AFWFilters Premium Fleck 5600 SXT Meter Demand Water Softener - 48,000 Grain Capacity with 10% Long Life Crosslink Resin

Arrived in 2 boxes separated by 1 day. The resin tank is the heavy box and it’s delivered and placed on its side so it won’t accidentally topple over. Useful to have a wheeled cart (or second person) to move the resin tank to the installation location. Good instructions! Read first in totality as there’s some useful tips on common installation challenges one may encounter, for example- what could happen if the resin tank is delivered on its side and what to do about it. (YouTube videos have good installation tips you can follow visually but they don’t cover some of the challenges commonly encountered. ) Overall easy install if you have the 1” FIP corrugated metal connectors. (We already had them coupled to the old softener we replaced but we found it prudent to replace them with new ones along with this new softener install). Found the seller to be very responsive , helpfully addressing all my questions in a timely manner. Overall excellent experience, excellent softener performance, excellent customer service, and… it’s so nice to have soft water ! Huge difference! Silky smooth! One tip: ChatGPT was surprisingly helpful with Control Valve settings once it inquired about some basic parameters regarding the system and intended usage. It’s also helpful in determining the ideal system sizing (grains) for your house hold and it turns out that slightly oversizing the system but with control valve setting reflecting a smaller size comes with some performance advantages (too long to explain here but ChatGpt easily does). Also , while package comes with 1 hardness test strip (to determine initial hardness used in control valve settings) I bought a pack of test strips to monitor the effectiveness of the softener at all my valve locations and for later checks to see if it’s regenerating to full capacity often enough. Great to note and experience zero ( or near zero) hardness throughout our home.

Had a great deal on Amazon for this system and purchased. I have read the reviews and decided even though it was easy to self install that I would use a plumber. I was charged $400 for the install but they did a fantastic job and installed extra shutoff values while they were at it. Well worth the money as they had all the tools and the knowledge to handle any issues that came up. When the product arrived, I placed the two boxes downstairs where the softener would be placed, but did not check the contents. The plumbers informed me that a 3/8" hose that runs into the brine tank was missing and I would need to complete the job. I called ABC Waters and spoke with Joe, who had the hose shipped to me in 3 days. Thanks Joe! I was so glad that the plumbers installed the device. I have hot water heat in the front half of my house (8 rooms). The plumbers advised placing the softener after the split for the water going to heating system due to salt content of water. They also advised that I would need to connect my outside faucets before the softener or I would be watering my garden and plants with salt water. I had never thought about these issues when making the purchase. They really saved the day and confirmed my belief that hiring this job out was the right way to go. Our water tested at a hardest level of 10+. We use a Zero Water filter pitcher for our coffee. Before the install the tester that comes with the Zero Water showed that our water had 238 PPM, after the install, that number went down to 159 PPM before filtering. I was amazed at that. Our softener install was completed on Jan 26. Since then, I have noticed that the shower stays much cleaner. The water feels much nicer, soap really lathers up quickly, so we use less. Our clothes seem to be cleaned from the laundry. As I write this, it has been bitter cold here in the East. During the winter, my skin gets very dry and I will have cracks at my finger tips, even with putting lotion on. Since the softener has been installed, my skin is much softer and does not seem to have as much dryness. Other than using bottled water for the inside plants, I really love having the softener. I would whole heartily recommend this softener to anyone considering installing one. When I checked local stores and plumbing supply stores in my area, the softeners were all in the $1,000 range without installation. I saved a lot by buying this item on Amazon and having the plumber install it worry free. Thanks again to ABC Water.

This shipped quickly and was as described. I had no problems connecting everything and really went together uneventfully. The shipment came as two boxes, which arrived on different days. The resin came pre-loaded from ABC Water, they also e-mailed the instructions, setup and programming ahead of time. There are also good videos on programming the Fleck valve -- but it's pretty easy. The instructions were clear and in all it was a straightforward install. I have plumbing experience and had set things up ahead of time -- but I'd never set up a softener before. A couple of minor notes: I had already installed a 3 valve bypass using ball valves, I didn't need the bypass that came with the unit -- It's modular, so you can leave the bypass off if you have a similar situation. The unit comes with 1" Male pipe thread connections - but if you need something else check with the seller to see if they can substitute. ABCWater seems to be accommodating.That piece is modular as well, so they can swap out that part pretty easily. You do have to install these with an air gap - you can't install a softener and just stick the drain hose into the drain. I picked up an air gap that fits into the 1.5-2" drain line along with the washing machine drain at big box hardware. You do need to test your water to set things up properly (or even know if this is the right product for you). If you are on City water and don't have an Iron issue, then buy a reliable test kit (I used the Hach 145300 Total Hardness kit). If you have Iron or any other issues get your water tested by a reputable testing company (not someone selling you a water softener). Update 4 years later: Works great I'm still very happy with this choice.

Got this to replace a failed softener. I am not a plumber but have plumbing skills. I was able to plumb this in by myself. If you do not have plumbing skills, I recommend that you hire a plumber to do this work. The operational setup is a bit complicated. It took me longer to set this softener up. For this reason, I did not rate this at five stars. The softener is top quality and does an excellent job at softener the water. I had a plumber install a hot water heater recently and he commented about the quality of this softener. So, I have no issues recommending buying this softener. It has worked solidly for me.

So, I'm not one to write reviews, but I thought this product was worth the time. Save your money...don't buy from a culligan dealer. Culligan quoted me at $1500 for a new system, and this one was a third of the price. I did plenty of research on soft water systems, and this one seemed like the best bang for the buck, especially with the 10% resin. Now if your house doesn't already have a system installed, you may want to look into having someone put it in. Most people including myself don't want to waste softened water on the yard or don't enjoy the taste of soft water. So you may need to run some separate lines for these places. Installation of this system was easy as can be. The tank comes full of resin, and it's a matter of turning a couple screws to get the system ready for water. Now most houses have 3/4" water lines, which I wish I would of contacted the company to get a 3/4" bypass, mainly because no one in my town had 1" shark bites. But a quick trip to Menards and I was able to purchase 1" threaded to 3/4" shark bite connections. Screwed them to the bypass and was ready for the water connection. In my case I was replacing an old system so shut off the water, cut the two copper lines from the old system, put a 3/4" shark bite on both and ran a short piece of pex to the softner. Snap/snap...done. You don't need to be an experienced plumber to hook this up! And I didn't mention, this unit comes with a zip drive that walks you through step by step on how to put it together. Very nice! I was a little concerned about the programming when purchasing also, but it's all on the zip drive. Walks you right through it. So if you're hesitant on buying this online, I totally get it, I was too, but so far so good. No more white spots on the dishes, evidently everyone's hair is softer (wish I had hair), and you get that soft feeling after a shower. I've only had it hooked up a week and haven't tested the hardness of the water after the install yet as you can tell the softness is getting better and better daily. I'll check it after it goes through a cycle, but I can already tell it's better. So overall, all great so far. 3 day free shipping, step by step directions, and easy to install. Save your money and purchase this softner!

Water source: Well. Hardness: 15 Installation was simple and straight forward. Does not require any fancy plumbing tools to install. The instructions are well written and contain photos at each step. A USB thumb drive with an installation video was also included - I found this very helpful. After the first regeneration, the hardness went from 15 to 0. Couldn't have been pleased anymore. The hot water will take a few more weeks to cycle out the un-softened water. The product itself, is extremely a good value. Especially since the quote I received to install a 24k softener came in at $1,300! I saved a lot of money and installed a higher quality unit. My only gripe is with the packaging. It was delivered by the carrier while I was at work, in two separate boxes. One box contained the resin tank, the other was the brine tank with the parts inside that. The carrier had stood the tank right side up and at some point, it fell over onto the concrete walk. There was no packaging filler or anything, so the box tore apart and the tank got scuffed up. It was basically placed into a long box and taped shut, so when it was being handled, it stressed the flaps. Seller should use packing peanuts so the box don't get crushed during shipping. Other than that, I am very pleased with the product and would recommend.

I carefully compared several water softeners before finally deciding on this one. Since we are a two-person household, I originally considered a smaller unit. However, the price difference was minimal, so I chose this premium model instead. The installer also told me that I made a very good choice, which made me feel even more confident about the purchase. I could clearly feel the difference from the very first shower after installation. There is some maintenance required, such as adding salt, but I plan to take good care of it and continue using it long term.

Ordered this through Water Bosses. This isn't a review of Water Bosses (I did that separately), but it was worth mentioning they did provide great service to me. The product itself was great. Instructions from Water Bosses were pretty good, but a few other illustrations would have sped things along. I appreciated the detailed programming instructions that were not covered in the manual from the manufacturer (they were labeled Water Bosses, so it may be unique to them). You do need to ensure they are sending you fittings for the size pipes you have. If you are unsure, check around on the Internet, as there was a good site that showed you how to use circumference of the type of pipe to determine the pipe size (interior of the pipe). If you don't tell them, you may end up with the wrong size fittings. While I used the plastic fittings, they do sell ones intended for copper pipes and connections. Additionally, if you want to splurge on a better Fleck compatible bypass valve, that might be a good thing. The plastic one is fine, but it is plastic and means you have to be a bit more careful when doing the plumbing not to screw melt the plastic when doing the plumbing or strip the plastic threads. Setup was all pretty easy once I had the plumbing done (replacing an existing, smaller 30k unit). My reason for purchasing the Fleck 5600SXT was primarily because I was unsatisfied with what I was finding at local big name hardware stores. The 5600 series had a pretty solid reputation. One thing to note was that the SXT had an SE label on it on the bottom. The seller said that this was because Fleck didn't change their labeling. Indeed, there is a physical difference between an SE and the SXT, and this did come with an SXT manual, so everything seems to check out there. All-in-all, very happy.

So easy to install, works fantastic, no complaints and have had it for about 4 or 5 months now.

Package finally arrived, and in good condition. Installation was easy and set up was also quite simple. Have been using it for about a week now and it still has a slow leak on the inlet side of the bypass valve. I thought it might seal itself up but it's still leaking. I have to keep a pail underneath it. A little bit disappointed with the leak. Also didn't come with any silicone sealant so I had to go get some but not a huge deal, just wish the bypass didn't leak.