written by on 07/06/2023
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.
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Docmartinsattic's Comment
Written on: 22/08/2023
Hello, thank you for confirming that what we discussed is clearly mentioned in the installation manual and that this information is also available on our website although you found it difficult to find. This is strange as we sent you the information when you contacted us.
I would like to point out one inaccuracy in your comments, the Harvey dealer you spoke to is uninformed as the resin used in a Scalemaster unit is high quality and in fact the same as in a Harvey unit.
Docmartinsattic's Comment
Written on: 09/11/2023
Resin contamination is an issue that can happen with any softener and it would be down to the installaer to explain this although information is readily available on the website and it does state in the installation manual that resin damage (which can only come from the mains supply) is not covered. I'm guessing that this review was written by a competitor as saying that the softener was 'cheap' at £550 implies that you should consider buying one in excess of £1k which takes you into dealer territory. If you have concerns please contact us directly and we'll be happy to show you the diffrence, you could also go on Youtube and see chloring contamination over a number of different brands.