AFWFilters Fleck 5600SXT 64,000 Grain Water Softener (10% crosslink resin) review
Salt-based water softener. Plumber recommended if you are not comfortable with this install. Skill and code, not a preference. No third-party certification on record. Claims below are manufacturer-reported.
What it removes
| Contaminant | Evidence | Stated reduction | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardness (as CaCO3) | Manufacturer-reported | not stated |
Certified is an NSF, WQA, or IAPMO listing for that claim.
Whole-house hardness at 7 gpg or more. Does not remove arsenic, nitrate, or fluoride.
2.0 cu ft resin, the standard large-home size for 15-20+ gpg Treasure Valley well water with 4-6 people; on Boise city water (10-12 gpg) it regenerates roughly weekly. Metered (demand) regeneration; program actual tested hardness (add 3-5 gpg per ppm of iron). Add a sediment prefilter on well water.
Assembled system: Fleck 5600SXT metered on-demand valve, 12 in. Pentair mineral tank fully loaded with 2 cu ft 10% crosslink resin, brine tank with safety float, 1 in. male-threaded bypass. Standard-efficiency resin bed, so salt use is higher than the NSF efficiency-rated Whirlpool/GE units; annual_replacement_cost is est. salt only (~15-18 x 40 lb bags/yr at 15 gpg, 4 people). No NSF/WQA system certification found: neither Fleck, AFWFilters nor Pentair appear in the NSF 44 database, and AFWFilters does not state a system certification on its store pages. Service flow not stated by seller (Fleck 5600 valve family is commonly rated ~20 gpm continuous; 2 cu ft beds are typically sized 12-15 gpm) so flow_gpm left null. Equivalent DuraWater build (ASIN B09VMLYDJG, $905, partially loaded resin) exists but is not recorded as an offer. Amazon price $879.00 seen 2026-09-14.