my issue was handled. However, the crazy failures of the unit are still failures.

I've been using this water softener for almost two years now and I have to say, over all I'm very impressed with it. Its salt efficiency is solid and the water it produces is soft and enjoyable. I also want to mention that while my order required minimal interaction with the service staff, what little I did have was exceptional as they provided updates and shipped my softener almost immediately after I paid for it. Excellent customer service is hard to find, and so if these guys are like that throughout my use of the softener that will be amazing.Where the softener drops two stars is on its efficiency. Not that it's bad. In fact, I'd rank it excellent, but I've used two water softeners prior to this one that cost about $200 less. Neither of those water softeners were run on the high efficiency modes and yet their salt usage was very comparable to this one while it WAS in its high efficiency mode. Now, keep in mind, they also advertised exceptional salt usage so in this comparison all three claim they're great. However, considering this one costs significantly more and advertises a savings on salt of above 50% it was disappointing to not see a far better result. Admittedly, Genesis compares itself to a Fleck which I have never owned and I have no way of knowing if that comparison is more true. I did have my water softener professionally installed, and then double checked by another installation pro when he was helping with a separate issue. They both remarked that the Genesis setup was "weird" but that they were confident it had been done right. It is efficient . . . just not 50% more. I docked two stars for that.Where it restores a star is on the quality factors that I see in it so far. The stronger resin crosslink is, to me, a big plus. If this thing can run for years on end due to its quality build and strong resin crosslink, as so far it has, that's worth a good chunk of change. Likewise, my assumptions, based on my previous customer service experience, that if I do have problems they will continue to be amazing to work with is a big plus that restores another star. If I were in the market for another water softener the Genesis wouldn't be a default purchase, but they would be a strong contender and I could easily see myself buying from them again.

I needed installation assistance three weeks ago, so I used their support web page to request help.I had two questions: 1) What is the correct height for adding the salt bin overflow, and 2) How do I reassemble the salt well in the salt bin. It had fallen to pieces during shipment, or it was tossed in the tower in pieces. No way to guess which happened.After a week and a half, I received no answer. So I called their support hotline. There wasn't anybody available (or maybe nobody there?), so I left a detailed message regarding the same two questions. As I neared the end of the request, a recorded voice broke in and told me I was too slow, and to stop recording, then press #3, which I did.Now, it's been another week, and no reply.Thanks to a Youtube video I found while searching for solutions on the web, I was able to figure out how to reassemble and deploy the water softener.Why didn't they tell me right up front that buying from Discount Water Softeners meant rear bumper support? That is, once it's off their dock, to hell with further concerns.At the same time, it deployed successfully, and we have been enjoying soft water in a system that has VERY hard water. Remains to be seen if the softener continues to perform. If it doesn't, I fully expect to have to drive to Chicago (Huntley) to confront them directly to get service. Won't I be surprised if it's just a front for a foreign manufacturer?In my book, that rates a ZERO for customer service.