I bought this softener to replace a Harvey Homewater that had given good service for twelve and a half years, but then failed. I was keen to go with another non electric softener and went with the Scalemaster as it appeared good value. The Scalemaster works intermittently, soft water for four or five days and then, as the BWT drop test result states, water that is 'slightly to moderately hard, softener desirable' for a similar period of time. I thought that it must be a faulty machine so contacted the company and they sent out their engineer. The extent of his assessment was that it was working correctly, basically saying that we're stuck with it and there's nothing he can do. I greatly regret buying the Scalemaster. I hope this review prevents others from making the same mistake.

We are based in South Uk where we have hard water so we bought Scalemaster Softline 150 about 4 years ago for about £550 and it was installed on mains as per manual instructions. It was working fine until 3 months ago, when we noticed gradual drop in water pressure on taps and then yellowish/brown sand like (resin) started to appear in water from taps. We switched to bypass mode and presto - water pressure got to usual normal levels again. As it was still under 5 warranty we contacted Scalemaster and their immediate reply without sending anyone to check the unit, was that failure was due to Resin Contamination by high levels of Chlorine and is outside of their warranty. Ok Resin Contamination is stated in their manual as outside warranty, however it is not explained what causes it and how to mitigate it (switch to bypass mode). Scalemaster representative explain it to you when that happens at which point is too late, and they offer to replace resin in your water softener for additional £190! The information about Resin Contamination is on their portal, however you need to well look for it! Anyway the story goes: Chlorine levels are ad-hoc increased by Water companies after they done some maintenance on water pipes. When they do it is outside of householder knowledge, so there is no chance to mitigate this happening. Simple google search how long the resin should last answer is 10 years , however in my case it was 4. So I contacted few 3rd party/independent water softener service companies who explained that Scalemaster is very likely using lower quality of resin than the resin found in more expensive products i.e. likes of Harveys or Kinetico ,whose products would withstand exposure to Chlorine and guarantee 10 years. Hence i am not willing to pay £190 that gives me only 4 years. Moneywise it doesn't make sense and i would be better off getting I am not suggesting a specific brand here, however the statement "Buy cheap, buy twice" well sums up the Scalemaster Softline 150 product. I would not recommend to buy it and rather look to spend more on reliable water softener products out there.

I bought And got installed 150 Scale master water softener in June 2018, worked very well just over a year, then trouble started, as it works on water pressure, it started sticking. Suddenly there is no water through softener throughing all water throughing overflow. As it is 5 years guaranteed called for service. Now they keep coming and blaming low water pressure in the area or in the house. I got affinity water to check water pressure. They said all ok no problem with the water pressure. Now water softener service people 4 time come, unable to sought out the problem. Now the start saying it’s a Low pressure Problem in the house. Then how come it worked over a year with no problem. Water pressure was the same all the time. Now they giving up saying last time we come, if it’s still happening, we can’t do anything. I think non electric water softener is no use. I will not recommend to anybody none electric water softener.

Worked fine until I went away for 5 days to come home to the sound of rushing water. Nearly fell over when I read my water meter. Disconnected unit and contacted Scalemaster who advised it needed a service. They blamed the fault on debris that come in from outside and I was asked to check the filter. The filters mesh had worn away in places. Nowhere is it mentioned you have to check the filter regularly.It actual fact the filter isn't mentioned at all in the manual. They blamed it on chemicals in my water, then debris, all of which my water company deny as it was normal sediment found in pipes. My kettle has a stronger filter than this softener. Beware if you have one of these and you don't want a nasty bill landing on your door mat. Call them to see what they advise you to do if you are worried.

Just installed the soft line 150 it fitted into the back of a 500 corner unit easy to install with only 3 connections only been in place for a month but can really notice the washing is much softer etc scale master tec dept very good if you nred any advice on installing would recommend it

I have got rid of my scalemaster soft line 150. After about a year it stopped regenerating itself as often and our water started going hard. When I called in someone from the company to have a look, he used the excuse that we lived in a bungalow and therefor our water pressure was too low. This is complete rubbish as our water pressure from the mains is very good, and these machines are supposed to run from the mains water. I have now got a Twintech which does not need servicing every year, as the Scalemaster needs. Is very reliable and compact, and the top fits a treat where the salt goes in to it, unlike the Scalemaster which had a top that never fitted properly. The worst buy and a complete waste of money, So glad I got rid of the useless thing!!

After seeing one of the previous reviews I felt I had to add my own review as I have had a Softline 150 fitted in my house for about 6 years now. Mine, i suspect is a 'first generation' unit (it's all grey unlike the picture) and had a 2 year parts and labour warranty. I believe that the newer ones do in fact have a 5 year parts and labour warranty, that said I've never had to use the warranty as it's never gone wrong! I have had it serviced in the last year at a cost of £95.00 + vat which also gave me a years parts and labour warranty. When I got the letter booking my service call they do point out quite clearly that warranty covers the softener not installation errors which I think is fair comment. On this point I would also say that I used to have a Waterside 450 electrical softener in my old house which needed an annual service (every year) to maintain the warranty at a cost of £100 + vat + parts! So, which do I think is the better long term softener in both performance and overall running costs? Think I'll stick to my Softline 150!

I purchased a Softline 150 just over 2 years ago in June 2012. It has started to take a long time to regenerate and on contacting the company I have been told it needs servicing at a cost of £95 plus VAT. I have also been told that this model only has a 2 year warranty, not a 5 year as advertized on their website so the cost is not covered. These softeners are not cheap and clearly the quality (nor the warranty) reflects the price. I now regret my purchase

I agree with everything the other reviews said but I do not think the top of this softener is adequate. Every time I check the salt or put more in I have to take the top right off. Fine if it fits properly but as yet I have never been able to make the top fit as it should, there are always gaps in the side etc, and I am left fiddling about trying to get the thing to fit properly, but to no avail! Is it just me, although my Husband had no better luck than me. Other than this the softener is great.

I spent a long time researching softeners to replace my existing model which started to fail after 19 years trusty service. I decided to opt for a non electrical softener that would also have dimensions capable of fitting in the space taken up by my old one. The Softline 150 ticked all the boxes. The unit was very easy to install. It took half a day for me to remove the old softener and install the new one. The Softline connections can be rotated so they are facing to the left, back or to the right of the unit, which is a very useful design feature if space is at a premium. The Installation & Operation manual was easy to follow, although the associated photographs could have been clearer in places. The Softline appears to be manufactured from high quality non corrosive materials. I cannot comment on the long term reliability of the Softline as its only been installed for one week. However, so far its operating efficiently and we are getting plenty of soft water. I am very pleased with the purchase thus far. The Softline is covered by 5 years parts and labour guarantee which is a welcome addition should any problems arise in the future.

I looked long and hard before my purchase,and have not been disappointed. i spoke to a couple of different guys within the company as i needed help with sizing and install requirements and i really do mean when i say i wish all company's were this helpful.. Had this for two years now,its been great,must be the most economical unit to run on the market .

This water softener has proved economical, very cheap to run (I use a 25kilo bag of salt in a 5 bed house every 3 months, my old Waterside MC450 used to use that amount in a month). Compact in size and no electrics it has proved to be ultra reliable.It even has a 5 year parts and labour warranty which I don't think anybody else does.