Before I get my water heater we want to install a water softener after looking at salt vs nonsalt and getting the understanding that the nonsalt is a water conditioner we are opting for the salt softener.

I have looked at several reviews online on what is best but I could not find three reviews that picked the same one as there top water softener. If I did it was too small for my needs. I looked it up and did a survey they say I need an 80,000 for my home of 5 people.

I'm looking for advice on brands or just a good water softener. Thanks!

Kinetico is what we have. It's 22 years old and all I've ever done is fill up the salt tank when needed.

^^What he said^^

FPNI AGAIN.

I’ve had kinetico for 15ish years.  No problems.

I have the GE units in 2 houses. They have worked fine.  One for over 15 years with only salt fills and no other maintenance.  Bought both at Home Depot and set them up my self. Both houses were built with culligan units. They never worked  correctly, and Culligan techs could never fix them. They are junk.

Soooo many of these posts asking about water softeners..... but here's my opinion as a seller and troubleshooter of all sorts of softeners:

1. All salt softeners work the same way.  Resin in the tank removes hardness.  Every xx,xxx gallons, you regenerate with salt to remove that hardness and start over again.  There's not really one that provides "softer" water than another.  

2. Kinetico gets the job done without electricity.  IMHO, they are VERY expensive for what you get.  If you want to pay a higher price to get soft water, go for it.

3.  Fleck is the big name in softeners.  Mostly, your local soft water company buys Fleck softeners and silkscreens their logo on it.  That's cool.  Lots of people can work on Fleck softeners and repair them.  I'm not a big fan of their heads, but some are.  

4. Clack is very similar to Fleck.  I like their units a bit better.  They seem to be more reliable.  As with Fleck, most resellers silk screen their name and logo on them.  I'd put a Clack in my home if I needed soft water.  

5. Home Depot sells softeners.  Want to buy one there?  Go for it.  Let me know what they say when you call for help troubleshooting your softener.

80,000 grains seems big for a home softener to me.  I don't work with residential, but I think they are oversizing it.  That'll flow about 17 gpm.

QFT

Replaced a Culligan commercial softener at a hotel.  Hotel spent $14,000 on it and never got soft water.  Ours cost $9,000 and has been in service for 2 years and have never had hard water.  Culligan generally sucks.

I replaced a Culligan system that broke down with a system from these folks.  Ohio Pure Water Co.  You can take a sample of your water and they will put together a recommended system.

https://www.ohiopurewater.com/categories/?categories_id=26

Worked good for us for a reasonable price.