If scale is building on your glasses, spray arms and heating element, a glass washer water softener is usually the fix. The question for a café, small bar, salon or clinic is size. Our Regal 100, 150 and 200 share one cabinet footprint and one control valve, but they hold different amounts of resin, so they last very different volumes of water between regenerations. This guide shows how to pick between them using three numbers you can find yourself: your water hardness, your daily water use and the space under the counter.
TL;DR
- The Regal 100, 150 and 200 hold 10, 15 and 20 litres of resin, with rated capacities of 1.8, 3 and 5 m³ between regenerations.
- Capacity falls as your water gets harder, so check your water company's hardness figure for your postcode first.
- Add up the water the softener will actually feed (glasswasher, dishwasher, coffee machine), not the whole building.
- All three fit a 270 mm wide by 430 mm deep space. Height is what changes: 469, 539 and 741 mm.
- For all-day commercial duty, read our specification guide and look at the larger Regal range.
Not sure which one fits? Talk to Our Team with your postcode and machine list.
Contents
- Why small sites scale up fast
- What sets the size of a glass washer water softener
- Regal 100, 150 and 200 side by side
- A worked sizing example
- Fitting it: space, drain and power
- When a small softener is the wrong answer
- FAQs
Why small sites scale up fast
Much of England, including London and the South East, has hard water. Thames Water explains that it comes from rain soaking through chalk and limestone, which leaves calcium and magnesium in the supply (Thames Water). Heat drives those minerals out as limescale.
A glasswasher heats water many times a day in a small space, so it is one of the first machines to suffer. Scale on the element slows heating. Scale in the jets weakens the spray. Glasses come out with a white film that no rinse aid fully hides. We cover the damage in detail in our post on scale prevention in a commercial dishwasher.
A softener swaps the calcium and magnesium for sodium inside a bed of resin. When the resin is full, the unit rinses it with brine from its salt tank and starts again. That rinse is called regeneration, and how often it happens is what sizing is all about.
What sets the size of a glass washer water softener
Three things decide which model you need.
Hardness. The harder the water, the faster the resin fills. Your water company publishes a hardness figure for every postcode, usually in mg/L as calcium carbonate. If you prefer to measure it yourself, a simple test kit or meter will do. Our guide to TDS and ppm explains the units you will see.
Daily water through the softener. Only count the machines the softener feeds. For a glasswasher, the litres per cycle are usually on the data plate or in the manual. Multiply by a realistic number of cycles on your busiest day, then add any dishwasher or coffee machine on the same line.
Flow. The softener must keep up when every connected machine fills at once. Peak flow matters more for a dishwasher and glasswasher filling together than for a single coffee machine.
Regal 100, 150 and 200 side by side
All three use a Clack control valve with a mixing valve and up-flow proportional regeneration, which means each regeneration uses brine in proportion to how much of the resin has been used. The figures below come from our datasheets.
| Regal 100 | Regal 150 | Regal 200 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resin volume | 10 L | 15 L | 20 L |
| Service flow | 1.0 to 1.2 m³/h | 1.3 to 1.5 m³/h | 1.6 to 1.8 m³/h |
| Rated capacity between regenerations | 1.8 m³ | 3 m³ | 5 m³ |
| Cabinet height | 469 mm | 539 mm | 741 mm |
| Footprint (W x D) | 270 x 430 mm | 270 x 430 mm | 270 x 430 mm |
| Inlet pressure | 2 to 6 bar | 2 to 6 bar | 2 to 6 bar |
Each regeneration takes 80 to 110 minutes. The Regal 100 uses about 1.2 kg of salt and the Regal 200 about 1.6 kg per regeneration, according to their datasheets.
The rated capacity is quoted at a reference hardness. As a rule of thumb, capacity drops roughly in proportion as hardness rises above that reference, so a site on very hard water should size up.
Want a second opinion on the numbers? Request a Quote and send us your postcode and machine list.
A worked sizing example
Take a small bar with one undercounter glasswasher and one coffee machine. These numbers are an illustration only, so use your own.
- The glasswasher uses 2.5 litres per cycle and runs 120 cycles on a busy day: 300 litres.
- The coffee machine draws about 60 litres a day.
- Total through the softener: about 360 litres, or 0.36 m³ a day.
On water near the reference hardness, a Regal 100 rated at 1.8 m³ would regenerate roughly every five days. A Regal 200 rated at 5 m³ would go about two weeks. On much harder water both intervals shorten.
Neither is wrong. The 100 is smaller and uses less salt each time. The 200 regenerates less often and has headroom if you add a second glasswasher or a dishwasher later. The mixing valve lets the installer leave a little hardness in the water, which some coffee machine makers ask for, so check your machine's water requirements before commissioning.
Fitting it: space, drain and power
The three models share a 270 by 430 mm footprint, so the deciding measurement is usually height under the counter. The Regal 100 at 469 mm fits most base units. The Regal 200 at 741 mm often suits a cellar, plant room or tall cupboard better.
Our connection document for the range calls for:
- a 100 micron sediment prefilter upstream of the softener
- isolation valves and a bypass either side, so the machines keep running during service
- the drain and overflow taken to a drain point with an air gap
- a 230 V socket nearby (the units draw about 30 W)
The softener datasheets also set inlet limits, including hardness up to 750 mg/L as calcium carbonate, iron below 0.2 mg/L and water between 4 and 30 °C. If your supply is outside these, tell us before you order.
Keep one unsoftened tap for drinking and food. The Drinking Water Inspectorate advises keeping a tap supplied with unsoftened water for drinking (DWI). Our specification guide covers the Water Fittings Regulations points in more depth.
When a small softener is the wrong answer
Be honest about duty. Our datasheets describe the Regal 100, 150 and 200 as a home range. They suit light commercial use such as a café glasswasher, a salon or a clinic, which is how our product pages list them. They are not built for a pub cellar running glasswashers all day, a hotel kitchen or a large restaurant.
If that sounds like your site, start with our commercial water softener specification guide. It explains twin-cylinder units, which keep softening while one cylinder regenerates, and the larger models in the glass washer water softener range.
Whatever the size, the resin, prefilter and settings need checking. Our Comprehensive Maintenance plans cover salt checks, prefilter changes and valve settings, so the softener keeps protecting the machines it feeds.
FAQs
Do I need a water softener for a glasswasher?
In a hard water area, usually yes. Many glasswashers have a small built-in softener, but it needs topping up with salt and can struggle on very hard water. An external softener protects the element and gives clearer glasses with less rinse aid.
Which Regal is best for a small café?
It depends on hardness and daily use. A single glasswasher and coffee machine on moderate hardness often suits a Regal 100 or 150. Choose the 200 if your water is very hard, you plan to add machines, or you have the height for it.
How often will a Regal softener regenerate?
Divide the rated capacity, adjusted for your hardness, by the litres the softener feeds each day. Proportional regeneration means it only uses the brine it needs each time.
Can I drink softened water from the softener?
Keep a separate unsoftened tap for drinking and cooking. The DWI advises this, and it is a simple plumbing step at installation.
Does the softener need a drain and a socket?
Yes. It needs a drain with an air gap for regeneration water and a standard 230 V socket nearby.
Ready to size yours?
Send us your postcode hardness, your machine list and the space you have. We will confirm which Regal fits, or tell you if you need something bigger. Get in Touch with our team.
Sources
- Thames Water, Hard water: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/help/water-and-waste-help/water-quality/hard-water
- Drinking Water Inspectorate, Domestic water filters and softeners: https://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumers/learn-more-about-your-water/domestic-water-filters-and-softeners/
- Drinking Water Inspectorate, Water hardness: https://www.dwi.gov.uk/consumers/learn-more-about-your-water/water-hardness-hard-water/
- Sovereign Water datasheets: Regal 100 (FU1013CABDVUP), Regal 150 and Regal 200, and the Regal softener connection document SWC-REG100-INST-26-R0 (13 May 2025)