Description
Not recommended for use with iron in the water
h2>Product Features
8"x44" resin tank
3 liters scale prevention media
Simple in/out head
Bypass valve with choice of connection
Specialized media converts hardness ions to crystals, providing the same benefits of softened water without the use of salt!
System is sold without prefilters for homes with existing prefiltration. PLEASE NOTE: Adequate prefiltration is required to ensure longevity and proper operation of filter media
Since no salt regeneration is required, no wastewater is produced
Water that has been treated does not form scale buildup on faucets or fixtures or inside pipes
Water treated by the Scale Sentry attracts existing scale buildup in pipes, removing it over time
Treated water improves soap efficiency, reducing the amount required for dishes, laundry, and bathing.
Treats flow rates up to 10 GPM. 6-8 hours of inactivity (e.g. at night) recommended for maximum life and efficiency.
Rated for hardness up to 25 GPG. Contact us for customization for high hardness levels
Simple head provides easy 2-connection hookup
Specialized media that converts hardness ions to crystals, eliminating hard water problems
Simple system connections and detailed installation instructions allow most homeowners to install this system themselves. For those who prefer to leave the work to a professional, most plumbers can install the system in 1-2 hours.
Product Description
Hard water causes a multitude of problems. Scale build-up restricts pipes, builds up on fixtures, and can degrade appliances. Hard water spots are also common on dishes and many other surfaces. The ions that comprise hard water attract soap molecules, requiring more soap to get the job done. This also causes an increase in soap scum and can prevent the removal of dirt and bacteria when bathing. Hard water has also been know to cause hair and skin to be brittle and dry.
Typical ion-exchange softener are the industry standard and for quite a while they were the only way to treat hard water. When compared to the Scale Sentry, these systems have a number of disadvanatges:
- Sodium (salt) is added to the water
- Maintenance of adding salt regularly
- Requires 3-4+ sq. ft. of floor space
- Salt needs to be bought regularly
- Beneficial Magnesium & Calcium minerals are removed
- Salty waste water is created regularly
Ion exchange systems are still the most common system sold, but now there is an alternative for those looking to get away from the salt required for those types of systems. The Scale Sentry uses specialized scale prevention media to condtion the water, eliminating the need for salt! These systems have a number of advantages over the salt based ion exchange systems:
- Nothing added to the water
- No regular maintenance
- Requires less than 1 sq. ft. of floor space
- Removes existing scale in pipes
- Beneficial Magnesium & Calcium minerals remain
- No water is wasted
Simple in/out valve provides easy connections and minimal components to further cut down on maintenance costs. Easy connections and no drain line requirements reduces installation time, and no moving parts reduces need for replacement parts.
The durable polyglass resin tank is backed by a 10 year warranty. The simple design allows for installation almost anywhere without being unsightly. NOTE: Tank color may vary from the one shown
NO Prefilters Included -System is sold without prefilters for homes with existing prefiltration. PLEASE NOTE: Adequate prefiltration is required to ensure longevity and proper operation of filter media
Simple connections and simple set up make this system great for DIYers. Detailed online installation instructions offer a step-by-step guide on proper installation and set up of the system on installation
More Info
A. Water hardness consists of charged calcium and magnesium ions. Beacuse of the charge in the ions, they are attracted to anything without a charge, namely your pipe walls and plumbing fixtures. As water with the calcium and magnesium ions passes through your plumbing they attach themselves to the piping walls and form scale. Over time the scale increases, slowly closing off the pipe and restricting the flow of water through it. The charged ions also attract detergents (soap), creating soap scum and decreasing the cleaning ability of the detergent.
A. The Scale Sentry system uses scale prevention media. This media works by converting the calcium and magnesium ions to crystals. As the water passes through the Scale Sentry system the calcium and magnesium ions run into the scale prevention media and attach themselves to it. The unique configuration of the scale prevention particles work as a template, causing the ions to convert into crystals and attracting more ions to add to the crystal. (A similar process can be seen with a glass of saltwater: place a piece of string or yarn in the glass and the salt attaches to it and begins to form crystals). Once the crystals have reached the proper size, a mere few nanometers (microscopic), they break loose from the media and continue on. Since they are no longer charged, they are unable to form scale or attract detergents, yet the benificial magnesium and calcium are still in your water. In some cases you may occasionally see the crytals, but they will simply wipe clean.
A. Yes and no. The crystals will attract existing scale buildup as it passes through your pipes until it is completly gone. Depending on your plumbing and the amount of buildup this may take up to 90 days. On your fixtures there is not enough contact time to allow the crystals to attract the scale, so you will need to use a good quality scale removal product.
A. Yes! The Scale Sentry system is designed to replace traditional salt based softeners. You will still experience all the same benifits, including no scale build up, reduced soap and detergent usage, cleaner laundry, and less soap scum. The Scale Sentry system also elimminates existing scale in your pipes, and leaves benificial calcium and magnesium in the water. Since the calcium and magnesium are still in the water, the slippery feeling some people associate with standard softeners is eleminates as well. With the prefilration that comes with the Scale Sentry system, sediment, turbidity (floating particles and/or cloudiness in the water), chlorine, and a number of tastes and odors are eliminated as well!
A. Most systems are "Downflow" systems, meaning the water enters the top of the tank, passes down through the media and is then pushed up the riser tube into your house. This keeps the media compacted, allowing it to trap the contaminates. As the system is used it fills up with contaminates and must be backwashed, where the water is passes down through the rise tube and lifts up through the media, allowing it to separate and clean itself. The Scale Senty system is an "Upflow" system, where water passes down the riser tube and up through the scale prevention media. This creates a "fluidized bed" where the media is suspended and allows for maximum surface area for the catalyst reaction (forming crystals). Since the media is suspended it does not trap anything, in effect it is constantly in backwash, but no waste water is created!
A. The systems as designed will only treat a maximum of 25 GPG at the stated flow rate. Higher hardness levels (up to 100 GPG) may be removed by using additional scale prevention media. Contact us for options for treating higher hardness levels
A. If your home has scale buildup in the pipes, the crystals formed by the scale prevention media system will attract it and over time (up to 90 days) will remove it from your pipes. During this time you may still notice some spotting on the glassware in your dishwasher, and if a salt based softener was in use before the Scale Sentry was installed you may also get an occasional salt taste as the residual scale and sodium are removed. To help reduce spotting until the pipes are clean add a half cup of household vinegar to the rinse cycle of your dishwasher. You will also want to switch to a phosphate free dishwasher detergent and reduce your detergent usage to compensate for the higher efficency of conditioned water. To eliminate any residual salt a system can be used to provide bottled quality drinking water.
A. Hardness tests rely on measuring the calcium and magnesium in your water to provide a hardness level. Since the scale prevention media does not remove the calcium and magnesium, tests will still indicate that your water is "hard". If you want to verify that your system is working properly, simply boil some treated water in a saucepan. You will notice crystals swirling in the bottom of the pan as the water boils down that will easily wipe away. Hard water will create the white scale buildup as it boils down. Note: During the cleanout process after the system is first installed you may still get some scale in the boil test as some hardness from your pipes may be in the water.
A. The manufacturers life expectancy for scale prevention media is between 5-10 years depending on water quality, prefilter maintenance, water chemistry, and water use. Under perfect conditions the media can theoretically last indefinately.
A. Yes. The scale prevention media has been tested and approved by WQA in the USA to ANSI/NSF standard 61, the standard for material saftey for contact with potable water. It also carries the WQA gold seal.
1 Review
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Disappointing
We have hard well water and replaced a broken water softener with the Scale Sentry system about 4 years ago. We had been relying on the water softener for iron removal as well, so we installed an AFW air injection iron filter and sediment filer at the same time. The Scale Sentry system has been a disappointment. Vertical surfaces that drain well (shower walls, sink walls, inside of the dishwasher) have avoided hardwater spots as expected. Horizontal surfaces subject to evaporation (countertops, showerheads, fixture spouts) have seen some hardwater spots and scale, as expected, but is has mostly been manageable. The big disappointment is that our fixtures and valves have started to prematurely fail due to hardwater scale. The whole point of this system is to prevent scale inside your pipes without having to soften your water. In that respect it has been a dismal failure. We took a gamble on this system and lost. We will be replacing it with a traditional water softener. ** NOTE FROM AFW** The salt free softeners such as the scale sentry do not remove hardness. These systems just help to make it easier to clean off as spots build up. The best results are seen at a hardness of less than 10 gpg, most people have more than those levels so the results are not as good on high levels of hardness.
