sanity check on price for Ecowater ECR 3500-R30

I am looking to replace my old Lindsay water softener and iron filter. I just got a quote for the ECR 3500-R30 with an iron filter, installed, for $5800 (incl tax). I am trying to comparison shop, but the prices for the ECR3500 seem to be a bit elusive. Can anyone on DIY give me a sanity check on this? To me, the price seems a bit too much - $6K for a water softener and iron filter seem out of whack. The company that gave me the quote is offering no money down for 6 months. Can anyone give me some pricing info on a comparible softener too? I am willing to install - in fact, this same company that installed the softener years ago installed the softner first and then the iron filter. When we bought the house (not original owners), I had to replumb the filters so that the softener would stop getting fouled with iron. My first question is why do you feel you need an iron filter? Of course with the Lindsay softener that is probably the case. What made you decide to buy the Lindsay in the first place? Or was it there when you got the house? In nearly all cases that I come across, a separate iron filter is not needed if the softener is properly set up and sized. I am not sure how you could really expect a ballpark figure without providing water test results. Is your iron ferrous or ferric or both? What is your pH? Hardness? TDS? What kind of pump do you have? What service guarantee and parts warranty was offered? What was the design and media of the iron filter quoted? Birm? Greensand? KDF? Aeration? Chlorination? There are many ways to remove iron from well water. Details, details, details, please. Andy Christensen, CWS-II Andy - see responses: Q:My first question is why do you feel you need an iron filter? A:The salesman that I talked to tested my water an found both ferrous and ferric iron. One of my complaints was that when I turn on a facet that has been sitting (not turned on for an hour or so), the water smells foul. The odor goes away as you run the water. Also, if we wash clothes with unsoftened/unfiltered water, the clothes will look tinged with yellow. Q:Of course with the Lindsay softener that is probably the case. What made you decide to buy the Lindsay in the first place? Or was it there when you got the house? A:Yes, it was here when we bought the house (built in 1986). Q:In nearly all cases that I come across, a separate iron filter is not needed if the softener is properly set up and sized. I am not sure how you could really expect a ballpark figure without providing water test results. Is your iron ferrous or ferric or both? A:See first answer to first question. Q:What is your pH? A:Salesman said it was good. I tested it with a spa test strip and it read 7.2. Q:Hardness? A:Not sure - I think the guy said it is classified as hard. Spa test strip said 100ppm total hardness. Q:TDS? Aon't know what this means. Q: What kind of pump do you have? A:3/4hp well pump in a well about 500 feet deep. Tank is Welltrol. Lots of mica shist(sp?) came out when they were drilling. Q:What service guarantee and parts warranty was offered? A:For parts, only the stuff listed in the brochure. It is not separate from the hype in the brochure, so you have to read through it. The saleman rattled off lifetime this and 10 year that, but I don't see any of it written down. Q:What was the design and media of the iron filter quoted? Birm? Greensand? KDF? Aeration? Chlorination? There are many ways to remove iron from well water. A:I think it is greensand? and it has a cholrination reservoir for the iron filter. Quote says Air/Chorine [hard to read]. Details, details, details, please. No problem - I wasn't getting any information listed on the net for these systems. I still don't know what a fair price for this system is - apparently you don't know or you would have posted that. Seems like Kirby vacuum cleaner marketing and sales - lots of profit to the saleman or you have to work to get any savings. I am sure one could pay tens of thousands for systems - but I am not sure if that is overkill or not. I suppose it all depends. I realize there are all sorts of factors. You'll probably want to know how many people in the house (5) and for financing you might want to know what I do (engineer) and what my wife does (accountant) so that I can be sized up for pricing (this is what the saleman asked). You might want to know if anyone has sodium restrictions in their diet (no). Another abundant mineral in the water is manganese from a water test after the well was drilled. Sorry to be so snippy - I just want to know the cost of the ECR3500-R30. Cost of water softener should not consider the above information other than to establish a need for it. The cost will be the cost regardless of whether I need it or not. Do you know the fair market price for this system? Thanks for your help (hopefully). Just an update on my original question for those interested in the pricing for a softener. These are independent from the quote I got from a saleman. The saleman did not break his $6K price down at all. When asked for a breakdown, he only included list prices. An 'honest' quote I got listed Ecowater ECR 3500-R30 for around $2500 installed ($2100 not installed). The 'list' price for this is $3880 - I don't understand what 'list' is for these items. A iron filter/oxidizer that was included in the $6K price from the original quote was not broken out separately and was an air/chlorine oxidizer (or something like that). I was quoted $2100 for a 'reactor' that will remove the ferric and ferrous iron. Supposedly, it is better than the air/chlorine filter arrangement that I was quoted as part of the original $6k quote. This difference in the iron filter means that the comparison between quotes is not exactly apples to apples. However, if the iron 'reactor' is a better technology and if the quote is lower than what the original one was, then it may be a better deal overall. ECR-3500-R30, you install, out the door should only run you about $1750~$1850 with a small bit of haggling. And that should include the bypass valve if you're not going to fixture your own and a shiny new prefilter housing. Again, parts only. My experience.

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