The Bobcat package

A standard salt water softener on a Clack WS1 valve, sized to your home: 24,000 to 64,000 grains (nominal). Softening only — no carbon.

• Your water is hard and has little or no chlorine, as on most wells, or a carbon filter already sits ahead of it. On city water, the supplier says to protect softener resin from chlorine; the free water check measures yours.
• You want the plainest, lowest-cost way to stop scale.

• Remove arsenic, bacteria, nitrate or lead. Softening does not (University of Nebraska; University of Arizona).
• Remove PFAS. Softeners are not likely to (Minnesota Department of Health).
• Handle more than about 2 ppm of clear-water iron on its own (the supplier). Heavier iron needs an iron filter first — the Panther.
• Suit water with high chlorine or chloramine. The supplier’s manual says not to install it on such water, without giving a figure, and to protect the resin from both. The free water check measures your chlorine.
• Reduce chlorine taste or smell. There is no carbon in it — see the Tigers or the Lynx.

Softener

A softener on a Clack WS1 valve, sized from your water test and household: 24K, 32K, 40K, 48K or 64K. The size is on your written estimate.

Bobcat sizes

Size	Mineral tank	Salt tank	Grains between regen­erations: salt-saving / maximum	Steady flow
24K	8″ × 44″	15″ × 17″	18,000 / 22,500	2.5 gpm
32K	9″ × 48″	15″ × 17″	24,000 / 30,000	5 gpm
40K	10″ × 44″	15″ × 17″	30,000 / 37,500	6 gpm
48K	10″ × 54″	15″ × 17″	36,000 / 45,000	7.5 gpm
64K	12″ × 52″	18″ × 36″	48,000 / 60,000	10 gpm

Sizes, tanks and salt tanks: the supplier’s softener brochure. Capacities and steady flows: the supplier’s softener table for the same tank sizes and valve.

Control valve

Clack WS1 with a digital display, and a bypass valve that sends water around the softener during service. It regenerates: it rinses the resin with salt water to renew it, then flushes to the drain. With a water meter it does that after a set number of gallons, so a quiet week uses less salt; the supplier’s WS1 sheet says a meter saves water and up to 40% of the salt. Without one it runs on a set schedule. The supplier sells the WS1 both ways, so which one yours has is written on your estimate.

Salt (brine) tank

15″ × 17″ for 24K–48K; 18″ × 36″ for the 64K (the supplier’s brochure).

Salt

Two 50-lb bags to start.

• NSF/ANSI 44 is the standard for water softeners. We found no NSF/ANSI 44 listing for these softeners in NSF’s database (checked September 2026).
• The Clack WS1 valve is certified to NSF/ANSI 44, 61 and 372. That covers the valve, not the whole system.

• Sold as 24,000 to 64,000 grains, which is a nominal size. The 48K size (the supplier’s table for its 10″ × 54″ tank) is rated 36,000 grains between regenerations on the salt-saving setting (9 lb of salt per cubic foot of resin) and 45,000 at maximum salt.
• How to size it (the supplier’s worksheet): add the people in the house to the water-using appliances (washer, dishwasher and so on), multiply by 75 gallons a day, then by your hardness in grains per gallon — plus 4 grains for every ppm of clear-water iron. That is the grains used a day; the supplier multiplies it by 3 for the unit size.
• Examples (our arithmetic, at 75 gallons a person a day, Penn State Extension’s figure): 2 people on Prescott city water (7.6 grains) use about 1,140 grains a day, so it regenerates about every 25–32 days. 2 people on a 20-grain well: about every 10–12 days. 4 people on that well: about every 5–6 days. Counting a washer and dishwasher the way the supplier’s worksheet does doubles a two-person home’s figure, so it regenerates about twice as often and uses about twice the salt.
• The examples are for the 48K. The table under What’s in the package gives every size.

• Steady (service) flow by size: 2.5 gpm (24K) to 10 gpm (64K), from the supplier’s table for the same tanks. The supplier’s softener brochure lists higher figures, 5.3–11.7 gpm, at 15 gpm per square foot of resin bed; the lower, steady figures are the ones to plan on.
• For scale: a shower head uses up to 2.5 gallons a minute (gpm) and a kitchen faucet up to 2.2 gpm (federal limits, EPA).
• The Clack valve itself can pass 27 gpm, though at that flow it lowers your water pressure by 15 psi. At everyday flows the valve itself costs little pressure: about 0.5 psi at 5 gpm and 2 psi at 10 (our arithmetic from Clack’s flow rating, Cv 7.0, Form 2572). The tank and media lose some more; the supplier does not publish how much.

• Hardness: sized to your test (see Sized for).
• Iron: up to about 2 ppm of clear-water iron (the supplier’s sizing guide).
• Water pressure 40–90 psi and water temperature 40–100°F (the supplier’s softener manual).

• Salt: about 3–4 bags (50 lb) a year for 2 people on Prescott city water (at 7.6 grains, the top of the city’s range); about 8–10 for 2 people on a 20-grain well; about 16–21 for 4 people on that well.
• Water: about 65 gallons to the drain each time it regenerates, plus the slow salt-water rinse (our arithmetic from the supplier’s settings for the 48K’s 10″ × 54″ tank: two backwashes, of 10 and 8 minutes, and a 6-minute rinse, at 2.7 gallons a minute). For 2 people on Prescott city water that is every 25–32 days, or about 750–940 gallons a year; on a 20-grain well, every 10–12 days, or about 1,980–2,470 gallons a year. The University of Nebraska and Penn State Extension give about 50 gallons as a general figure.
• Electricity: a grounded, always-on outlet. The valve draws 0.25 amps (the supplier).
• Salt type: water-softener salt or potassium chloride — never the two mixed (the supplier). Potassium chloride costs more and takes more to do the same work (University of Nebraska).
• The salt and water figures are our arithmetic at 75 gallons a person a day and the supplier’s salt-saving setting. Counting appliances the way the supplier’s worksheet does, or its MX sheet’s 80–100 gallons a person, gives more regenerations and more salt. They also assume it regenerates only when the resin is used up, as a metered valve does; on a timer it can regenerate more often, and the supplier’s WS1 sheet says a meter saves up to 40% of the salt. Your water test and household decide the real numbers.
• By size on the supplier’s settings: about 41 gallons a regeneration on the 24K, 53 on the 32K, 65 on the 40K and 48K, and 96 on the 64K, plus the slow salt-water rinse (our arithmetic).

• Room for two tanks side by side at your softener loop: the mineral tank for the size you choose and the salt (brine) tank.
• Indoors, or a sheltered spot where the tanks and their drain and overflow lines never drop below 34°F, out of direct sunlight, with the valve’s plug-in transformer in a dry spot: the supplier’s manual says it is for dry locations only. The supplier’s warranty does not cover freezing or water above 120°F.
• Where an overflow could do damage, an overflow line from the salt tank to the drain, so if the tank ever overfills the water goes to the drain instead of the floor (the supplier’s manual recommends one there).
• A drain the regeneration water can reach. The supplier says the drain must be able to handle the backwash flow.
• A grounded outlet that is always on, within reach of the valve’s power cord (the supplier supplies a 15-foot cord; its quick-start guide says the outlet must be grounded and always on).
• At least 10 feet of pipe from where treated water leaves the softener to the water heater’s cold-water inlet (the supplier’s manual). If yours is closer, the extra pipe is priced before any work.
• Septic: each regeneration sends its rinse water to the septic tank — about 41–96 gallons by size (see What it uses). The Water Quality Association’s research found that softeners set up efficiently do not harm septic systems.

• Softening adds about 8 mg of sodium per liter for every grain of hardness it removes (University of Nebraska).
• On Prescott city water (4.3–7.6 grains per gallon) that is about 34–61 mg per liter. On a 20-grain well it is about 160 mg per liter. (Our arithmetic.)
• EPA advises no more than 20 mg per liter for people on a very-low-sodium diet (500 mg a day), and says older people may be more sensitive to sodium.
• Lower-sodium choices: leave the kitchen cold tap unsoftened (extra plumbing, priced up front once the licenses are issued); add an under-sink reverse osmosis system, which removes sodium (CDC) — the Kitten; or use potassium chloride instead of salt, which the supplier allows. Ask your doctor about potassium first if you have kidney or heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, or take medicines that affect potassium (Virginia Tech Extension).

$1,799 installed, flat, anywhere in Yavapai County. Arizona sales tax on the parts is already in that price (CreekWell’s invoice terms). What is not included is listed below.

Not bookable yet. This work comes to $1,000 or more, so it waits for CreekWell’s contractor licenses.

Included

• Installation on your existing softener loop
• Programming for your water and household
• Testing before Neil leaves
• Two bags of salt
• CreekWell’s two-year workmanship warranty

Not included

• New loop plumbing if your home has no softener loop, or code updates — priced up front, in writing once the licenses are issued, and approved by you first
• A drain if none is close enough — priced up front, in writing once the licenses are issued. A new outlet is electrical work, arranged separately
• Extra pipe if there is less than 10 feet of pipe between the system and the water heater (the supplier’s manual) — priced up front, in writing once the licenses are issued
• Salt after the first two bags
• Lab water testing (optional; ordered from SimpleLab at its price)

Running costs

• Salt: about 3–4 bags a year for 2 people on Prescott city water, 8–10 on a 20-grain well (see What it uses).
• Water: about 41–96 gallons per regeneration by size, plus the slow salt-water rinse (see What it uses). Power: the valve draws 0.25 amps.
• Neil has not published prices for this package’s replacement parts yet; your written estimate lists today’s prices before you approve anything.

Paying

• A 50% deposit sets the install date; the rest is due when it is in and tested.
• The written estimate is good for 30 days. If you cancel after the three business days the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule gives when you sign at home, what happens to the deposit (for example, parts already ordered for you) is written on the estimate before you sign.
• Zelle, cash or check: no fee. A card fee, if you pay by card, is shown as its own line on the estimate (payment terms).

Who: “Supplier” is the wholesale company Neil buys these parts through; its name is on its written warranty, linked under Documents. The installation itself is covered by CreekWell’s two-year workmanship warranty.

• The supplier’s is a limited warranty to the original buyer. The supplier repairs or replaces a defective part without charging for its own factory work; you pay the shipping to send the part back.
• The 10 years are written for “any residential Pentair mineral tank”. The tank brand is on your written estimate.
• The supplier does not cover: freezing, water above 120°F or pressure above 120 psi; a vacuum on the water line; damage from improper installation or maintenance, or any change from the original design; or damage from any circumstance beyond the supplier’s control.
• The tank years apply only where the tanks were first installed, and the warranty does not cover consequential damages (other losses a failed part causes, beyond the part itself).
• The supplier does not pay for the labor to take the old part out and fit the new one. Who pays that, in the first two years and after, is written on your estimate.
• To claim: call Neil at 928-228-5770, or the supplier named on the written warranty, linked under Documents.
• Read the full warranty before you buy — it is linked under Documents.

• Before: the free water check of hardness, chlorine and total dissolved solids (TDS) that comes with every estimate sizes the softener.
• On a well, a certified lab test first is worth it: it finds the problems a softener does not treat. SimpleLab’s Level 1 + Bacteria covers arsenic and bacteria ($185, at its price).
• After: tested before Neil leaves — included.

• Installs on your existing softener loop, the pair of pipes a builder leaves for a softener.
• The drain line is run to code with an air gap. The supplier’s manual: pay special attention to codes for air gaps and anti-siphon devices.
• The supplier recommends an overflow line on the salt tank where an overflow could damage the house.
• The bypass valve sends water around the softener, so the house keeps water while it is serviced.
• The supplier’s manual: connect it to a supply line downstream of the outdoor spigots — past the point where the pipes to the outdoor taps branch off, so those taps are not fed softened water.
• The City of Prescott has adopted the 2024 International Plumbing Code; the county and other towns set their own.
• If a particular job turns out to need a permit, you are told before any work starts.

From the supplier and the manufacturers

• Supplier’s Hi-Flow softener brochure (2023)
• Supplier’s limited warranty (the version on its website)
• Supplier’s softener installation manual and warranty
• Clack WS1 control valve specifications (Form 2572)
• Clack WS1 page (valve certifications)
• Supplier’s Clack WS1 sell sheet (metered or timed regeneration; the meter’s salt saving)
• Supplier’s homeowner’s quick-start guide for the Clack WS1 valve
• Supplier’s softener sizing worksheet
• Supplier’s softener spec sheet (capacities at two salt settings)
• Supplier’s programming settings for softeners and iron filters
• Resin maker’s sheet on the supplier’s site (chlorine and resin life)

Independent guidance and listings

• NSF listings search for the supplier’s products
• Penn State Extension: water softening (75 gallons a person a day; about 50 gallons a regeneration)
• University of Nebraska: water softening (sodium, water per regeneration)
• EPA drinking-water advisory for sodium
• Virginia Tech Extension: sodium and chloride in drinking water (softeners, potassium, RO membrane life)
• CDC: home water treatment systems
• Water Quality Association: softeners and septic systems
• University of Arizona Extension AZ1650: arsenic in well water
• Minnesota Department of Health: PFAS and home water treatment
• EPA WaterSense: showerhead flow limits
• EPA WaterSense: kitchen faucets (federal limit 2.2 gpm at 60 psi)
• City of Prescott code: 2024 International Plumbing Code adopted
• City of Prescott water quality report (hardness; disinfected with chlorine)

These are the supplier’s, the manufacturers’ and the agencies’ own documents. Links go to their sites and can change without notice.