This thread got me thinking so I just took another look at my softener and found it it does have a bypass right on it. Looks like I'll be bypassing it in the future, thought I had no other choice. Still going to send out two samples to Ward to see how the softener changes the water. Going to go with the W-6 household mineral test.
Well it took me a year, but I finally sent samples out. I went with the beer test.
Softened Water:
pH 7.7
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm = 918
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm = 1.53
Cations / Anions, me/L = 13.6 / 15.0
Sodium, Na = 309
Potassium, K = < 1
Calcium, Ca = 3
Magnesium, Mg = < 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 = 12
Nitrate, NO3-N = 0.5 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S = 10
Chloride, Cl = 351
Carbonate, CO3 = < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 = 262
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 = 215
Total Phosphorus, P = 0.50
Total Iron, Fe = < 0.01
No Softener:
pH 7.5
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm = 786
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm = 1.31
Cations / Anions, me/L = 12.3 / 13.2
Sodium, Na = 65
Potassium, K = 2
Calcium, Ca = 127
Magnesium, Mg = 36
Total Hardness, CaCO3 = 468
Nitrate, NO3-N = 0.3 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S = 12
Chloride, Cl = 288
Carbonate, CO3 = < 1
Bicarbonate, HCO3 = 256
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 = 210
Total Phosphorus, P = 0.41
Total Iron, Fe = < 0.01