Project: #7 – On-The-Go Water Softener (From TapaTalk Forum)

All of the 2018 work is done and we are on our 1st real multi-state journey since the upgrades.

California to Nevada to Oregon to Idaho…so far.

I figured to post up my thoughts on the work preformed in order of impact on Full-Time living.

#1 – By a landslide is the new Titan Disc Brakes and Morryde stabilizer bars. Bill Perrin at Bay Area Mobile Tech did a fantastic job on the installation and it makes towing this 36′ home easygoing. I just have to remember that there’s a 5th back there and not to drive through any drive-thru restaurants.

#2 – The new couch/bed. This is where I spend most of my time inside the RV and this new couch not only looks great but it is so comfortable. I even tried out the pull out bed and it is great!

#3 – The Atwood A/C Heat Pumps. Granted, it took a few days to adapt to the way the heat pumps work, but we have been in 100+ degree weather this entire trip and it stays very cool inside in the day, comfy warm in the desert nights.

#4 – The iSeries Tank Monitor System by TankEdge. We spend most of the time in full-hookup sites, but still it’s nice to know where the tanks are at any given moment.
I like to fill the Grey up to 75%+ before I drain the black tank. This thing lets me do it with confidence.

#5 – The very simple bypass filter in front of the On-The-Go Water Softener. What used to be a pain to recharge is now a very simple job. Just fill the filter housing full of salt, switch the output to drain, turn off the bypass to move the salt to the Softener and let it recharge.  After that, switch the filter back to bypass and the output back to RV to enjoy soft water again.

TimCar wrote:All of the 2018 work is done and we are on our 1st real multi-state journey since the upgrades.

California to Nevada to Oregon to Idaho…so far.

I figured to post up my thoughts on

#5 – The very simple bypass filter in front of the On-The-Go Water Softener. What used to be a pain to recharge is now a very simple job. Just fill the filter housing full of salt, switch the output to drain, turn off the bypass to move the salt to the Softener and let it recharge.  After that, switch the filter back to bypass and the output back to RV to enjoy soft water again.

Tim,  I too dread this chore.  I have a pre-filter (whole house size) in front of my softener.  I can isolate this to change the filter.  So, I think that I can easily use that canister for salt exchange like you.  I presume that you do not leave a filter in the housing when you add the salt.

How do you keep salt crystals from clogging the filter exit port or flowing into the softener itself?

Because the water flows through the top ports of the filter housing, not directly through the salt, does it take a lot longer to dissolve all of the salt in the filter housing and get salt water taste out of the softener outflow versus putting the salt directly into the softener?

Thanks,

Hi John,

The water filter housing I used is:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06WGVWL … b_pd_title

What I did was cut a piece of 1″ PVC pipe, drilled a few 1/8″ diameter holes at one end and placed it holes down over the tapered boss in the bottom of the screw on filter housing. I then used a plastic Garden Hose Thread female adapter in the top of the filter body to force the water through the PVC. It took a few tries to get the length just right, but it works a treat.

I don’t need the filter to be a filter, I need it to be a salt tank only with 100% bypass.
I have a 35,000 gallon .2 Micron 3M filter in front of this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ZJVK … b_pd_title

I did have an issue with table salt, but I switched over to salt pellets and it works perfect! The pellets disolve completely after about 25 minutes of slow flow. I then crank up the pressure to 100% for a minute  to flush the filter housing, then switch to Bypass for another 3 minutes, then leave it on Bypass and switch the output back to the RV and refill the housing with pellets for next time.

It works to perfection, so much easier than the old “remove cap, pour in salt, pour in water to disolve salt, shake unit to get salt to go down, add in more salt, more water, repeat until 2 cans of salt are gone..” way.

So far it seems to perform better with this setup than it did the old way, using far less salt. I have a flow meter and am documenting the gallons between recharge. So far, about 625 gallons between recharges. (depends on incoming water hardness, our home base is about 25 gpg)

As soon as I get back from my current “Road Trip”, I’ll document the parts I used and the length of the PVC pipe.

I think it cost all of about $30.00 for everything, filter housing, pvc, fittings.

I admit to “borrowing” the idea from a new recharging system OTG now sells for ~$100.00 delivered. I just simplified the design to use less expensive, more functional parts and still perform the same. The main key is using a filter with a 100% Bypass valve, like the one in the link above.

-Tim

Edit: fixed typo on gallons between recharging

Got around to taking a few photos.

The 1st time I drilled holes all the way along the length of the tube, but it took too long to move the salt over to the OTG.
With holes on the bottom only, it works perfectly.

(I had forgot I switched to Lead-Free Brass on the top fitting)