Way OT: whole house water filter & softener, Any hands-on experience? Options

[draganc]

I know this topic is way off, but I have always been impressed about the input of the forum's members.

Alright, here is the scenario:

I have a water-well, salt based softener and an As filter (the level is just over the NJ limits).

The problem:

Instead on working on my 914, I'm schlepping salt bags into the basement and water jugs into the garage.

What I want:

A whole house water filter system, a salt-free softener and a revers-osmosis filter in the kitchen only.

I searched the internet high and low but would like to hear some real experience from the members here.

At the moment I have the Aquasana Rhino, Pelican and NuvoH2O on the radar.

Thanks for your input
DC

PS: I already tried to switch from water to beer. However, that didn't work out to well with the rest of the family :-(.

[draganc]

@tim, can please be more specific about your observations?

What I came up so far:

Salt based: pro softens the water by removing minerals from the water, but on the flips sides that's also bad because it strips the water from good and essential minerals. Also, requires salt and waste water flushing.

Salt less systems / conditioner: doesn't remove water's minerals but changes its charge state, hence it will not deposit on pipes and surfaces. Con: expensive ($1000-2000), and doesn't really remove the minerals but rather "confines" them.