Snow Leopard Compact

Neil’s one-tank salt-free build: catalytic carbon and scale-control media together in one 10″ × 54″ tank. The carbon cuts chlorine; the media is meant to stop scale. It does not soften.

• City water, where you want less scale and less chlorine taste from a single tank.
• No salt, no drain and no electricity are must-haves, and space is tight.

• Soften the water. The hardness stays in; it is changed, not removed (University of Nebraska). There is no soft-water feel, and glasses can still spot.
• Remove iron, arsenic, bacteria, nitrate or PFAS. Charger does not claim PFAS removal for any product until it is certified.

Tank

One 10″ × 54″ tank on a Clack in/out head with a bypass valve. No electronics, no drain line.

Media

Catalytic carbon and scale-control media together. Charger’s salt-free Scale Prep systems use Filtersorb SP3; the media in your tank is written on your estimate. SP3’s maker, Watch-Water of Germany, calls the process nucleation-assisted crystallization (NAC): hardness is turned into tiny crystals that are meant to pass through without sticking. TAC media sold by other brands rest on a similar crystal-forming idea. The in/out head never backwashes. Clack says its CAT‑HAC catalytic carbon needs periodic backwashing, and this tank cannot backwash, so which carbon goes in it is written on your estimate.

• No scale-reduction certification. The standard for salt-free scale devices is IAPMO/ANSI Z601, which requires at least a 70% cut in scale compared with untreated water (IAPMO); EPA’s WaterSense guide says to look for it. Neither Charger nor Watch-Water claims a Z601 certification for this media.
• The SP3 media is certified to NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and 372 (Watch-Water). Those cover material safety — what the media may add to water — not how well it prevents scale.
• Charger’s literature says “99% scale prevention and removal” but cites no test. An Arizona State University study of a TAC-type media (not SP3), done for the WateReuse Research Foundation, measured more than 88% less scale (linked under Documents).

• About 8–9 gpm, for homes with 2–3 bathrooms. That is Neil’s rating for this one-tank build; Charger publishes none for it.

• About 8–9 gpm (Neil’s rating).
• 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).

• Charger’s limits for SP3, to check against your lab report:

  Charger limits for SP3

  In your lab report	Must be
  pH	6.0–9.0
  Chlorine	no more than 3 ppm
  Iron	no more than 0.4 ppm
  Manganese	no more than 0.05 ppm
  Hydrogen peroxide	no more than 0.5 ppm
  Oil, hydrogen sulfide (rotten-egg smell), polyphosphates	none — removed first

• Temperature 41–149°F. Hardness up to 100 grains; Charger asks for technical support above 25 grains.
• Watch-Water’s own limits add copper no more than 1.3 ppm, and put iron at 0.5 ppm and pH at 6.5–9.5.
• Watch-Water warns that the media soaks up iron, copper, manganese, lead and zinc, and high levels of them can end its life early.

• Salt: none.
• Water: none — it never backwashes.
• Electricity: none.

• Room for one 10″ × 54″ tank at your loop.
• No drain and no outlet needed.
• Septic: no effect.
• Out of direct sunlight (Watch-Water), and where it cannot freeze: Charger’s warranty does not cover freezing.

• None added.

$2,225 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
• Soaking the scale media before start-up, as Charger recommends
• Testing before Neil leaves
• CreekWell’s two-year workmanship warranty

Not included

• Iron, manganese or sulfur treatment if your water is over the limits
• New loop plumbing or code updates — quoted flat and approved by you first
• Lab water testing (optional; ordered from SimpleLab at its price)

Running costs

• No salt, no water to the drain and no power.
• Media: no published life for this mix. Charger gives SP3 on its own about 5 years; the carbon wears as it removes chlorine.
• 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.
• Charger’s general warranty gives the mineral tank 10 years and parts inside it, and fittings, 1 year. It does not name the Scale Prep in/out head separately.
• 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 of hardness, chlorine and TDS comes with every estimate. On a well, a certified lab test (SimpleLab’s Level 1 + Bacteria, $185 at SimpleLab’s price, covers arsenic and bacteria) matters more here: it measures iron and manganese, two of the media’s limits. It does not measure hydrogen sulfide, which Charger requires removed first; SimpleLab’s Hydrogen Sulfide test ($107 at its price) does, and most people smell it only from about 0.5 ppm (University of Nebraska).
• After: tested before Neil leaves — included. A hardness test will read about the same as before, because the minerals stay in the water.

• Installs on your existing loop. No drain connection, so no drain rules apply.
• It must be the last treatment in line, except a reverse osmosis unit or a drinking-water filter (Charger).
• No phosphate or other anti-scale product may be used before or after it (Charger).
• Charger runs the media upflow only, in a part-filled tank, with a flow restrictor sized to the tank and your flow.
• In a new home with copper pipe, Watch-Water says to install it only after six weeks of water use.
• The bypass valve sends water around it, so the house keeps water while it is serviced.
• If a particular job turns out to need a permit, you are told before any work starts.

From the manufacturers

• Charger Scale Prep salt-free brochure (limits, placement, media life)
• Charger SP3 Combo salt-free sheet (sizes and stages)
• Charger scale-control page (installation rules)
• Filtersorb SP3 product specification, from its maker (Watch-Water)
• Filtersorb SP3 page, from its maker (Watch-Water)
• Charger limited warranty (the version linked from chargerwater.com)
• Charger’s PFAS statement

Independent guidance and listings

• University of Nebraska: salt-free and scale-control devices
• Arizona State University study for the WateReuse Research Foundation: alternatives to ion-exchange softeners
• EPA WaterSense guide to home water treatment (certifications to look for)
• IAPMO: the Z601 standard for scale reduction devices (at least 70% less scale)
• University of Nebraska: hydrogen sulfide in water
• EPA WaterSense: showerhead flow limits
• EPA WaterSense: kitchen faucets (federal limit 2.2 gpm at 60 psi)
• CDC: choosing a home water filter

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