Quick Answer: Lancaster's X-Factor Diamond Line is a solid, conventional metered softener, but you can't buy one yourself. It's sold through plumbing wholesalers to licensed contractors, so what you're really judging is your installer's quote. If the price is fair and the installer will service it, it's a reasonable buy. If you'd rather install it yourself, a Clack WS1 system is the closest DIY match, though we couldn't find one in stock on Amazon. Pick the SoftPro Elite HE if salt use worries you most, or the AFWFilters Fleck 5600SXT 48k if you want parts at any supply house.
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You almost certainly didn't go looking for a Lancaster softener. A plumber put one on your quote, or you just bought a house with a blue tank in the basement labeled "X-Factor," and now you want to know if it's any good.
Short version: there's nothing exotic about it, and that's a compliment. Below is what's inside, what the model numbers mean, where people go wrong with it, and when buying the same class of hardware online makes more sense.
In this guide
Who sells Lancaster, and why that matters
Lancaster Water Group is a division of C-B Tool Co. That's printed in the footer of its X-Factor owner's manual. Lancaster doesn't sell to homeowners. Ferguson's product pages for X-Factor Diamond Line softeners say the product "requires certification to purchase." In practice that means a contractor account. Other trade suppliers such as The Granite Group carry the same part numbers.
We searched Amazon and found no Lancaster softeners for sale there, only an owner's question about an older Lancaster model. So no Amazon button here goes to a Lancaster unit. The links in this review go to softeners that are similar enough to be fair comparisons.
This setup has upsides and downsides:
- Upside: someone licensed puts it in, sets the hardness and stands behind the install. Lancaster's manual even tells owners to call the contractor who installed the system before anyone else.
- Downside: you can't comparison-shop the hardware. The price on your quote covers the equipment, the labor and the installer's margin, and it's hard to tell how much of it is the softener.
What's actually inside an X-Factor
The X-Factor Diamond Line uses an electronic, metered control valve with a glass-filled Noryl body. Per the manual, it regenerates downflow with a prefill brine tank, and it can run on demand (by gallons used), on a calendar, or both.
Here's the detail that matters most for owners: the exploded-view drawing of the valve in Lancaster's manual has a Clack Corporation title block. That strongly suggests the X-Factor is a Clack-built valve under Lancaster's name. Ask your installer to confirm it on your unit. If it is a Clack, service parts and know-how are common, and our guide to how a control valve works applies to it directly.
Features listed on Ferguson's spec page:
- Dot-matrix scrolling display with backlit keypad
- Water-drop flow indicator, so you can see water moving through the meter
- Contractor contact screen and service-call reminder
- Battery backup with up to 8 hours of power carry-over
- Factory-set prefill brine
That contractor screen is a bit of a tell. This valve was set up to be installed and serviced by a pro, with the pro's phone number on the display.
Reading the model number
The manual lists both tank-and-brine models (7-LX) and all-in-one cabinet models (7-LXC). The number after the dash is resin volume: 100 means 1 cu ft, 200 means 2 cu ft, and so on.
| Model | Resin | Capacity at medium setting | Service flow (15 psi drop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-LXC-50B (cabinet) | 0.5 cu ft | 12,000 gr | 14 gpm |
| 7-LXC-75B (cabinet) | 0.75 cu ft | 18,000 gr | 18 gpm |
| 7-LXC-100B (cabinet) | 1 cu ft | 24,000 gr | 17 gpm |
| 7-LX-75B | 0.75 cu ft | 18,000 gr | 13 gpm |
| 7-LX-100B | 1 cu ft | 24,000 gr | 17 gpm |
| 7-LX-150B | 1.5 cu ft | 36,000 gr | 16 gpm |
| 7-LX-200B | 2 cu ft | 48,000 gr | 18 gpm |
| 7-LX-300B | 3 cu ft | 72,000 gr | 19 gpm |
Source: Lancaster X-Factor owner's manual.
Notice the "medium setting" column. The manual lists low, medium and high capacities for every model because grain capacity depends on how much salt you use per regeneration. The 7-LX-75B, for example, runs from 12,750 grains at the low setting to 24,000 at the high one.
This is why trade listings don't agree on the numbers. One supplier lists the 7-LX-200B as a 64k unit, while Ferguson and the manual say 48,000 grains at medium. Both can be right, at different salt doses. When an installer quotes you "a 64,000-grain Lancaster," ask which salt setting that number assumes.
Ferguson also lists newer CitySoft versions with catalytic carbon in the same tank. Retail listings say they reduce chlorine, taste and odor, with resin volumes of 1, 1.5 and 2 cu ft. A CitySoft makes sense on chlorinated city water, since chlorine slowly wears down softener resin. If you've noticed a pool smell at the tap, see our explainer on chlorine taste after a water softener.
There's also an IronSoft version with fine-mesh resin, listed at 32,000 grains, aimed at well water with some clear-water iron.
Where Lancaster owners run into trouble
None of these are design defects. They're the usual problems with a pro-installed metered softener that nobody looks at again.
Oversizing to make the quote look generous. A 2 cu ft tank on a two-person household at 8 gpg can go weeks between regenerations. Long gaps aren't free. Resin sits in the same water for a long time and the calendar override has to step in. Our guide to setting capacity and reserve explains how a sensible reserve keeps a big tank behaving well.
Settings nobody remembers. The valve's hardness and salt settings live in a menu your installer set on day one. If your water source changes or you add a bathroom, those numbers go stale. If the valve turns out to be a Clack, our upcoming Clack WS1 programming guide will walk you through the same menus.
Install-temperature limits. The manual says not to install the unit where it can drop below 33°F, and to keep the water heater inlet at least 10 feet from the softener outlet. Garage installs in cold climates need a plan.
Pressure specs that don't match. One section of the manual says 20–100 psi and another says up to 125 psi. Plan around 100 psi and install a pressure-reducing valve if your house runs hotter than that.
Is a Lancaster quote a fair deal?
Check four things on the paperwork:
- The exact model number (7-LX-150B, 7-LXDCATS100B, etc.), so you know the resin volume and whether there's carbon in the tank.
- The capacity setting the installer plans to program, and the hardness number it's based on. That should be a real test result, not a guess.
- Warranty terms in writing. We couldn't find Lancaster's warranty published in the manual or on the wholesaler pages we read, so get the tank, valve and labor terms from the installer. Our guide on how to read a softener warranty shows which lines matter.
- What's included: bypass, drain line, air gap, permit if your town needs one, and the first salt fill.
If the quote covers all four and the price doesn't make you wince, a Lancaster is a perfectly sensible softener. If the price looks steep for a single tank, it's fair to ask what part of it is equipment. Then you can compare it with buying similar hardware yourself.
If you'd rather buy the hardware yourself
These are close cousins to an X-Factor, and you can install each with ordinary plumbing skills.
A note on Clack. If the X-Factor really is a Clack underneath, a Clack WS1 system is about as close as you can get without a contractor account. Clack's own spec page rates the WS1 valve at 27 gpm service flow at a 15 psi drop, with configuration stored in nonvolatile memory and a coin-cell battery that carries the clock for 8 hours. We couldn't find a complete Clack WS1 softener in stock on Amazon when we checked, so look to online water treatment suppliers if you want one.
SoftPro Elite HE: if salt bags are the expense you notice
The X-Factor regenerates downflow. SoftPro's Elite line, including the Elite HE 32,000-grain, regenerates upflow, which pushes brine up from the bottom, where the resin does its final polishing. That's the main reason upflow units can use less salt for the same result. SoftPro claims up to 75% savings on salt and 64% on wastewater, though those are the seller's numbers. This listing comes with 10% high-capacity resin, a 1-inch plastic bypass and an automatic refresh that flushes stagnant water after 7 days of non-use. The listed warranty is 10 years on the valve and lifetime on the tanks.
Downside: it's SoftPro's own valve, so parts come from SoftPro rather than any local supply house. And 32,000 grains is on the small side for a big family, so check it against the X-Factor size on your quote.
AFWFilters Fleck 5600SXT 48k: the most common valve in the country
If what you liked about the Lancaster quote was having a pro nearby who knows the equipment, the Fleck 5600SXT gets you that in a different way. Most water-treatment techs have worked on one. Pentair's SXT spec sheet says programming is stored in memory through power outages, with a 48-hour backup capacitor for the clock. It offers time-clock delayed, meter delayed, meter immediate and day-of-week modes.
Downside: the menu is code-driven and less friendly than the X-Factor's scrolling text. It also regenerates downflow, like the Lancaster, so it won't save salt over it.
The verdict
A Lancaster X-Factor is a well-equipped, conventional metered softener that's built to be installed and serviced by a contractor. Buy it when you trust the installer and want them handling it for years. Pass on it if the quote is hard to justify. In that case, a Clack WS1 or Fleck 5600SXT system you install yourself, sized to your actual hardness, does the same job.