What does the grain capacity of a water softener mean.
Water softener grains.
Water softener sizing chart.
So what size of water softener offers 21 000 grains of total softening capacity.
If one looks at the specification.
A water softener advertised as a 32 000 grain system should be able to remove 32 000 grains of hardness before it requires regeneration right.
This is where widespread incorrect information found on the internet and elsewhere can hide the real answer.
Knowing your water and usage is vital to purchasing the correct water softener.
The rated capacity of a softener is the maximum number of grains of water hardness the unit can remove prior to regeneration.
One grain of hardness is equal to 1 7 000 pound of rock.
In simple words even though a 33 000 grain system can remove 33 000 hardness grains from water in a two regeneration cycle it would require a very.
There are however two aspects of this statement that are misleading.
What is sold typically as a 32 000 grain system contains 1 cubic foot of water softening resin.
A water softener that is too small will not be able to keep up with your needs and will wear it down faster.
A quick look online and in many stores will reveal an abundance of 24 000 32 000 48 000 and 64 000 grain capacity water softeners.
How is the hardness of water measured.
The hardness of water is measured in grains per gallon gpg.
High grain water softeners cost more money and on over sized softener means wasted money.
A similar model of water softener will require at least 2 6 lbs of salt to regenerate 13 000 grains.