Looking to install a water softener in our house and I've never even touched one, let alone install one. I can do basic plumbing though and have installed a few water heaters so I think I can tackle this. Our house is plumbed for a softener too so that will help tremendously. Initially I thought I'd have to cut the PVC and glue a male threaded adapter
or use a Sharkbite and then a braided/flexible 3/4" x 3/4" pipe. Then when I looked at this odd combination of elbows, I thought are those 3/4" female NPT that I could thread directly into ? Or are they a non-standard thread only used with those elbows ?
Plumbing / water softener install question
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If you can install a water heater you shouldn't have any problem doing a water softener.
Make sure you get water tested well for hardness not cheapo strips.
A undersized softener is useless and oversized pretty expensive.
Hack installed my first and did not correctly test water so was well undersized and never work well.
A undersized softener is useless and oversized pretty expensive.
Hack installed my first and did not correctly test water so was well undersized and never work well.
Cant you just run it more frequently
From what I can see, the common manufacturers only look at "usage" values, not water hardness. They presumably can handle a wide enough range of hardness level and adjust to suit.
My real question is about the plumbing connection though....
I've found with plumbing, it doesn't matter how much you plan and how many fittings you buy, you're always missing ONE and have to go back to the Home Depot/Lowes/Hardware Store. 
Ain't that the truth! I often choose to shop at my neighborhood independent hardware store even thought it costs more than the big box store. I want it to still be in business the next time I need to make 5 trips for plumbing parts on a Saturday afternoon.I've found with plumbing, it doesn't matter how much you plan and how many fittings you buy, you're always missing ONE and have to go back to the Home Depot/Lowes/Hardware Store.
It's also the reason I now have a ball valve on the 'load' side of my new pressure regulating valve. I forgot to get a 3/4" PEX coupler and didn't remember until I had the system wide open and cut apart. I had a nice new ball valve though. It might not ever get used as a valve, but it is working just fine as a coupler.
Pretty sure those elbows are like a compression fitting.
Your pipes are CPVC though. Just be careful that stuff gets brittle when its old.
Your pipes are CPVC though. Just be careful that stuff gets brittle when its old.
Id rip that crap out and use pex or copper.
^^No expert here but I've jumped in on many a job (all old and eclectic) and that PVC in post #1 screamed 'brittle' to me.
Is it PVC? The picture makes it look so yellow. It's CPVC.
You caught that. Pays for me to read.
I wouldn't necessarily rip it all out......but go back to where it takes off and returns to, well as close as possible.
It's 20 years old
Use this then, https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBi...er-Softener-Connector-U3086FLEX24LF/203800359 ? I'm not finding any 3/4" NPT to 1" NPT braided lines which means if I wanted to use a threaded, braided line, I'd need to glue in a 3/4 x 1 bushing, then a 1" threaded adapter and that's just more joints/connections that I want to avoid.
It's polybutylene. If he is on municipal water with chlorine it should be discarded. There was a class action lawsuit against it due to the stuff deteriorating.
Zoom in and read the pipe
Oh yeah. Was just looking at the fittings. Pipe is cpvc. Just got out of bed and groggy.
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