Is this salt use reasonable? The water hardness is 26 gpg. I use 6, 40#, bags a month. Each charge delivers 700 gallons of water.
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To determine if your salt usage is reasonable, let's break down the information and do some calculations:
Given:
- Water hardness: 26 gpg (grains per gallon)
- Salt usage: 6 bags of 40 lbs each per month = 240 lbs per month
- Each regeneration cycle delivers 700 gallons of softened water
Step 1: Calculate the amount of hardness removed per regeneration cycle.
Hardness removed = Water delivered × Hardness
Hardness removed = 700 gallons × 26 gpg = 18,200 grains
Step 2: Estimate salt usage per regeneration.
A typical efficient water softener uses about 0.25-0.4 lbs of salt per 1000 grains of hardness removed.
Let's use 0.3 lbs per 1000 grains as an average.
Salt per regeneration = (18,200 grains ÷ 1000) × 0.3 lbs = 5.46 lbs
Step 3: Calculate the number of regenerations per month.
Regenerations per month = Monthly salt usage ÷ Salt per regeneration
Regenerations per month = 240 lbs ÷ 5.46 lbs = 43.95 (let's round to 44)
Step 4: Calculate total water softened per month.
Water softened = Regenerations × Water per regeneration
Water softened = 44 × 700 gallons = 30,800 gallons per month
This amount seems reasonable for a household, especially if you have high water usage or a large family.
Conclusion:
Given the high hardness of your water (26 gpg is considered very hard), your salt usage appears to be within a reasonable range. The calculations show that your softener is regenerating frequently, which is expected with very hard water.
However, if you want to optimize your system:
1. Check if your softener is set to regenerate based on water usage rather than on a fixed schedule.
2. Ensure the softener is sized correctly for your household's water usage and hardness level.
3. Consider having a professional service check the efficiency of your softener.
Would you like me to explain any part of this calculation in more detail?
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