The Lynx Package

A whole-house catalytic carbon filter on a Clack WS1 valve that backwashes itself. It reduces chlorine and chloramine taste and smell at every tap. It does not soften.

• City water, where the chlorine or chloramine taste and smell bothers you at every tap, not just the kitchen.
• You already have a softener, or your water is not hard enough to need one.

• Soften the water, or remove arsenic, bacteria, fluoride or nitrate. Carbon does not (University of Nebraska).
• Remove PFAS with any certified result — for that, see the Caracal.
• Remove hardness or scale — add a softener, or choose a Tiger for both in one tank.

Filter tank

A backwashing carbon filter sized to your home’s flow. The tank size is on your written estimate.

Charger backwashing carbon filter sizes

Tank	Carbon	Charger’s rated flow	Flow that gives a 3-minute contact time	Clack’s service rate (5 gpm per sq ft)
9″ × 48″	1 cu ft	4 gpm	2.5 gpm	2.2 gpm
10″ × 54″	1.5 cu ft	6 gpm	3.7 gpm	2.7 gpm
12″ × 52″	2 cu ft	8 gpm	5 gpm	3.9 gpm
13″ × 54″	2.5 cu ft	10 gpm	6.2 gpm	4.6 gpm

Sizes and rated flows: Charger’s carbon filter sheet. The last two columns are our arithmetic from Clack’s catalytic carbon sheet: contact time is cubic feet × 7.48 ÷ 3 minutes, and the service rate is 5 gpm for each square foot of tank. For chloramine, plan on the lower of the two.

Carbon

Catalytic carbon. Charger lists two grades: Centaur, which it describes as excellent for removing chloramine and hydrogen sulfide, and Clack’s CAT‑HAC, a coconut-shell catalytic carbon made for the same job. The grade in your tank is on your written estimate. Ordinary carbon does not remove chloramine; catalytic carbon can reduce it (Charger).

Control valve

Clack WS1, which backwashes the carbon on a schedule to keep it clean and loose, with a bypass valve.

• We found no NSF/ANSI 42 listing for a Charger whole-house carbon system. NSF/ANSI 42 is the standard for chlorine, chloramine, taste and odor claims.
• Clack’s data sheet lists CAT‑HAC carbon to NSF/ANSI 61, which covers material safety, not performance, and meets AWWA B604, a quality standard for granular carbon.
• The Clack WS1 valve is certified to NSF/ANSI 44, 61 and 372 (valve only).

• By your home’s flow and how much chloramine or chlorine you want out.
• Contact time decides how well carbon works on chloramine. Clack’s catalytic carbon sheet asks for at least 3 minutes, and a service rate of 5 gpm per square foot of tank — about 3.9 gpm in a 12″ tank and 4.6 gpm in a 13″ (our arithmetic). At Charger’s rated flows the tanks give about 2 minutes, so for chloramine a larger tank than the flow alone suggests does better — see the table under What’s in the package.

• Charger’s ratings: 4 gpm (9″ × 48″) to 10 gpm (13″ × 54″).
• For chloramine, plan on the lower flows in the table under What’s in the package: about 2.2–4.6 gpm by tank (our arithmetic from Clack’s sheet).
• 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).

• Chlorine and chloramine, taste and odor. Charger says catalytic carbon also reduces hydrogen sulfide.
• Iron: Penn State says catalytic carbon handles dissolved iron below 1.0 ppm, and needs at least 4 ppm of dissolved oxygen in the water to do it.
• Water pressure 40–90 psi and temperature 40–100°F (Charger’s filter manual; the valve alone is rated 20–125 psi and 40–110°F).

• Salt: none.
• Water: each backwash runs water to the drain. Charger’s programming table for catalytic carbon (in its Iron Breaker settings) runs a 10-minute backwash and 8-minute rinse at about 4 gpm (10″ tank) to 8–9 gpm (13″ tank) — roughly 70–160 gallons each time (our arithmetic). How often Neil sets it is on your estimate.
• Electricity: an always-on outlet for the valve (Charger’s filter manual asks for an uninterrupted outlet).

• Room for one tank at your loop.
• A drain that can take the backwash flow, and an always-on outlet (Charger’s filter manual).
• Indoors, or a sheltered spot where the tank and its drain line never drop below 34°F, with the valve’s plug-in transformer in a dry spot (Charger’s filter manual: dry locations only). Charger’s warranty does not cover freezing.
• At least 10 feet of pipe from where treated water leaves the filter to the water heater’s cold-water inlet (Charger’s manual). If yours is closer, the extra pipe is quoted before any work.
• On a well: the pump must keep up with the backwash flow above.
• Septic: backwash water goes to the septic system.

• None added. Not a softener.

$1,885 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 costs more than $1,000, which puts it outside what CreekWell can take on until its Arizona contractor licenses are issued. The details here are accurate so you can plan and compare. Why not yet?

Included

• Installation on your existing loop
• Programming the backwash
• Testing before Neil leaves
• CreekWell’s two-year workmanship warranty

Not included

• New loop plumbing or code updates — quoted flat and approved by you first
• A drain if none is close enough — quoted first. 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 (Charger’s manual) — quoted first
• Lab water testing (optional; ordered from SimpleLab at its price)

Running costs

• Water: roughly 70–160 gallons to the drain each time it backwashes (our arithmetic); how often it backwashes is on your estimate.
• Power: an always-on outlet for the valve.
• Carbon: replaced when it can no longer reduce chloramine or hydrogen sulfide.
• 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).

• Charger’s is a limited warranty to the original buyer. Charger 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.
• Charger 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 Charger’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).
• Charger 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, the installer, or Charger directly.
• Read the full warranty before you buy — it is linked under Documents.

• Before: the free field check includes chlorine. Tell Neil if your utility uses chloramine — it changes the sizing.
• After: tested before Neil leaves — included.

• Installs on your existing loop.
• The backwash drain line is run to code with an air gap.
• Charger’s filter 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 filtered water.
• The bypass valve sends water around the filter, so the house keeps water while it is serviced.
• 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 manufacturers

• Charger backwashing carbon filter spec sheet
• Clack catalytic carbon data sheet (contact time, flow per square foot)
• Charger whole-house filter media descriptions
• Charger backwashing filter manual and warranty
• Charger programming settings for softeners and Iron Breakers
• Charger limited warranty (the version linked from chargerwater.com)
• Clack WS1 control valve specifications (Form 2572)
• Clack WS1 page (valve certifications)

Independent guidance and listings

• University of Nebraska: activated carbon filters
• CDC: choosing a home water filter
• Penn State Extension: iron and manganese in private wells
• 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

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