Setting a softener for New Berlin water
A softener’s hardness setting tells it what the incoming water carries. In New Berlin that number changed for city customers in July 2009 and never changed for private wells, so the right setting depends on which kind of house you are in and, for older units, on when the softener was set.
Call (262) 829-5961Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pmWhat the setting does
Most home softeners ask for the water’s hardness in grains per gallon. That figure tells the softener how much hardness each gallon brings in, which is how it judges when the resin needs recharging with salt from the brine tank.
Nothing changes the setting by itself when the water changes. That is how a New Berlin softener can still carry a number from before 2009, and why a wrong number leaves the softener working from a description of water you do not have.
City water: start from about 8 grains
For a house on the city system, the figure to start from is Milwaukee’s published 137 milligrams per liter, roughly 8 grains once divided by 17.1, or New Berlin’s own figure of 8 to 10.
If the softener went in before July 2009, it was almost certainly set for the city’s old groundwater, which the utility published at 18 to 32 grains. That setting describes water the city has not delivered since.
Private wells: the number from your own water
A well house should be set from a reading of its own water, either a lab report or the plumber’s test. The utility’s old 18 to 32 grain figure describes the aquifer in general, not your well, so it is a poor stand-in for a setting.
If the lab gave milligrams per liter, convert to grains before comparing anything; the wells page shows the arithmetic.
Finding what an existing softener is set to
The setting is usually shown on the control head’s display or recorded in the owner’s manual. If neither helps, the date the softener went in is a clue in New Berlin: on a city-water house, a unit from before July 2009 very likely still carries a well-water setting.
Changing a setting is the owner’s business, and it is worth doing whether or not you ever buy a new softener.
When a new system is the answer
If the old unit has given out, or you are on a well and starting from scratch, a new softener is set on install day from a test the plumber runs at your tap before opening any pipe. After that, the plumber retests at the tap until the reading is zero.
Common questions
My old softener is set somewhere in the twenties. Is that wrong on city water?
Very likely. A setting in the twenties matches the groundwater the city pumped before July 2009, not the lake water arriving now at about 8 grains.
Should a well house use the old city figure of 18 to 32?
No. That range describes the aquifer the old city wells drew from. Your well’s own reading is the number to set from.
More for New Berlin homes
- Water softener installation in New Berlin, WI
- Water softener replacement in New Berlin, WI
- Well water softeners in New Berlin, WI
- New Berlin, WI water hardness
- New Berlin water guides
- About New Berlin Softener Co.
- Water softener quotes in New Berlin, WI
- New Berlin city water and the softener question
- Lake water or a well: what your New Berlin house runs on
Get your price
Send your details and we will call you with one price. Nobody comes to the house to sell you anything.