Hi all,

My Pentair Fleck 5810 SXT water softener, which I had installed about 5 years ago, stopped working as it got stuck in a drain cycle. Upon doing some research and opening the valve to inspect the piston (pictures here: [imgur.com]), I figured that I have to buy a piston, seal, and spacer kit and replace those parts. I called around a bunch of local and online dealers and found prices ranging from $55 to $200.

I also contacted my original dealer who I purchased my 5810 softener from and he got back to me with some alternate offers. The 5810 is now discontinued, my warranty is up anyway, but he wants to help. He no longer carries Pentair and deals with Hydrotech (Canature?) now.

I have 3 options:

1) Replace my 5810 softener's piston, seal, and spacer by myself for $55+tax.

2) Original dealer replaces my 5810 with a Pentair Fleck 5800 with a new 5-year warranty. He'll be getting 60% of the value of my 5810 back from Pentair. My total cost = $100 cash all-in.

3) Original dealer replaces my 5810 with a Hydrotech 165 with a new 5-year warranty. My total cost = $100 cash all-in.

It is very hard to find reviews of these different softener companies and models. If you guys have any advice on which I should go with, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

labor costs for 2 and 3 ?

Thank you for the response! I really appreciate it. He's only charging $100 cash for installing either the Pentair Fleck 5800 or the Hydrotech (Canature) 165. No additional cost.



Edited 1 times.

go on line and look for reviews for both and then decide.
i'm not familiar with either.

Just wanted to add an update for anyone with a similar problem in the future. From calling around local dealers, I've come to learn that the Hydrotech/Canature 65 series line seems to be a tier below the Pentair Fleck 5800.

Who knows how things will turn out in the end but I've decided to ask my dealer to replace my 5810 with the 5800.