Water Softeners Harveys - the best water softener!
I have no doubt that a Harveys water softener is the best you can buy. Having designed it myself that’s probably understandable but to try and convince you that Harvey’s block salt water softener is the best I’ve described all the other water softener manufacturers that you might hear about or want to know more about.
Aquadial Water Softener
Aquadial water softeners were started by Colin Charles of Aquadial in the late 1970s. Colin was a real plumber, like me, and he introduced to England the Polar water conditioner and then made his own magnetic water conditioner the Aquadial magnetic water conditioner.
He was very successful with it and when we joined forces he started to sell my Kinetico Compak, often misspelt Kinetico Compact, water softeners. He was mainly interested in supplying Merchants and I wanted to concentrate on supplying water softener dealers who provided a complete water softener installation service so we decided to separate.
I taught him how to make an inexpensive water softener using an Autotrol water softener control valve. Thus was borne the Aquadial water softener. He later went on to design the Prismertec water softener.
Colin retired early when Culligan water softeners bought him out with an offer he couldn’t refuse. So Aquadial water softeners are now sold by Culligan through the merchants.
Waterside Water Softener
Waterside Water Softeners are available in the UK and are currently being manufactured by Culligan, the well-known International water softener manufacturer that is currently owned by venture capitalists and will probably be sold in the not too distant future.
A Waterside Water Softeners is generally of the time clock or the meter controlled system and some of them utilise the fleck water softener control system and have a duplex operation.
The original Waterside Water Softeners were manufactured in the UK by a Mr John Parr who was one of Harvey Water Softener’s original dealers selling the Permo range of Permo Water Softeners.
Harvey taught John all he originally knew about water softeners and because Harvey Water Softeners were so busy selling domestic water softeners on a direct to the consumer basis including instalation, Waterside Water Softeners became the main distributor for Waterside Water Softeners into the merchant business.
If you would like to find out more about Waterside Water Softeners you can contact your local builders merchant.
Fleck Water Softener
There is no such thing as a Fleck Water Softener or Fleck Water Softeners.
Many years ago Andy Fleckenstein designed an automatically re-generating water softener valve to compete in the American market. Over the years he became very successful and the Fleck Water Softener valve has been fitted to many own brand water softener, such as Ensign Water Softeners, NuWave Water Softeners, Culligan Water Softeners, Hydrofresh Water Softeners and many others.
A so-called Fleck Water Softener valve system is primarily designed for the United States of America where large capacities and huge volumes of water for regeneration were normal. When converted to operate in England a Fleck Water Softener system tends to be much less efficient than a Harvey Water Softener, which was designed specifically for the UK market.
If you are interested in finding out more about Fleck Water Softeners ask your potential supplier what type of valve they are using.
GE Water Softener
GE Water Softeners are sold primarily in the United States through the General Electric Company. Mostly they are manufactured by EcoWater Inc. and sold under the GE Water Softeners brand name.
If you live in America they are well known and readily available in the market place.
If you live in England it is difficult to get hold of a GE Water Softener because they are not readily available through the merchants or direct from any manufacturer.
Kinetico Water Softener
Kinetico water softeners were designed by Bill Prior and Jim Kewley back in the early 1970s and patented in 1975. At the time it was revolutionary.
A typical water softener in America at that time was time-clock controlled and used a huge amount of salt to regenerate. The fundamental change with the twin cylinder design of the Kinetico water softener meant that part of the wastage was eliminated. The water softener only regenerated when one cylinder was used up whereas the single time-clock controlled water softener would regenerate whether or not the household had used any water.
A revolution was born.
I introduce the first Kinetico water softeners into England in 1981 with the introduction of the Kinetico Mini Kinetic. It was whilst I was designing a twin cylinder water softener to fit under the kitchen sink that I discovered that Kinetico had already make a twin cylinder valve. So I adapted that valve to make my first Mini Kinetic water softener.
In 1982 I introduced the Kinetico Compak, often spelt as Kiinetico Compact, and this became the most popular water softener sold in England. During that 20 year period up until 2001 I made the Kinetico brand name the most famous in England.
In the late 1980s I started work on another dream. That of making a block of salt instead of using tablet salt. It all started when Ross Laney, a photographer friend of mine suggested it back in 1977. At the time I could do nothing about it but by 1989 our turnover had grown so large that we were able, with the help of Frits Inthol, to convince Akzo, Europe’s largest salt manufacturer, to invest in a press to make Harvey’s Block Salt.
It took many years to get developed but we started production in 1995 with the introduction of Harvey’s Block Salt and the Kinetico Block Salt Softener. This, once again, revolutionised the industry and our company continued to grow.
It was during the late 1990s that I decided to design a completely new non electric water softener for the English market and I stopped selling Kinetico water softeners in 2001 at the launch of Harvey water softeners. So my company name has changed from Harvey Softeners Ltd to Kinetico Ltd in 1987 and back to Harvey Softeners Ltd in 2001.
Kinetico water softeners are now distributed direct by the USA parent company which has now been sold to a Swedish conglomerate. The company is now called KineticoUK Ltd and they are based in Southampton.
Permutit Water Softener
Permutit Water Softeners used to be the most famous brand name in England and indeed throughout the World during the early part of the last century.
The very first domestic Permutit Water Softener was installed in 1918 and by 1938 Permutit Water Softeners dominated the UK market and was also extremely successful abroad.
Harvey Water Softeners originally sold the Permutit Water Softener from 1977 through to 1981 when Harvey Water Softeners changed over to his own design incorporating the Kinetico Inc. valve.
It was shortly after this date that Permutit Water Softeners were sold on to Sketchley, the cleaner people, as they were no longer viable as a going concern as they were unable to compete with Harvey Softeners Ltd. We later changed our name to Kinetico ltd.
Subsequently the Permutit Water Softener business was taken over by EcoWater Limited, a UK subsidiary of EcoWater Inc. from America. They traded under the Permutit Water Softener brand name for a number of years and then changed the name of the company to EcoWater Ltd.
The Permutit Water Softeners brand name was subsequently sold on to Culligan and Culligan sell a range of Permutit Water Softeners through the diy market.
Over the years Permutit Water Softeners have included Fleck Water Softener control valves.
Nowadays not many Permutit Water Softeners are sold in the market place and the Permutit Water Softener brand name is almost unknown, especially among the younger generation.
Liff Water Softener
Liff Water Softeners are sold in England and currently manufactured by, I think, Culligan.
They are sold through the merchant trade mostly and some are sold online. A Liff Water Softener typically incorporates a timer controlled or a meter controlled Liff Water Softener control system.
Water Boss Water Softener
Water Boss Water Softeners are manufactured by Hague Water Conditioning Inc. in Ohio.
Bill Hague the founder was a great salesman and for many years used the Fleck Water Softener control valve to manufacture his Hague Water Softeners.
Some years ago he started to manufacture his own Water Boss Water Softener incorporating some unique design systems that helped to make Water Boss Water Softeners some of the most efficient and popular in the American market.
Water Boss Water Softeners are not widely available in the UK market and although the Water Boss Water Softener has been re-designed to become smaller, it is still much larger than a Harvey Water Softener.
Autotrol Water Softener
There is no such thing as an Autotrol Water Softener or indeed Autotrol Water Softeners. Autotrol is the brand name applied to a valve manufactured in the States using the Autotrol Water Softener flapper valve system. The Autotrol Water Softeners valve was one of the first to be made of plastic and many Culligan Water Softeners were converted over the years to using the Autotrol Water Softener valve system. Over the years a number of manufacturers in England such as Ensign Water Softeners have used the Autotrol Water Softener valve. Even some of the Culligan units have incorporated the Autotrol Water Softener valve.
The Autotrol Water Softener valve is similar to the Fleck Water Softener control valve in that it was designed for the American market and uses relatively large volumes of water for regeneration. So-called Autotrol Water Softeners tend to be much larger than a Harvey Water Softener and although the Autotrol Water Softener valve can be timer or meter controlled they cannot do the non-electric duplex system like the Harvey Water Softener.
Calgon Water Softener
Calgon is not an ion exchange water softener but a chemical that is added to water to sequester the water hardness so that it does not form scale. Calgon Water Softener added to the washing machine is a very expensive option when compared to ion exchange water softening through a salt regenerated ion exchange water softener such as a Harvey Water Softener.
So thinking that Calgon Water Softeners are an inexpensive way to treat hard water is wrong. Litre for litre it is an extremely expensive way of softening water.
So don’t use Calgon Water Softener treatment, use a proper ion exchange Harvey water softener.
Whole House Water Softener
A whole house water softener is a term used to describe a water softener connected to the incoming rising main and providing whole house water softener protection.
This is to distinguish it from other water treatment devices connected to showers, boilers, kettles and other domestic appliances.
A whole house water softener such as a Harvey Water Softener will soften water used throughout the house.
It is however typical to leave a separate hard water drinking tap at the kitchen sink to provide hard water so that the customer has a choice or to meet regulations, depending on the area in which you live.
Ion Exchange Water Softener
An Ion Exchange Water Softener is a domestic appliance that utilises the phenomenon of ion exchange to convert hard water into softened water.
It does this by utilising the Ion Exchange Water Softener principle to exchange calcium ions (as well as other ions such as magnesium) with sodium ions, which come from common salt.
The Ion Exchange Water Softener principle has been available in the market place through originally Permutit Water Softeners and now through Harvey Water Softeners for over 100 years. The principle of the Ion Exchange Water Softener has been long established and is well understood.
For a full technical dissertation on how an Ion Exchange Water Softener works type ion exchange into the search box on our home page and you can find out a lot more.
Shower Water Softener
A Shower Water Softener is almost impossible to achieve sensibly or economically. A whole house water softener is far more beneficial but there have been attempts over the years to make miniature Shower Water Softeners such that can be fitted to the head of a shower.
Art Weber, the foremost salesman who put Kinetico Inc. on the map in America used to carry a Shower Water Softener with him wherever he went. With a pair of pliers he would disconnect the showerhead, plumb in the Shower Water Softener, and enjoy a softened water shower wherever he traveled throughout the World.
Currently we are not aware that there is any Shower Water Softener available that is of any worthwhile benefit. A whole house water softener like a Harvey Water Softener is the only way to go.