Product Overview A self-contained automatic water softener built to mount in a van. It arrives complete with mounting bracket, softener and brine tank, and the brine tank is compact — the whole unit takes about one square foot of floor space. Regeneration is automatic: connect to water, set the timer, and it is ready in under an hour. Why Soft Water Matters on a Truckmount Hard water carries dissolved calcium and magnesium. Three things follow, and all of them cost money: Scale in the heat exchanger and the plumbing. Hot water deposits scale far faster than cold, so a truckmount is the worst case. Scale insulates the exchanger, so the machine works harder for less heat. Chemistry works less well. Detergents bind to the hardness minerals before they get to the soil, so you spend more product for the same result. Residue on the surface. Hard water leaves minerals behind, which on tile and glass shows as spotting and on carpet contributes to resoiling. Is Your Water Hard? Water hardness varies considerably across Australia and is a local question rather than a national one — supplies differ between cities, between suburbs and between town water and bore water. Ask your water authority for the hardness of your supply, or test it. If you work across a wide area, test the places you work most rather than where the van is parked. Specifications Part number AC40B Type Self-contained automatic water softener Supplied with Mounting bracket, automatic softener, brine tank Footprint Approximately one square foot Regeneration Automatic, timer set; ready in under an hour Regeneration frequency depends on your water hardness and how much water you use, so a weekly cycle is a starting point rather than a rule. Hydro-Force does not publish the resin capacity, flow rate or connection sizes in a form we can verify. Rather than quote figures we cannot source, we have left them out — tell us your machine and your water and we will get the detail from the supplier. Operating Advice Regenerate on a schedule that matches your water, not the calendar. Harder water means more often. Keep salt in the brine tank. A softener that has run out of salt is a restriction in the line and nothing else. Softening does not remove dissolved solids — it exchanges hardness minerals. It prevents scale; it is not a filter. Secure it properly. It is a tank of liquid in a moving vehicle. Frequently Asked Questions How often does it need regenerating? It depends entirely on your water hardness and usage. Weekly is a common starting point; harder water needs it more often. Will it stop scale in my heat exchanger? That is what it is for. Scale forms fastest in hot water, which makes a truckmount the place it does the most damage. Does it filter the water? No. A softener exchanges hardness minerals. It is not a particle filter and it does not remove dissolved solids generally. How do I find out how hard my water is? Ask your water authority, or test it. Hardness varies suburb to suburb in Australia, and bore water is a different question again. Will it fit my van? It is designed to mount in a van and takes roughly one square foot. Tell us your fit-out and we will confirm. Documents Operator's Manual (PDF) Spec Sheet (PDF) What We See in the Field Softeners get bought after the first heat exchanger problem rather than before it, which is the expensive order to do it in. If you work in a hard water area and run a truckmount daily, the softener is cheaper than the exchanger.
