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Portable Water Softeners for Recreational Vehicles
There are several portable water softeners on the market today so let’s explore some of them. First off though, we need to look into what Hard Water is and why you should be using a Portable RV Water Softener.
What is Hard Water? Hard water is basically water containing a high mineral count. Groundwater often percolates through limestone where it picks up calcium and magnesium deposits.
Drinking water can also contain trace minerals like iron, which gets picked up from the soil, lakes, and rivers – even older, corroded plumbing. In some regions, hard water may also contain manganese or aluminum.
Many areas, especially the Sun Belt States, such as Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, are plagued with hard water. In fact, these six metropolitan areas experience the hardest water conditions:
- Indianapolis
- Las Vegas
- Minneapolis
- Phoenix
- San Antonio
- Tampa.
The minerals found in hard water are very destructive. It can have a negative impact on your RVs plumbing system. Some newer RVs come equipped with residential refrigerators with ice makers, dishwashers, and washing machines.
Hard water can cause dryness on your hair and skin, especially if you use the water for bathing while you are in your RV. And of course, it tastes bad.
A fully functional high-quality Portable Water Softener for your RV leaves virtually no mineral residue.
You can now enjoy cleaner dishes and softer clothes and prevent rusting and scaling in appliances such as showers, sinks, and dishwashers, and greatly extend the life of the hot water heater.
Using a Portable RV Water Softener will help maintain and possibly increase the value of your RV.
RV Water Softener Reviews
On The Go® Portable Water Softener, LLC is the leader in the Portable RV Water Softening. The company was founded in 2004, is headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, and is manufactured in the USA.
They produce three sizes of Portable Water Softeners, two for Recreational Vehicles and one for Park Model.
The On The Go® Portable Standard Water Softener (OTG4-StdSoft) and the On The Go® Portable Double Standard Water Softener (OTG$-DBLSOFT) are very highly rated user-friendly Water Softener on the market.
The company also sells accessories such as brass inlet & outlet adapters, test strips, cap wrenches, tank mounting brackets, repair items, and water filter cartridge kits.
All On The Go® Water Softeners have a One (1) Year Limited Warranty.
The On The Go® Portable Double Standard Water Softener, OTG$-DBLSOFT
This is probably the best and the largest Portable Water Softener on the market.
Built for use in any RV, this 16,000-grain unit is a perfect fit and supplies approximately 40% more soft water than any other unit on the market.
At 22 inches tall and 9 ½ inches in diameter and weighing about 32 pounds, it has a space-saving design that allows it to be installed in the tightest places, making it easily stored in your storage bay.
It has an easy to carry handle on top, large mouth opening for easy salt addition, high-grade premium resin, 360-degree swivel for easy connection of the inlet hose, the travel-friendly option of cap and plug to prevent leakage, and is built for quick and simple regeneration using 2 boxes of standard table salt.
It uses a standard hose connection between the park faucet and your RV, and it requires NO tools or electricity.
This Softener has a softening capacity of 640 – 1600 gallons, depending on the hardness of the water source. It has a flow rate of 3 to 4 gallons per minute with a tank capacity of 0.52 cubic feet.
This On The Go® Portable Water Softener, OTG$-DBLSOFT, is highly rated with 4 ½ stars from 174 Amazon reviews. The highest reviews stated how well the Water Softener works and with one review stating “Misrepresented product. Does NOT soften the water at all.”
The On The Go® Portable Standard Water Softener, OTG4-StdSoft
This is the smaller and Original Portable Water Softener for your RV. It is an 8,000-grain unit that regenerates in about 15 minutes using one box of table salt. Allowing you soft water for up to 20 days.
It is 22 inches tall and 6 ¾ inches in diameter, weighs about 18 pounds, and can easily be stored in your storage bay. This Water Softener has a flow rate of 2 gallons per minute with a tank capacity of 0.25 cubic feet.
The On The Go® Portable Water Softener, OTG4-StdSoft, is also highly rated with 4 ½ stars from 26 reviewers. Again, most of the reviews stated how well the product worked and of course, there was one two-star review stating “A lot of setting up and take down for an RV water softener.”
Watch the video on how the regenerate the On The Go Portable Water Softeners
Watts® Water Technologies
Watts® Water Technologies Incorporated manufactures another highly rated Portable RV Water Softener. While they deal in all areas related to water and plumbing they do manufacture the Watts® RV PRO-1000 Portable Water Softener.
The company was founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts. The Watts® RV PRO-1000 Portable Water Softener is proudly manufactured in the USA.
The Watts® RV PRO-1000 Portable Water Softener
This is also one of the most portable and compact water softeners made for Recreational Vehicles.
This water softener is a 10,000-grain unit that regenerates using pellet or table salt. It is 21 inches tall, 9 ½ inches in diameter, and weighs about 24 pounds allowing it to fit in your basement storage area.
The Watts® RV PRO-1000 Portable Water Softener’s custom-designed flow allows it to regenerate with salt without having to disconnect and reconnect the system. It also had a built-in drain line VORTEX flow restrictor which increases its regeneration capacity by nearly 55%. This water softener has a flow rate of 4 gallons per minute.
This softener is proudly built in the USA and has a 10-year warranty.
The Watts® RV PRO-1000 Portable Water Softener is also a highly rated Water Softener receiving 4 stars from 153 Amazon reviews. 70% of the reviews were 5 stars stating how well the system worked. There were 13 one-star reviews mostly stating poor performance, bad design, difficulty to recharge, and no customer service.
In Conclusion
While some reviewers may balk at the price of these Portable RV Water Softeners, they are an accessory that is needed and will save you money in the long run. All three of these units have been highly rated on several Recreational and Marine websites. For the past seven years, I have been using the On The Go® Portable Water Softener, OTG4-StdSoft, with no complaints.