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After sending three messages to WaterBoss's on-line help department and not receiving a reply to any of them, I called their technical service people today because my new water softener exhibited a problem yesterday. This problem was not related to the original problem that I tried to contact them about. What I experienced when I called WaterBoss technical support was a nightmare.
I called because the Delayed mode does not work as described in the manual. Because of that, the softener can regenerate at any time of the day or night and not only will the user then be on hard water, but, if they are using hot water at the time, their water heater may then be filled with hard water which can take days to flush out.
The treatment that I received when I called WaterBoss was almost beyond belief. I am not exaggerating when I say that the treatment I received was possibly the worst I have ever experienced from anyone that I can remember in my nearly 60 years.
I first talked to a woman who was incredibly obnoxious and rude, in my opinion. My question was about why my unit was regenerating in the middle of the day when it was set in Delay mode (described below) and was supposed to regenerate at my set time of 3:00 A.M. when water wasn't being used. She said that the Delay mode "does not always work for some people." (?) When I tried to get a better explanation and one that made more sense, the woman immediately became sarcastic, downright nasty, and argumentative. When I could see that we were getting nowhere, I asked to talk to her supervisor. She said she would connect me to him but that he would tell me the same thing. Unbelievably, he (Rick Straight) was even more rude than the woman, in my opinion. In fact, he wouldn't even respond to me at times and I thought our connection had been broken. He then asked me what my name was and, when I told him, he actually moaned! I asked him what he meant by that rude expression and he said, "You're the guy who emailed us." I then asked him why, since he had just acknowledged that he received my email question, he hadn't responded to it. He said he “didn't need to”! (The question I had asked them via email was why my Waterboss 900 only held 90 pounds of pellet salt when the specs say it should hold 170 pounds. That's a very big discrepancy and it could cause a problem. I just wanted to know if something might be wrong with my unit that blocked salt from filling the cabinet. I can get 110-120 pounds into the unit if I poke individual pellets into tiny crevices which takes 20 minute to do but, even then, it holds 50-60 pounds less than the it is supposed to hold. The reason I asked about this is that if salt is not reaching behind the filter tank as it should, the proper amount of brine won't be produced. Mr. Straight simply refused to address my question, let alone attempt to answer it. In fact, one point, he refused to even respond to me and I thought the line had gone dead. I then asked him again but he said he didn't understand the question. He was clearly just being difficult. The question was very simple. When I re-phrased the question and asked him again what could cause my unit to hold 58-80 pounds less salt than it should, he simply said, "It holds 160 pounds." (Actually, the manual clearly states that it holds 170 pounds so Mr. Straight obviously doesn't even know his own product but, despite the specs, Mr. Straight insisted that they say it holds 160 pounds of salt. As anyone who looks up the product specs on-line will see or looks in their manual if they already own this unit, or even just looks at the carton that it is packed in will see, it is supposed to hold 170 pounds of salt. But Mr. Straight insisted on arguing about this. The only explanation I can think of to explain his bizarre behavior is that he wanted to argue this small point to avoid dealing with my question. He will probably feel a bit foolish if he looks it up for himself. But that was a small point so, ignoring Mr. Straight's lack of knowledge of his own product, I tried to get an answer from him again with no success. He again said, "It holds 160 pounds." (I would love to see Mr. Straight try to put 160 - really 170 - pounds of salt in my unit! That would be interesting to see.)
It was Mr. Straight's behavior that was the worst part of my experience with Waterboss. By the time I ended the call, I felt as if the support people at WaterBoss get their kicks out of treating customers as rudely as possible. In my opinion, something is seriously wrong at WaterBoss. No company should allow customer support people to treat their customers the way I was treated but the people I talked too made it clear, in my opinion, that they simply couldn't care less. I asked them a polite question and their responses were amazingly rude and obnoxious.
When I informed Mr. Straight that I was going to write a review of my experience with WaterBoss when I got off the phone with him, as unbelievable as it may sound, he said I couldn't do that!
I don't think that my experience with WaterBoss is an isolated case because other reviewers in other review forums have said they have had similar experiences. (I would highly recommend that anyone even thinking of purchasing a WaterBoss product first search for and read existing customer reviews, especially those by customers who had to deal with WateBoss support.
As for the product itself:
The bad:
When you unpack the WaterBoss 900 (and I assume any of their other models) you will find an owner's manual and also a DVD. That's all well and good but the installation instructions shown in the manual are different than those on the DVD. They are each very specific but contradictory. I worked in the industry for years and am very familiar with the operation of all kinds of equipment but even I was a bit confused. Someone who is not handy may be very confused if they watch the video AND read the owner’s manual installation instructions. Either way may work but each insists that it is the right way. Toss a coin! Also, on the DVD they mention how, as a WaterBoss product owner, you are now a member of a "family" and WaterBoss is there to help you with any problem you might have with your Wateboss product. As you can imagine, that rings hollow with me after the horrible treatment that I received from them.
The instructions on how to program the unit are a bit confusing but once you figure them out, it's fairly easy. I would suggest that once you figure them out that you make your own notes for future reference since the instructions in the rather poorly written manual are unclear and ambiguous.
DO NOT use the default settings and DO NOT follow WaterBoss's recommendations to use the "Demand" mode or the "96 Hour" mode. They are separate programmable features and your softener will default to them.
The "Demand" mode is a mode of operation whereby the softener will begin to recharge the moment a set amount of water has passed though it since the last recharge. WaterBoss recommends that you leave it on that setting and they incorrectly claim that, when using that mode, you "will never run out of soft water." Nothing could be further from the truth! If you use that mode, your softener will recharge after a set amount of water passes though it no matter what time it is and, in most cases, it will start recharging when you are taking a shower or bath or washing clothes. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s logical because it will start charging when you are running water and the chances are greater that it will reach the re-charge point when you are doing something that uses up lots of water. When the recharge starts, you are then on hard water (bypass mode). That is exactly what happened with my unit yesterday and I am still getting hard water from my water heater today. If you need a water softener, your water is probably hard enough that it will cause a load of clothes to be dingy and your fixtures will have hard water ### on them - the very things you bought the softener to prevent. Even worse, if you are running hot water when it starts to recharge, your water heater may fill up with hard water and that can take a couple days to flush out of the system so you will be on semi-hard water for a day or two. Then, just about the time you have good soft water again, your WaterBoss will recycle again and you are back to square one. DO NOT use the "On Demand" mode! WaterBoss should never have set the unit to default to this mode and they should not recommend it.
The alternative and preferable thing to do is to set it to "Delay" mode. In that mode, the unit will (supposedly) recharge at a time that you set (but not always, as I learned yesterday - see below) preferably early in the A.M. When it reaches the point where the amount of water has run through it that would normally turn on the recharge cycle in the "Demand" mode, it will delay the recharge and schedule it to run early in the morning at your set time when water is probably not being used. (Note: In my phone conversation today with WaterBoss, I was told that Delay mode “doesn't always work FOR SOME PEOPLE"!? Not only does that comment make no sense but it is an understatement. As I mentioned previously, my unit started regenerating yesterday while I was using water and, at that point, I was then running on hard water and, worse, my water heater filled with hard water. I am still getting hard water today! When you own a WaterBoss, you are going to find yourself running on hard water sometimes even if you use the Delay mode because the delay mode doesn't prevent the unit from regenerating at any time of the day as the manual says it should. Apparently, when a set amount of water has passed through the unit, the program sets it to recyle at your set “delay” time. But if a reserve capacity is reached, it will recharge no matter what time of day it is, even if you are running water. That’s very poor design, in my opinion. Even my 15 year-old Sears watersofter didn’t do that. That softener kept track of the total amount of water that ran through the softener since the last charge and produced the precise amount of brine needed based on the actual amount of water that passed used. The WaterBoss’s chip is not intelligent enough to do what other water softeners have been doing for decades! Again, DO NOT use the default "On Demand" mode. If you do, you will definitely be running on hard water quite frequently and your water heater may be filled with hard water quite often. Unfortunately, as I learned yesterday, that is going to happen sometimes even if you use the Delay mode. Very poor design, in my opinion!
The "96 Hour" setting is also set by default and it makes no sense at all, in my opinion. If WaterBoss has a logical reason why it should be used, they should explain it in the manual but they don’t What it does is make sure your softener recycles at least once every 96 hours. If the WaterBoss is working properly, it will automatically recharge when needed (but sometimes when you don't want it to) so there is no logical reason to use that setting that I can think of. If, for example, you go away on vacation with the default 96 Hour setting programmed to run, your softener will recharge every four days even though no water has run through it. That's a waste of salt and water. It is the default setting so you have to manually turn it off. In fact, every time you make any program setting change, the 96 Hour mode is turned on again so you have to turn it off even if you just change the time.
WaterBoss water softeners make a set amount of brine and use a set amount of salt for each recharge. Unlike better water softeners, including my old Sears unit, it's chip is not intelligent enough to vary the amount of brine made based on the actual amount of water used. That’s very inefficient and poor engineering and it virtually guarantees that you will find yourself running on hard water at times.
The good: The unit is compact and it looks nice. It also appears to be well made. Another thing that I like is that by simply lifting the top off, you have access to all the workings of the unit including the valves, etc. That should make maintenance and repair easy - much easier than my old Sears softener which I did repair a couple times. I cannot judge it's long-term dependability.
Based on what I know now about Waterboss water softeners and especially after the truly terrible treatment I received from WaterBoss support, I would not buy any WaterBoss product in the future. And since Waterboss water softeners will recycle any time of day or night when you are using water, even if in Delay mode, I find its operation to be unacceptable. In addition, sine the main housing and media tank design prevent the user from putting anywhere near the proper of amount of salt in the cabinet, I will have to assume that the proper amount of brine is not being produced which would cause the softener to not work properly. For those reasons and the absolutely disgraceful treatment that I received from WaterBoss support, I am returning the unit for a refund and buying a good water softener from a company that cares about their customers.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Yes, I agree with all the complaints against WB customer service. The management obviously hires and promotes employees that have no business being liaisons to the public. I've dealt with them and either no return calls or the person on the other side of the line has been either rude or ignores what you are asking. My unit is 13 years old and I've dealt with their customer service several times over the past 11 years. Despite the problems that occur with the unit, these could be overcome with exceptional service that WaterBoss will never obtain.
Hello. All. I am very technically versed. And fell for this water boss when they first came out. But seriously they are junk. First off you really don't want your computer board 2 inches away from a salty water solution tank with cheap thin
Cables that go to their water counter. Aka computer ribbon cable. And the electronics board is not water or moisture sealed. This unit is a poorly designed pos. For real Everybody reading this. Please try to save up and buy the best
You won't be disappointed you will get well over 20 years out of this other unit and it can regenerate anytime with its dual tank system and it always has soft water it even uses soft water to do the regeneration. Yes its expensive but very well worth it in my opinion it's a kinetico. I bought a broke used one (for my rv ) over 20 years old on the serial number but under $100 in parts and it's working perfect Just my 2 cents worth !
I agree they do suck, nothing but problems, finally I oiled it and did some sanding on the plastic and so far no peeping E1 noise, I'm praying i fixed it... there is a 15 minutes tube that really helped me out... google water boss peeping noise... he is good and like i said i did what he instructed and it has worked so far...
I totally agree with your review of Waterboss. I have been so frustrated with the Delay Mode setting on the computer. Waterboss should be providing customers with a fix for this obvious flaw in the firmware on the computer. My guess is that they probably contracted the computer firmware to someone long ago and they are unwilling to shell out the money to fix it. I have also complained to their customer support people and they have told me that Delay Mode will be bypassed when the Waterboss thinks it needs to cycle based on water usage. They claim that this is meant to maintain soft water within my plumbing system. What a bunch of bunk! They are actually CAUSING hard water to go through the pipes during water usage periods when the softener "decides" that it needs to override my Delay Mode setting. When the softener decides to do this "override cycle", it almost always seems to happen during showers, which causes the water heater to fill with hard water. How can they possibly think this is a proper way for the computer to work?
I couldn't really care less about the salt capacity of the softener. I just want the computer to actually use Delay Mode correctly by ONLY running at the time that I set, which is the middle of the night when no water is being used. If they fixed this problem it would actually be a halfway decent water softener, but this one issue and the utter refusal of their customer support to admit this is a problem, will drive me away from ever buying a Waterboss again or suggestion anyone else buy one.
Absolutely HORRIBLE company. Have had our unit for two years. Stopped working, called the company and did EVERYTHING they told us to do. Called back again, still not working. They said we must have one of their certified plumbers look at it. They gave us two companies to call. Called them both. Only one was available to come. Plumber came and looked at it for $130 visit. Said it was dead. Called waterboss again. (At this point about the 5th time we've called) Spoke to the "manager" . RUDE! Said we had never called (said there was no record) and they had never given us that plumbers number! Where in the world would we have gotten it?! Now saying we have to mail them the unit and go without water for weeks. (And we would have to pay for the heavy thing to be shipped) Seriously? How does a company like this even exist? I have NEVER had such horrible and rude customer service. We have done everything they told us. NEVER EVER USE THIS COMPANY! Even the plumber (who they deny exists) said don't ever use them! You can't make this stuff up people!
THEY ABSOLUTELY SUCK. IN 3 YRS AND 8 MONTHS I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE ALMOST ALL PARTS, MOTOR TWICE, BODY TWICE, CONTROLLER TWICE, O RINGS SEVERAL TIMES AND NOW ITS FINALLY OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY WANT TO SELL ME PARTS FOR $100. THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE TREAT U LIKE YOU ARE CRAP, TALK DOWN TO YOU AND IGNORE YOU.
My 10 year old water boss 700 sips salt, and we never run out of soft water. So far so good! ~ Bassman Brian
BUYER BEWARE...replaced a 13 year old water boss 700 and was pleased with its performance...due to its size and not many places to put it in a bi level I went with new model 700...first if you are a previous owner who plumbed it with unions for quick removal you are in for a surprise. You will have to redo your plumbing as the new unit has different bypass valve assembly...now for the biggest surprise...our old unit was set at 35 which is about in the middle on the controller digital display and provided 500 gallons of soft water till it regenerated...the numbers on the controller range from 3 up to 70 for you to adjust for hardness...water softness was perfect.
NOW WITH THE NEW UNIT...if set it at 35 I only get 100 gallons in high efficiency or 200 gallons in high capacity...why even have programing up to 70 if I set it at 40 I have 00 gallons remaining...the thing is constantly regenerating...called customer support 3 times...each time they said that is the way the controller is programed now...last I spoke to the famous RICK...the supervisor...told him my issue and he could care less about it...he remained silent most of the time and did not have an answer to any of my questions...my biggest concern was wear & tear from regenerating so often...why is this man supervisor there...didn't seem to have a care in the world...told him I was going to return it...he said go ahead & hung up.
PLEASE READ the horror stories ONLINE of others dealing with them before you purchase a water boss...shame we really loved our previous unit...I saved our old controller and using it on the new model 700...perfect now & running just like the old unit...500 gallons till regeneration..the new Computer Controllers are FLAWED & programed wrong...and you will experience the same issue as me...but don't expect them to send you a new one...and last I'm not a dummy...mechanical/electrical tech by trade.
Water Boss 900 is definitely do it your self. I have learned they have to be treated like a new gun, take it apart and clean it up and lubricate the cam and plunger lightly. reassemble it carefully. Water Boss is a factory only operation and there no field service, only guys like me that you pay to work on it..Most plumbers will not touch them because it is cheaper to replace them. I have been working on them for 10 years for other people as a retirement part time job. Most of the problems are dirty parts, or bad programming. Most of the problems about recharging/recycle problems are from misreading the Manuel. High efficiency recharging is on demand schedule override. Delay mode gets overridden too. You get two options: Program the recharge cycle for the time of day, or program for high efficiency. A rigid recharge cycle will use up a lot of salt. A high efficiency recharge cycle barely uses any salt. Noises and banging sounds are dirty parts that need to be cleaned. Even the people I work for get mad quickly because they want the thing to work their way, like their old manual one did. That's not happening, no matter what! Frequently I will take one out of the house for someone who has frustrated themselves beyond all recovery, clean it up and install it elsewhere for a very reasonable fee. But if you are patient, clean them up regularly (it depends on your water supply quality), use pelleted clean salt you should get years of service. My first install in my home is still working well after 10 years, which is probably getting close to end of service life for the resin tank.
This item was in my house when I purchased it. A 700 model. The manual was with it, so I set some options. For the first few weeks there was 200 gallons available, at least according to the unit. Then, one day, I noticed that immediately after a re-charge (a DAY TIME recharge despite it being set to 2:00am) that only 100 gallons was available. Now it regenerates or does whatever water softeners do like almost daily, and still only says it has 100 gallons available. I can press the regenerate button and force it to run, it only makes 100 gallons. I made a quick call to "customer service" before reading these reviews, it was worthless, beyond worthless, a complete waste of my time. Some old foreign lady tried telling me that it's based on my water usage.. oookay wtf if it's based on my water usage why is the stupid thing running out of water and needing to regenerate in the middle of the day then only producing a minimum amount of soft water? This lady was way too old and foreign to even attempt to try to ask technical questions to.
I've had a Water Boss Big Boss for 14 years and have never had a problem with it until 2 days ago. I read all of the above reviews and was somewhat apprehensive about contacting customer service. But decided to go ahead and be prepared to handle "Rick and Trina's" rudeness. I must say I was pleasantly surprised, a woman (I believe her name was Dottie) was very friendly and helpful. She walked me through the process of figuring out what was wrong. (My brine refill valve piston was stuck) She gave me a tip on soaking it in warm water and vinegar. (Which I did and it worked!) I decided to go ahead and order a replacement to be on the safe side. After completing my order she asked if there was anything else she could help me with? I had told her no and confided in her that I had read the online reviews and just wanted to tell her that I thought she did a outstanding job. She said she was aware of the reviews and that "Rick" and "Trina" were no longer in that department. She has only worked there 2 months and there are 2 other ladies that are fairly new also. In closing she said once I got my replacement parts (2-4 days) if I have any problems or questions to please call. Way to go Dottie!
Agree with first post. Rick is an ### and less helpful with technical suggestions. Waterboss is a decent product but will never be a top seller with consumer complaints about customer service.
I misunderstood that I had to remove the cowling to locate the operational buttons. The unit was installed by a contractor. No where in the manual does it explain this. I agree that the woman (Trina) who answered the Waterboss customer service line was rude and short tempered. Even after I told her that I was frustrated with her responses and tone, she still persisted and exhibited very poor customer service skills when speaking to me. It wasn't my fault I didn't understand that the units cowling was removable. I am not a rude person and don't appreciate bad behavior. I would think long and hard about buying from this company in the future or recommending the company. The product is good, but you need great (and patient) customer service to earn my repeat business.
I have much experinece with the WATER BOSS UNITS. The plastic parts are not durable like most other units which have solid or heavier plastic parts to last longer.
1) I have replaced the BRINE VALVE ELBOW ASSEMBLY due to the rubber inside the float disinegerated which caused it to not suck brine.
2) I had to replace the DRIVE MOTOR which the gears internally wore out.
3) Replaced the filmsy PISTON SLIDE located inside the drive end cap assembly that cracked and would not suck brine or flush out in the reg cycle.
4) Had to take the BRINE VALVE HOUSING ASSEMBLY apart and re-lube the PISTON ASSEMBLY with silicone grease which was sticking and wearing out the magnet dish assembly.
5) Had to replace the MAGNET DISH ASSEMBLY 2x:s do to being worn down on one and the other fell totally apart in pieces.
I you start having problems I would have just went ahead replaced the whole DRIVE END CAP ASSEMBLY since that is where all the weak easy to wear and break parts mostly are and also replace the BRINE VALVE ELBOW ASSEMBLY. Being a Assembly Eng I took time to break down all the parts and had time to see where parts were becoming loose and cracking. If you use IRON OUT (use only if you had to) only add it at the bottom of the tank before you add salt. IRON OUT disinagrate plastic parts and eats metal so DO NOT pour it on top of salt. My unit so far runs at the time I set it on delayed reg time at 4am.
I set it this way...
HC (high capacity)
96 canceled
delayed mode (4am)
45 hardness
I do add 1/2cup iron out once a month at the bottom of the tank when you see water, then add 1gal water and salt over the top of it so it won't corode parts.
I have had a Waterboss 900 for about five years and it does do a good job of softening our water. Unfortunately, it has the same problem that many here have commented on in that it will randomly regenerate instead of in the middle of the night as it is set. It is not unusual for it to cycle in the middle of someone's shower. And yes, the company says that this is normal and will do nothing about it. I regret installing this unit in my house, and will be happy to finally replace it.
I have had my Waterboss 900 for six months and it won't soften anymore. I have done all the trouble shooting and still nothing. I called customer service and was told by some lady that these are sold as do-it-yourself units. They would not send a service tech to look at it. It was my responsibility to fix it. I am going back on Home Depot now to try and get it exchanged for a GE like I use to have for 9 years. Never buy a Waterboss if you are smart.
I was going to disagree, and I do. I wish I had the time some of these people have to wright these reviews. And then advise everyone NOT TO BUY THIS PRODUCT. I have had my 900 for 9 years and it is still going great.
As for customer service with ANY company. Some employees are great and some are not. But how you treat them sometimes is how they treat you. Right or wrong it`s life! I called customer service with a problem and
I did not like the answers I was getting so I reported it and called again. The person I spoke to was a great help. She stayed with me for an hour to help me troubleshoot the problem, and took several return calls from me
until the problem was resolved. Even sent me a whole new set of screws to replace my old ones with. I think that is what customer service should be. As for the design I`m not an engineer I just know MINE WORKS !
Avitar
I purchased my first waterboss 900 in 1994 and though I had to work on it about once a year, it was easy to work on and I could always get it back up and running. At the beginning of the month it broke down again and I decided to replace it. Because the waterbboss is shorter and has an internal bypass valve, I did not want to have to change the water lines so I decided to replace it with another water boss. BAD MISTAKE! I have only had the unit for 19 days and I have had to take it apart and clean it out 4 times. The drain end cap is getting plugged up with black plastic pieces that could only be coming from inside the unit (I have all copper tubing in my house). When I called water boss the customer service rep was not helpful so I asked to talk to her supervisor. She transferred me to Rick. I told him what was happening and was hoping for some sort of help. I told him I had the last unit for 7 years and I have not had this type of problem before. To say he was rude, obnoxious and self righteous is an understatement. I really wanted this to work, because I didn't want to have to change the lines. He asked me when I bought it and I told him the beginning of the month. His only words were a stern "RETURN IT TO THE STORE" I told him, I didn't think they would take a unit back that is filled with water and salt and he abruptly said "ALL STORES HAVE A 30 DAY RETURN POLICY" and ended the call. Now I am in the process of scooping out the salt and water (not an easy task with this system) and thankfully because it was within the 30 day window, I will take it back to the store where I bought it. If you have not bought this unit yet, DON'T DO IT, unless you are a glutton for punishment, or you really don't need a water softener and just want to waste your money. If you had an old waterboss and (like me) just want to replace it with a new one thinking they are the same. They are not.
The original poster is correct with the following points:
1) Even with the unit set in the delay mode, the unit will still regenerate during the middle of the day if the usage meter tells it to. I think most people would agree that it should continue to at least partially soften the water until the regeneration time and then cycle.
2) I never looked at the specs regarding how much salt it holds, but I can tell you I bought two 50lb bags to fill it and it would not hold them both.
3) I never looked at the DVD so I can't comment on the differences
4) Rick is the rudest person that I have ever talked to
Most importantly 73 Ta... said it best “Can’t say this loud enough, DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT!
are you aware that the WATERBOSS is really made by HAQUE WATER SYTEMS. look it up for yourself. they have the same address and phone numbers in Groveport, Ohio.
Ken and Danielle H. must work for Waterboss... You both can come to my house and experience the same symptoms as all the posters here. In addition when the unit regenerates during the brine cycle it sounds like a popcorn maker. The unit does not provide enough water to the brine tank so it's actually sucking in some air which ends up in my water lines. Called customer service on this many times and finally gave up after being belittled by their staff (including the imfamous Rick). Can't say this loud enough, DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT!
I had my Waterboss 700 for several years. A few months ago it started filling the brine tank too full.
My experience with Waterboss support was the same. They are NOT interested in helping fix their product as much as they are in SELLING you parts. And Rick Straight, the so-called customer service manager, is just about the most ignorant and rude support person I have ever had the honor of talking with. Exactly like the original poster staets, when you confront Mr Straight with his lack of knowledge he goes silent. I too thought the line had gone dead when I asked for my $200 back for media that he sold me that, it turned out, I did not NEED and DID NOT FIX my problem.
Read the reviews on AMAZON.COM and do your research before you give this company your hard-earned money.
STAY WAY FROM WATERBOSS!
I had a problem with my water softener not being able to produce the water needed to make the brine solution. At first I did not understand what this meant, but when I called the customer support line I recieved a helpful woman who took the time and effort to explain what was happening and how to fix the problem. I received a friendly voice on the end of the line, that gave me step by step instructions on what I needed to do to repair my Water Boss product. I was also told this may not be a one time fix, but hey it is an appliance and I do not know of any appliance I own that does not require some maitenance over time.
For the first few years, I was very pleased with the Water Boss that I installed in my home. It worked great & did a fine job. I then purchased a second one for my office. Just after I installed the new one, my original unit at home malfunctioned. The piston got "stuck" in the recharge mode. Located in the basement, I did not realize that the unit was malfunctioning, and for over a month and a half, it continued to run non-stop, discharging water full force straight down the drain. Instead of my water bill being $50, it was $1500. Instead of my sewage bill being $30, it was $700. I called Water Boss to discuss my plight, and I was completely dismissed. I was quite respectful to them & just wanted to understand what caused the problem so I could fix it, and prevent it from happing again. The technician was unbelievably rude and condecending. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, the "supervisor" was even worse. After much debate, essentually, he admitted that the design of the mechanism was not reliable to prevent "sticking", and simple minerals in the water is enough to eventually cause the piston to stick. My misfortune was that it stuck in the open position, ultimately costing me over $2, 100 in water and sewage bills. He gave me absolutely no comfort that it wouldn't happen again, and basically told me to get lost. I immediately removed their poorly designed equipment from both locations and replaced them with Whirlpool units from Lowes. Now at least I can sleep at night without worring about a water softener sending me to the poorhouse. This company has no business being in business. The least they could do is to take responsibility for the garbage equipment they produce.
You spent way too much time worrying about how much salt the unit can use - once you become anal about something so silly, I understand why your customer service experience lacked. Working in customer service, there always has to be the difficult customer and it looks like you are the poster child.
I have had 2 Waterbosses for over 4 years in two separate home s - mine and my parents. It doesn't matter how much salt it holds - we don't use but a bag a month for a family of 5! And piles of salt means more salt dams in any softener.
Secondly, we have our softener programmed to charge at 2am. It's possible - wasn't hard - did it with the instructions. We have never noticed it giving us hard water in baths, washers, etc and believe me - you'd notice a hard water shower.
My advice: Sometimes you get what you give as far as relations with customer service persons goes. I got bored just reading your overly detailed complaint - I can imagine the guy on the other end of the phone at customer service who had to listen to it and argue about such as simple thing as salt capacity. By the way, did you know that GE and Whirlpool both overstate their capacities? The capacity is based on salt getting into every little spot and even may require packing - I called and asked Whirlpool.
Love our Waterboss. There's always got to be customers like you in the world.. FOR EVERYONE ELSE- Waterboss softeners use half the salt, half the water and are much shorter and easier to load than others. (We previously had a Kenmore softener.) We went to our local Ace Hardware - once again, if you buy somewhere that has customer service, they can help with any future problems you may experience and help with your installation needs.
Thank you for posting your feelings about WaterBoss water softeners. I was at the point of going to Home Depot to purchase one when I read your postings. After doing some additional checking where I found many similiar complaints (check Amazon and others) I changed my mind and am currently leaning towards a Whirlpool water softener sold by Lowes
The original post is right-on. Not only are the design flaws described accurately but the terrible customer service that WaterBoss is known for is par for the course for the company. The post that tries to describe away the design faults was clearly written by someone who has absolutely no clue about the operation of Waterboss water softeners. Do yourself a big favor and steer clear of these lousy units and, if you do get one, I hope you don't have to call customer support. It will be a nightmare!
I totally agree with your review. I have also had issue with how the computer manages regeneration. In "demand mode", it should not immediately recharge since this may occur during a shower or clothes washing, and will result in the hot water tank filling with hard water. Happens very often in my house. If only the Waterboss would just wait until the late evening to recycle after it sees the gallon counter drop to zero. I argued with their support people over this and the conversation kept going around in circles to the point where I finally gave up.
As far as salt capacity goes, that is not a real showstopper for me. The WaterBoss uses so little salt that I have not had much issue with the salt capacity.
I have had my WaterBoss for about 9 years and just recently something has happened in which the water pressure in my house has decreased. When I bypass the WaterBoss, my water pressure is back to normal. I have torn this thing apart many times and cannot find any blockages, so it must be in the resin tank which is sealed.
I was hoping that after this many years that they would have corrected the bad logic on the computer, but it does not sound like they have according to your review.
I have been debating on whether to buy another WaterBoss because it does have some nice engineering, but the logic on the computer for cycling is not good at all. The only reason I would buy another one is because I have a surplus of parts that I can use from my old WaterBoss.
WaterBoss, fix your computer!
Dear Illinois,
It seems to me that if you and spent as much time LISTENING to the customer service assistant and not so much time whinning you might have received the help needed to properly program your unit to to operate the way you want it to. The Waterboss 900 is the highest capacity unit that Waterboss manufactures. They have been designed to be successfully operated and installed by the typical do-it-yourself home owner with average intelligance. Maybe the programing is beyond your abilities.
I guess you don't understand the concept of DEMAND recharging. To make it simple, the unit only recharges when the amount of water is used that eshausts the capacity of the resin bed thereby not wasting salt and your money. The unit doesn't care when that is. If you have set the hardness of the water properly in the computer you want the unit to recharge because you won't have much more soft water if it does not recharge. Even if you set a delay you will run out of soft water!
If you have a situation that will require a large amount of soft water you might want to push the little manual recharge button in anticipation of the water need. You know, plan ahead. You can't expect a dumb water softener to read your mind!
I just purchased my second Waterboss. My first one finally failed inside the media tank after fourteen years of service. With the new warranty I am sure I will have long service from the unit. If I have a problem I am sure
the customer service will help me.
I agree. They nickle-dime you (read dollar) to death and seem to have enough business so as not to have to be polite. We bought over $100 parts and never did fix it. When I told the (lady?) that I was going back to a service and that it would be less expensive, she wished me a good day. When the plastic parts wear out, you have to replace them. A $0.70 transistor in a shrink tube cost $32.00, and the shipping for this one ounce item was $12.00. They are not a good or particularly friendly company to deal with and I suggest getting something else if you want a softner.
John Crawford [protected]