- FREE shipping on this item (continental US)
- Ships within 2 business days from Santa Ana, CA
- 30-day returns on stock items
- Not sure it fits? Call (714) 541-6600
High Flow Digital Metered Water Softener with IPW WS 1.25 Valve
A 1-1/4" high-flow metered softener that regenerates on gallons used, not on a calendar — built to order from 32,000 to 80,000 grains with 8% cross-link resin, shipped unassembled or fully assembled.
This is the same build our Build Your System tool prices from — a complete metered softener assembled from the individual parts we stock: a 1-1/4" IPW WS 1.25 digital metered control valve, an NSF-listed Aquatrol mineral tank sized to the resin charge, 8% cross-link cation resin, gravel underbed, distributor internals, an 18" x 33" brine tank with safety float, a quick-connect bypass with 1" NPT elbow adapters, and the correct drain line flow control for the tank. The valve meters every gallon and regenerates only when capacity is actually used, which is what keeps salt and water consumption low. Pick Unassembled to ship as ground parcels and load the tank yourself in about ten minutes, or Fully Assembled to receive it on a pallet, loaded, valve mounted and ready to plumb.
Key Performance Metrics
Pick the Capacity for Your Home
| 32,000 gr · 1.0 cu ft · 9" x 48" tank | 1–2 people, 1–2 bathrooms, moderate hardness (under ~15 gpg). Peak flow ~7–9 GPM. |
| 48,000 gr · 1.5 cu ft · 10" x 54" tank | 2–4 people, 2–3 bathrooms — the most common residential size. Peak flow ~10–12 GPM. |
| 64,000 gr · 2.0 cu ft · 12" x 52" tank | 4–5 people, 3–4 bathrooms, or very hard water (20+ gpg). Peak flow ~13–15 GPM. |
| 80,000 gr · 2.5 cu ft · 13" x 54" tank | 5+ people, 4–5 bathrooms, large homes and very hard water. Peak flow ~16–18 GPM. |
Size by hardness and people, then check flow. Hardness (gpg) × people × 75 gallons/day × 7 days gives the grains you need between regenerations — then step up a size if the bathroom count or home size pushes peak flow above the resin bed's comfortable rate. Not sure of your hardness? Enter your ZIP in our Build Your System tool and it will pull your utility's hardness, size the bed, and price the identical build.
Which Valve Should You Buy?
This is the larger 1-1/4" valve. We also sell the identical softener with the standard IPW WS1 valve for about $150 less, and most customers ask which to buy. The two valves are the same platform — same control board, same metering, same programming, same seals, piston and injector design, same tank, resin and brine tank. The WS 1.25 has larger ports and internal passages, which raises the valve's own flow ceiling and lowers its pressure drop at any given flow. That is the entire difference, and for most homes it does not change what comes out of the tap.
| Inlet / outlet | WS1: 1" · WS 1.25: 1-1/4" |
| Valve service flow (15 psi drop) | WS1: 27 GPM · WS 1.25: 34 GPM |
| Valve pressure drop at 10 GPM (approx.) | WS1: ~1.8 psi · WS 1.25: ~1.3 psi |
| Valve pressure drop at 15 GPM (approx.) | WS1: ~4 psi · WS 1.25: ~3 psi |
| Valve pressure drop at 20 GPM (approx.) | WS1: ~7 psi · WS 1.25: ~5 psi |
| What actually limits flow | The resin bed: a 1.0–2.0 cu ft bed comfortably delivers 7–15 GPM, well under either valve's ceiling. Only a 2.5 cu ft bed at full peak demand gets near the WS1's range. |
| Price difference | About $150 more for the WS 1.25, same tank size |
Get the WS1 if…
Your main line is 3/4" or 1" (nearly every home), you have up to 4 bathrooms, and peak demand stays under ~15 GPM. The valve will never be your bottleneck, and the $150 is better spent on a larger resin bed or a carbon pre-filter.
Get the WS 1.25 if…
Your supply line is 1-1/4" or larger (don't neck it down), you have 5+ bathrooms or run multi-head showers and irrigation at the same time, it's a light-commercial install, or incoming pressure is already low (under ~50 psi) and every psi to the top floor matters.
Match the plumbing, not the price tag. A WS 1.25 connected with 1" adapters into a 1" main gains you nothing — the pipe is the restriction. If you buy the WS 1.25, ask us for the 1-1/4" connection adapters so the whole path is full-size. If your main is 1", buy the WS1 and put the savings into resin.
Everything Needed for a Working Softener
- IPW WS 1.25 digital metered softener valve — 1-1/4" high-flow control head with cover and meter
- Aquatrol fiberglass mineral tank — NSF-listed, 9" to 13" diameter to match the resin charge
- 8% cross-link cation resin — 1 cu ft bags, filled to the selected capacity
- Gravel underbed — supports the bed and spreads backwash flow
- Distributor tube with lower basket + upper basket — 1.05" riser internals
- 18" x 33" brine tank — with brine well, safety float valve and salt grid
- Bypass valve + 1" NPT male elbow adapters — isolate the softener without shutting off the house
- Drain line flow control (DLFC) — pre-selected for the tank diameter
- Power supply — 15 VDC plug-in transformer, dry locations
Unassembled vs. Fully Assembled. Unassembled ships as separate ground parcels (tank, valve, resin bags, brine tank) — lowest cost, and loading the tank takes about ten minutes with a funnel. Fully Assembled adds freight: the tank is loaded, the valve is mounted and sealed, and the unit arrives on a pallet ready to set in place. Assembled mineral tanks weigh roughly 100–180 lb depending on size, so plan for help moving it.
System Construction
| Control Valve | IPW WS 1.25 high-flow digital metered softener valve, 1-1/4" inlet/outlet, downflow 5-cycle regeneration (backwash, brine draw/slow rinse, second backwash, rapid rinse, refill) |
| Valve Body | Fiber-reinforced composite with one-piece expanding seal spacer stack and linearly reciprocating piston; 2-1/2" – 8 NPSM tank thread; NSF/ANSI 44, 61 and 372 listed |
| Control Board | Solid-state microprocessor, back-lit display; meter immediate, meter delayed or time-clock modes; 1–28 day override; proportional brining; non-volatile memory; capacitor backup with 2-hour carry-over |
| Power | 15 VDC plug-in transformer, 100–120V / 200–240V AC, 50/60 Hz |
| Mineral Tank | Aquatrol poly-lined fiberglass-wound vessel, 2-1/2" – 8 top opening, 150 psi rated; 9x48 / 10x54 / 12x52 / 13x54 by capacity |
| Resin | 8% cross-link strong-acid cation gel resin, rated ~32,000 grains per cu ft at full salting (~24,000 gr/cu ft at 9 lb salt/cu ft efficiency setting) |
| Backwash Design Rate | 5 GPM per sq ft of bed area; DLFC sized per tank (9" = 2.7 GPM, 10" = 3.2, 12" = 4.2, 13" = 5.3) |
| Underbed | Washed gravel, approx. 12 lb per cu ft of resin |
| Brine Tank | 18" x 33" round, ~300 lb salt, safety float and brine well; 3/8" brine line |
| Bypass | Quick-connect bypass with two 1" NPT male elbow adapters (1-1/4" adapters available on request) |
| Operating Pressure | 20 – 125 psi; install a pressure regulator above 80 psi |
| Water Temperature | 35 – 110°F; indoor or shaded, non-freezing location |
| Drain | 1/2" drain line minimum; 3/4" recommended on 12" and 13" tanks or long runs |
| Pre-treatment | Clear-water iron up to 1 ppm is manageable with periodic resin cleaner; above 3 ppm, red-water iron, or hydrogen sulfide requires an iron filter ahead of the softener |
Why a High-Flow Metered Softener
Meters Every Gallon
Regenerates on actual water use instead of a fixed calendar, so a weekend away costs you nothing in salt and a house full of guests never runs the bed to exhaustion.
Full Pressure to Every Fixture
A 1-1/4" high-flow valve with a hydraulically balanced piston keeps upstairs showers strong where 3/4" and 1" heads start to drop pressure on very large homes.
Salt-Efficient Brining
Proportional brining and treated-water refill regenerate only the capacity you used, and keep the brine tank free of hardness scale.
Double Backwash
A second backwash after brine draw scrubs the resin bed clean on dirty or iron-bearing water, extending resin life and keeping capacity up.
Outage-Proof Settings
Programming lives in non-volatile memory and a capacitor keeps the clock through a two-hour power cut, so you are never reprogramming after a storm.
Built from Stock Parts
Every component is a part we sell individually — resin, seals, pistons, injectors, brine parts — so service is a click away and nothing is proprietary.
Getting Set Up
- Set the mineral tank and brine tank on a level, non-freezing surface near a drain. Unassembled systems: tape the riser tube, pour in the gravel, then the resin, remove the tape and thread on the valve hand-tight.
- Snap the bypass onto the valve, then plumb the inlet and outlet. Install after any sediment, iron or carbon stage and before the water heater.
- Run the drain line to an air gap and connect the 3/8" brine line between the valve and the brine tank's safety float.
- With the bypass in bypass, open the inlet slowly to fill the tank and purge air through the drain. Plug in the valve and enter time of day, hardness (gpg) and the capacity setting for your tank size.
- Add 2–3 gallons of water to the brine tank, fill with pellet or solar salt, then run a manual regeneration and confirm brine draw and refill before putting the system in service.
Program the real hardness number. Entering a guessed hardness is the most common reason a metered softener either wastes salt or lets hard water through. Use your utility's annual water quality report (or our water quality lookup) and add 3–5 gpg per ppm of iron if any is present.
Where This System Fits
Designed for whole-house point-of-entry softening of municipal or well water in homes from 1 to 5+ bathrooms, and as the softener stage in a multi-stage carbon or iron treatment train. Choose the WS 1.25 over the standard WS1 when the home has 1-1/4" supply plumbing, 5+ bathrooms, or a high-flow main — see the comparison above. On chlorinated or chloraminated city water, a carbon filter ahead of the softener protects the resin and roughly doubles its service life. This system removes hardness (calcium and magnesium) and small amounts of clear-water iron; it does not remove chlorine, sediment, bacteria or dissolved solids — pair it with carbon, sediment, UV or reverse osmosis as needed. Every variant here is priced identically to the same build in our Build Your System tool, so you can configure there and buy here, or vice versa.
Built in California
Assembled and shipped from our Santa Ana facility. Unassembled ships ground; assembled ships freight on a pallet.
Stock Components
NSF-listed tank, valve and resin — every part is a catalog item we stock and support.
Build Help
Not sure which size you need? Call (877) 541-6603 and we will size it from your hardness and household.
