Whirlpool 48,000 Grain Water Softener (WHES48)

Checked against its certification listings: what they cover, what the maker claims, and what it costs over five years.

Water softener

Listings checked Oct. 13, 2026

Certified to

NSF/ANSI 44NSF listingchecked Oct. 13, 2026

Certified for: Hardness

Service flow: 11.9 gpm
Built for: City or well water
Rated capacity: 48,000 grains
Regenerates: On demand

RC Willey’s price

$930

as of Oct. 13, 2026

Five years, household of 3

$1,147

0.3¢ per gallon

Salt included, at 10 grains per gallon

At RC Willey The maker’s page

Price from RC Willey’s page, checked Oct. 13, 2026. The maker publishes no price. Prices change and can differ by store; RC Willey’s page is the final word.

What the listings say

Standard	Certifier	Claims	Listing
NSF/ANSI 44	NSF	Hardness Reduction; Efficiency Rated	Read the listing checked Oct. 13, 2026

Certified for, and claimed

Certified, by a listing

Hardness

Claimed by the maker only

hardness up to 160 grains per gallon
clear water iron up to 12 ppm

What it costs over five years

Household of 3, 240 gallons a day through the whole house. Installation not included. Salt at 10 grains per gallon (171 mg/L), an example hardness, and $9.88 a 40-lb bag (The Home Depot, Oct. 13, 2026).

Item	Replaced	Count	Amount
System, with first media	—	1	$930
Salt, 40-lb bags	A bag every 3 months172 lb a year at 10 grains per gallon	22	$217

Five-year total$1,147

Per gallon0.3¢

Work it out for your water

Salt and regeneration

Worked out at its efficiency-rated setting: 14,200 grains of hardness on 2.8 lb of salt, 5,090 grains a pound. At 10 grains per gallon (171 mg/L), a household of 3 would use about 172 lb of salt a year, and it would regenerate about every 6 days.

Salt settings the maker publishes
Salt per regeneration	Capacity	Grains a pound	Water each time
2.8 lbUsed for the cost	14,200 grains	5,090	Not stated
10.5 lb	37,900 grains	3,610	Not stated
18.1 lb	48,000 grains	2,652	44.2 gal

Settings from WHES48 Installation and Operation Manual (7392327, Rev. G, December 1, 2024), page 3, Whirlpool Water Solutions, checked Oct. 13, 2026. Less salt per regeneration gets more from each pound but regenerates more often.

The maker gives a maximum of 160 grains per gallon.

Softening water at 10 grains per gallon adds about 80 mg/L of sodium, by Nebraska Extension’s figure of about 8 mg/L a grain.

Every softener, worked out for your water

Worth knowing

NSF lists it at 12 gpm; the manual rates it at 11.9 gpm. Demand-initiated, with a built-in filter screen and no cartridge to replace. The manual says the "Salt Efficiency" feature ships turned off and must be turned on in California; the salt figures here are at its efficiency-rated setting. Whirlpool publishes no price and names RC Willey among its stores; RC Willey showed $929.99 on Oct. 13, 2026.

Install requirements

Kind	Water softener
Rated media life	Not stated
Needs a drain	Yes
Needs power	Yes

Other whole-house systems

All whole-house systems