ABCwaters SOFRES1 Water softening resin 1 cu. ft. bag replacement softener resin

Took a while to arrive. The box was a little beat up but the contents were in great condition; there was a bag inside of a bag. Used a large funnel to load the tank. The old resin was mushy; it would disintegrate between my fingers. With the old resin, the water started out salty after each recharge and the softness only lasted a few days. After replacing the resin, good as new. The old resin was a little more than 12 years old. I was told that a typical residential unit should last about 8 years. Got my moneys worth out of this one. So far so good. The system recharged last night for the first time since replacing the resin and the water was soft and not salty. Again, so far so good.It wasn't hard to replace the resin. I set the unit into bypass. Removed the clamps at the neck. Lost a little water on the garage floor, but was ready with a few old towels. Used a stick to support the tank valve head. A couple of the old O rings were brittle and broke so I got replacements online. Took about a week for the replacement O rings to arrive. It was a two man job to carry the tank out, empty, clean and reload. My unit did not have or need a gravel bed according to the manufacturer, so reloading the resin was a breeze with out the tank tube. Inserted the tank tube with the tank on its side to get it all the way down. Installed the new O rings. Applied the supplied lubricating gel to the O rings. Reattached the tank. Turned the water back on. Soft water again! Saved a bundle not replacing the whole thing. New water softener was about $700. Spent about $125. Plumber wanted $200 plus parts (resin and rings about $150).

Worked fine

When my wife and I bought this house, it came with a water softener, which I was excited about. However, when we would out the water softener in line, the water flow in the house would drop to a trickle. We thought the softener was done for as it was several years old. We didn't have the money for a new one, so we just took the softener offline and forgot about it. .At some point I looked a bit further into it. I think it was when we really got tired of the white calcification on all our fixtures and on our "clean" dishes coming out of the dishwasher. I found that the most common cause of our water flow problem was old resin in the water softener. The resin is what actually softens the water. Over time the resin breaks down. Our softener was well past the lifespan of the resin. Thanks to YouTube I found out how to replace the resin and for about $100 and a few hours labor we had a softener that literally worked like new.Las Vegas has some of the hardest water in the country, so the difference has been remarkable. We now have softer skin, cleaner clothes and nicer looking dishes and fixtures. It was well worth the time and money.Before you give up on your softener, search for how to replace your resin, then find out how much you need. You don't need any special tools. The funnel you will often see in YouTube videos may be helpful, but we did just fine without it. You do need a little upper body strength, but borrow a neighbor/friend if needed. Buy them a pizza and you're still way ahead. :-)

The packaging on this was pretty good. It even had a 'spout'. Unfortunately that spout is not of much use. I found it easier to scoop the resin with a large measuring cup instead.I've noticed no flavor difference with this resin versus the previous hard water, but have noticed a slight difference in the softness of the water. I don't have water spots any longer in the dishwasher, so it must be working!

The packaging was appropriate. The resin bag was heavy duty, clean and not damaged in any way. It had a date of manufacture and it was only a few months old. I swapped the resin bed out and my softener is working great. A nice experience. For reference, my water pressure would drop drastically after my softener would cycle. Over the course of a week or so, it would slowly return to normal until the next cycle. First I cleared the salt tank and added iron out. No luck. The head was performing all it's functions so I determined (guessed) that the problem was with the resin. It breaks down over the course of about 10 years, 5 if your water is from a municipal source and contains chlorine. So I watched a video on the process, ordered this product along with a funnel and some plumbers grease for the o-rings. All went well and consistent pressure after cycling.

Job is not hard and takes about 3 hours but can get messy if you rush or are careless. 1 Cu Ft of resin weighs about 50 lbs. Typical resin softener takes 1 Cu Ft. Tips: 1) Cut top off used plastic 2 liter soda for the funnel, saves you $17. 2) put temporary tape over top of the pipe in the tank to keep resin out of it. 3) the old resin material and tank together can weigh up to 75 lbs. Use a helper to move and empty the old resin outdoors and into LARGE double lined plastic bags in a can for disposal. When the tank is empty, rinse the tank out. 4) The resin is made of tiny, tiny plastic beads that are very slippery on the floor, roll all over the place and do not rot. If you spill resin it makes a terrible mess. Now with the tank (and the pipe with tape on the top end) back in the softener; SLOWLY refill a little at a time. 5) account for all gaskets before moving tank and before reassembling because they can get lost. After putting all the resin in the tank, remove the tape you put over the pipe.After filling the resin tank and reassembling the softener, immediately perform two regens: the first regen should be without salt to remove any impurities from the resin. Then add the salt and regen a second time and you're done.Change resin every ten years and you will not need a new softener (which now costs up to $700.)

Resin rejuvenated my water softener . Water quality is a lot better .