{"product_id":"whole-house-water-filter-and-salt-free-conditioner-1-5-cu-ft","title":"Whole House Water Filter + Salt-Free Conditioner, 1.5 cu ft (1-2 Bathrooms)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhole house water filter and salt-free conditioner, made for city water and also used on wells that test clean: two 10x54 Vortech tanks with Clack C1190 non-electric heads. The first holds 1.5 cubic feet of Calgon Centaur catalytic carbon and removes chlorine and chloramine. The second holds 9 liters of Watch Water Filtersorb SP3, which keeps hardness up to about 25 grains from forming scale. No salt, no drain, no electricity. Sized for 2 to 4 people and 1 to 2 bathrooms.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhole House Water Filter + Salt-Free Conditioner, 1.5 cu ft (1-2 Bathrooms): Clack C1190 Non-Backwashing x2 | 1.5 cu ft Centaur Catalytic Carbon + 9 L Filtersorb SP3 | Two 10x54 Vortech Tanks\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWater enters the carbon tank, rises through the Centaur, which takes out the chlorine and chloramine; it then rises through the Filtersorb SP3 and goes to every faucet, shower and appliance in the house. There is nothing to plug in, no drain line, no backwash and no programming. Price: $3,895, shipped free to the lower 48 states.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWho it is for\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHomes on city water, or on a well that tests clean (no iron, manganese, sulfur or bacteria), with hardness up to about 25 grains that cannot fit a softener's drain and outlet, do not want to carry salt, or need to avoid added sodium or potassium. For most other hard water homes, Aidan recommends a salt softener: for this size, the Whole house water filter and softener (1.5 carbon + 48,000 grain softener) ($3,195).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhich size\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1.5 cu ft pairs two 10x54 tanks: 1.5 cubic feet of carbon and 9 liters of Filtersorb SP3. It fits a townhouse, condo or a one or two bathroom house with two to four people where two showers rarely run at once.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe line: 2.0 cu ft carbon + 10 L SP3 (3 to 5 people, $4,395), 2.5 cu ft carbon + 14 L SP3 (4 to 7 people, $4,795).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFlow\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 3.7 and 5.6 GPM figures on this page are treatment numbers, not a limit on how much water reaches your faucets. Both tanks use 1 inch Clack heads and Vortech tanks with no gravel bed. Aidan puts the flow through a single 2.5 cubic foot tank at about 17 GPM, and on a two-tank setup with a 1.5 cubic foot carbon tank he says two showers run at once with barely a drop in pressure. A treatment number is how fast water can move and still spend enough time in the carbon. Calgon Carbon, which makes Centaur, sizes chloramine at 1 cubic foot of Centaur per 2.5 GPM, about 3 minutes in the carbon; chlorine reacts faster, in about 2 minutes. So the 1.5 cubic feet of Centaur here gives chloramine that full contact time at up to 3.7 GPM of steady use, about a shower and a bathroom sink at once, and chlorine at up to 5.6 GPM. A bigger tank holds more carbon, so the water spends longer in it at the same flow; that is why the sizes step up with the household. The conditioner tank allows more: Watch Water's sizing for Filtersorb SP3 works out to about 1.5 GPM per liter, so its 9 liters cover about 13 GPM. When more fixtures run than that, the water keeps flowing and spends a little less time in the carbon for those minutes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat it does\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first tank, catalytic carbon, removes chlorine and chloramine, with the taste and smell they leave, plus disinfection byproducts (THMs and HAAs) and many VOCs (not certified for any specific compound). The second tank, Filtersorb SP3, does not remove hardness. As Aidan puts it, it converts the hardness \"to a microscopic crystal, so it can't attach itself to the plumbing and the water-using appliances.\" Watch Water, which makes SP3 in Germany, calls the process nucleation assisted crystallization (NAC).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat it does not do\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe water still tests hard after the conditioner, because the calcium and magnesium are still in it. It will not feel slippery like softened water, it does not help dry skin or hair the way a softener does, and water that dries on glass or a shower door can still leave white spots. Soap and shampoo lather about the same as before. Carbon does not remove lead, fluoride, nitrate, sodium or dissolved solids, and neither tank disinfects. SP3 is not for well water with iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) or oil: Watch Water's limits are iron 0.5 ppm, manganese 0.05 ppm and copper 1.3 ppm, and Aidan will not put a salt-free conditioner on water with iron. Neither tank needs a drain, so neither backwashes out heavy sediment: if your toilet tanks collect grit, add a 20 inch Big Blue 5 micron sediment filter ahead of the carbon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat ships\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo empty Vortech 10x54 tanks, two Clack heads with bypass valves, a fill funnel, 1.5 cubic feet of Centaur in one 1 cubic foot bag and one 1\/2 cubic foot bag and 9 liters of Filtersorb SP3, poured into the tanks at install. Plumbing fittings are not included. No drain line or outlet is needed. There are no instructions in the box; use our install guide and videos, or text Aidan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eInstallation\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe recommend having a plumber install it. Each tank is an inlet and an outlet, with no drain line and no electricity, so the pair is about two to four hours of a plumber's time (an hour or two per tank). Aidan supports your plumber by phone at 800-460-5810. If you have done some plumbing and would rather do it yourself, text Aidan at 443-277-2204 with any questions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMaintenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNothing between refills. Carbon: about 4 to 5 years for three or four people, longer for two (Aidan). Filtersorb SP3: Aidan plans on about every 3 years; Watch Water rates it 5 to 7 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow it compares\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost carbon and salt-free combos sold online do not publish how much carbon and salt-free media they hold, or name the media. This system prints both: 1.5 cubic feet of Calgon Centaur and 9 liters of Watch Water Filtersorb SP3, each with a public data sheet. It shows the flow through the tanks and the flow at which chloramine gets Calgon's full contact time, both bypass valves are included, and the media replacement cost is stated up front.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTalk to Aidan before you order\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFree sizing help before you buy: call 800-460-5810, 7 days a week, 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, or text 443-277-2204. Send your water report (your utility's report or a well test) and Aidan will tell you which size fits and whether a salt softener would serve you better. Mid Atlantic Water is an online-only, family-run business that ships to all 50 states.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mid Atlantic Water","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54831631401244,"sku":"MA-10 (BLACK VORTECH TANK, NO DH) | CENTAUR-100-BOX | CENTAUR-50-BOX | MA-10 (BLACK VORTECH TANK, NO DH, FOR FILTERSORB) | FILTERSORB (x9) | F250","price":3895.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/9523\/4605\/files\/whole-house-water-filter-salt-free-conditioner-1-5-cu-ft-two-10x54-tanks.jpg?v=1793815942","url":"https:\/\/midatlanticwater.net\/products\/whole-house-water-filter-and-salt-free-conditioner-1-5-cu-ft","provider":"Mid Atlantic Water","version":"1.0","type":"link"}