Kenmore Elite 420 Series Water Softener
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Kenmore Elite 420 Series Water Softener Reviews


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3.85 of 5 (by 27 reviewers)
Rating Summary | 77% of reviewers recommend (20 out of 27)

Pros
  • great features (1)
  • easy to fill (1)
  • 1.25 (1)
  • great at removing iron (1)
Cons
  • None
Most Helpful Favorable Review

“Sear Model 420 Water Softener: excellent so far!”

Our softener has been doing its job flawlessly now for about a month. Clothes are coming out of the washer noticeably cleaner and it's hard to describe the improvement in the dishes, silver and glassware after washing in the dishwasher. Pretty amazing. We should have put one in years ago. I would certainly...

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Posted on Nov 19, 2010
Most Helpful Critical Review

“Good while it lasted”

Bought this unit in 2005.  Worked beautifully until 2009 when it started leaking salt residue onto the floor into the drain.  The leakage, when dried out, turned into crusty layer of what looks like fine white sand.  Finally removed the unit and saw a crack approx thumb-size at the bottom of the outer...

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Posted on Aug 29, 2010

Kenmore Elite 420 Series Water Softener Reviews

Displaying reviews 1 - 13 of 27 in total

“Kenmore Elite high capacity water softener”

Great choice if you have a high volume need: swimming pool, hot tub, whirlpool bath, multiple showers/baths used at same time. Great choice for people who would find lifting the salt a shorter distance, to be a plus. Great choice for a private well.
Posted on Jan 14, 2011

“Not For Well Water or High Iron”

Purchased brand new from Sears.  Explained everything we needed to the "sales" person.  Unfortunately, the "sales" person was not knowledgeable enough to let us know that this brand would die out if installed on a well.  The installation "professional" did not even say anything when isntalling it.  Of course, it died after the warranty ended.   This is why I give it a 1 star rating. 

However, I do have a Kenmore softener installed in a home I own that is on city water.  That unit has worked perfectly from the start.  Soft water, no issues, easy on the salt, etc.  They are easy to load. ...

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Posted on Nov 30, 2010

“The Kenmore Elite 420 Water softner has made my wife happy”

Our old softner had died and rings were forming in the toilet bowls and crust on the shower heads. I had two independent plumbers give me estimates for products that were overkill for the hardness and iron in my water. i was looking at new dishwashers at Sears and the salesperson said I should consider their softner too. Fit the bill perfectly. Had a great installer, saved us a bundle on what I had been quoted by others, and I'm pleased with its appearance and operation. One unit replaced a tall tank and brine tank, so less space is used, the flip up lid makes it easy to add salt, and updating...

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Posted on Aug 27, 2010

“Kenmore water softener motor died after 1 1/2 years.”

Very disappointed that it only lasted 1 1/2 years. We have ours in the garage and came home one evening to water pouring under the garage door, down the driveway and down the street. It just kept filling and running out the over flow valve. We have extrememly hard water in Arizona and really need a water softener. Now we need to spend even more money to see if it can be fixed and if not, get a new one. Sure will not get this brand.
Posted on Jun 09, 2010

“Using too much salt? Check your units!”

The default hardness setting is in grains.  In Texas, the city reports the water hardness in PPM.  In the last 2 towns we lived in, it was about 225 PPM.  That's about 13 grains.  When you first set up the hardness setting, the softener doesn't tell you the units.  If you attempt to set it to 225 grains, it will be the equivalent of a hardness of about 3850 PPM!  This is 17 times the actual hardness.  You would then be using 17 times more salt than required.  Fortunately, the maximum grains hardness won't go that high, but you will still use an enormous amount of salt.  Set the "units"...

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Posted on Oct 07, 2010

“A good value for the money”

I've been buying Kenmore water softeners for about 25 years and this is what I know from experience.  For the money, the Kenmore water softener is a good product IF YOU BUY THE 5 YEAR PROTECTION PLAN.   Yes, they frequently need repairs (about every 12 -18 months).  On the last unit that I owned, I replaced the LCD screen and the electronics twice.  My dad had a water softener from Culligan - He paid a fortune for it, and it was no better than the Kenmore (still needed lots of repairs).  The Sears repair folks are great - you can call them and rest assured the machine will be fixed at no additional...

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Posted on Jan 14, 2010

“AWESOME!!”

We have had our Elite Kenmore for about a year and it is great!! We installed ours in our utility room of our basement in our new construction home, I almost forget its even there its quiet and does not use much salt. Its very easy to use, and works awesome!! In our city we have very hard water, but this takes care of that problem with ease. Makes cleaning the bathrooms and sinks a breeze, no hard water buildup. Our stainless steel interior of our dishwasher used to look horrible, but with this it shines after each load. The only thing I did do was use a copper bypass and ball bearing valves instead... read full review »
Posted on Mar 29, 2009

“Lasted just past the warranty.”

Notice everyone that gave it a high rating has only owned one for a few months or so. Mine worked great for 1 year. Just past that it starting giving trouble. It is NOT meant for well water, just city water. I also had to pay someone to change some of the resin beads as the cheap beads installed do not remove tannins. It cost me an extra $150.00 to get the resin bed upgraded. The one tank design creates issues itself. The circuit board is just over the salt and mine went out about year 2 due to corrosion. This unit has been literally one problem after another - after the warranty expired.
Posted on Mar 27, 2009

“i am satisfied”

i have had this unit for 3 years now and has worked well.

i am on a well with high iron so i have to run it at 37 so it regenerates more often.

do to the iron i have to. once and a wile i put iron out in the tank to get rid of iron buildup.

would recommend this. i am a maint. eng. with a metro hospital that has a very large softener so i can test my water frequently, and it has been fine the 3 years i have had it. 
Posted on Mar 10, 2010

“Not Meant For The Long Haul”

My water softener worked great... up until the warranty expired. Then one electronic component went out after another. If you need a water softener for more then 2 years, then I would highly recommend getting something other then a Kenmore.
Posted on Jun 20, 2009

“Works great and easy on salt use”

I previously had a Culligan softener and it went through salt like nobody's business. I've had this unit installed for almost 2 years with a family of 7 and, more often than not, several guests here. Not only has the quality of water been great, but I don't think I even average using one bag of salt a month. I have really high water pressure (about 65 psi - and I like it that way in case we have 4 showers going at once) and I have been concerned about leaks but so far that worry has been unfounded.
Posted on Jun 28, 2009

“water softener”

i like this water softener because it is very efficient, it works well, it is durable, and it was the cheapest! i would recommend this to all of my friends.
Posted on Nov 03, 2008

“Failed After Two Years”

 

    Sears Service technician said the repair cost would be $450 to replace the depleated resin. Product Quality is questionable.

 
Posted on Mar 23, 2010

Reviews of Kenmore Elite 420 Series Water Softener

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