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Without a doubt, the number 1 enemy of any water ionizer is hard water. This alone can make an ionizer useless in a matter of only 2 or 3 months if not properly cared for.
WFL: NOT TRUE!!! Hard water is water with scale in it. That scale can gum up filters and reduce their life and coat plates with minerals and make them less effective –- but it does not gum up and ruin electrical systems and plates can be cleaned with vinegar. The best thing to do if you have hard water is to get a simple hard water prefilter to capture the scale before it gets inside the ionizer. Or you can use a reverse osmosis filter and then remineralize the water.
Enagic: View the map to the left. This map is made possible by the USEPA and shows the concentration of hard water in the United States. Hard water literally covers one half of the continental U.S. alone. Chances are if you live within the white and red areas then your ionizer will be fighting for its life -- its useful life! If you live within the purple areas, then there is good chance your ionizer may hold up for a few years or more.
Picture this in your own life. In hard water areas, minerals and scaling build up very easily on shower walls, tiles, etc. and are very difficult to remove. This is the exact same thing going on with your electrolysis plates and why a good scaling remover is vital for any ionizer. Scaling is even more of a problem on electrolysis plates because of the electrical positive and negative plates that attract mineral deposits on these plates.
In speaking to specialist, I found that the calcium is enhanced to a degree in that it becomes very hard. If you have an ionizer or have drunk ionized water, you will have noticed that over a period of only a month the plastic container that you use will start to cake on the deposits. In many cases, pouring some white vinegar in the plastic container will clean off those calcium deposits.
In the case of electrolysis plates, however, it is even more of a problem because of the positive and negative forces that attract these particles making it very difficult to clean off, especially in hard water States. If not taken care of, many electrolysis plates will and have become useless.
WFL: All water ionizers have a cleaning cycle which runs acid water over the plates to prevent scaling of the plates. If the acid isn't strong enough, the customer can run white vinegar through their ionizer every couple of months to remove the build up before it becomes a problem. I have yet to hear of any of our customers in hard water areas not able to ionize their water because of scale. Our new Genesis water ionizer cleans itself simultaneously when water is ionized and also has an auto diagnostic computer which monitors the plates and will initiate extra cleaning cycles if the plates are getting dirty. No other water ionizer does that. Again, the best thing to do with hard water is to pre-treat it with a hard water prefilter; it only costs $50 for the filter and housing. So simple...
Enagic: On the home page, we talked about the most important element of any Water Ionizer being the Platinum/ Titanium plates. This is by far the most important feature because without it your water ionizer would be worthless.
The second most important feature would be the heating element such as the Transformer or SMPS (Switched Mode Power Supply) and the third being the warranty.
WFL: Transformers and SMPS are two very different electrical systems. Here is a link explaining the two. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switched-mode_power_supply SMPS provides a much cleaner electrical current and doesn't produce excess heat as a waste product which damages products over time. Enagic STILL uses a transformer whereas the top models on the market from KYK, Life, and Tyent use SMPS. KYK was the first company to use this technology and since then other manufacturers have followed their lead.
Enagic: As you are reading this report, my job is to keep you focused on these three components because they are the most important and should be at the top of your requirements when deciding which ionizer to purchase.
Look at the photos below. This is a picture of a water ionizer chamber and what can happen to the electrolysis chamber over a period of time. The electrolysis plates simply eroded away and have to do more with design flaw than actual hard water. These pictures are a sober reminder of why choosing the right machine is so critical for your health.
WFL: Oh please, these plates did not end up like this under normal operating circumstances. These plates look like they have been exposed to extreme heat, probably from failed electrical systems, then rusted in water. This is pure manipulation and more SCARE TACTICS!
Electrolysis Plates - Solid vs. Mesh!
WFL: From Jupiter's website...
Enagic: One of the hottest topics in the ionizer wars is the topic of Solid vs. Mesh.
Of the 5 ionizer companies, only one uses the solid plate -- Enagic (Kangen Water), and one company has it as an upgrade -- Life Ionizers. The other 3 ionizers use mesh exclusively- Jupiter, KYK and Tyent.
WFL: Not true. KYK is the only company to use slotted plates. No ridges or mesh.
Enagic: The picture to the right is a typical picture of mesh plating.
Mesh Plates!
Mesh Plates increase the surface area of its plates, thus improving their performance but only by slight variations.
WFL: By large variations...
Enagic: As you can see from the picture, mesh-plating is simply a process of stamping thin titanium / platinum plates or, to put it another way, punching holes through thin plates. With mesh-plating I have found that the cons outweigh the pros for a number of reasons.
First off, all water Ionizer companies are Assembly Manufacturers with the exception of Enagic. Enagic (Kangen water) is the only Ionizer Company that does not outsource any of their products.
WFL: Not true. Jupiter (Emcotech) manufactures everything for their products. All other water ionizer companies, like car companies, find reputable manufacturers to make the components for their products. So what? KYK only uses Korean manufacturers. Other companies use manufacturers from Taiwan, China, etc. But as long as the factories are ISO-certified, and the products pass rigorous safety and performance certification processes, so what?
Enagic: They are all made in-house. All Assembly Manufacturers, on the other hand, outsource their parts from different regions -- typically Korea and Taiwan -- and then they are assembled in Korea, Japan or other places.
Most, if not all mesh plates, are made from the manufacturer in Korea by the name of Emco Tech manufacturing. Mesh plates are purchased from this manufacturer not because of quality but because they are the low bidder.
WFL: Emco Tech is Jupiter. They are not a low quality manufacturer that low balls other manufacturers by any stretch of the imagination. Also, Emco Tech only manufactures Jupiter, not other company's plates.
Enagic: Emco Tech manufactures their mesh plates as follows:
First, they take a large thin titanium sheet (approximately 4' x 5') and spray both sides with platinum, typically only spraying the platinum with one coat for one obvious reason: cost-cutting! The reason behind this is that platinum, at around $1,000 to $2,000/ounce, is by far the most expensive part of any water ionizer and because Emco Tech manufacturing typically comes in as the low bidder, they need to keep costs down in order to be competitive.
Once the platinum dries, the large sheet is then cut up into smaller sheets and then a large machine stamps the solid plate creating a mesh plate, which increases the surface area of the sheet but at the detriment of the consumer. This has to do with the fact that titanium is exposed.
Titanium is exposed from the stamped mesh process as well as the process of cutting the larger sheet into smaller sheets exposing all four sides.
WFL: No way would this pass safety certification. It cannot be true.
This is a detriment to the consumer because the exposed titanium, when heated, releases particles of titanium that become “pathogenic and disease causing” according to a study conducted by the University of British Columbia.
WFL: Scare tactics. People do not get sick from Jupiter water ionizers. They have been around the longest in the US.
Imagine this! Your number one reason for purchasing a water ionizer is so that you can get healthy by drinking the alkaline water and from day one, caustic titanium particles are entering your body. Keep this in mind! Platinum is beneficial, Titanium is caustic!
WFL: Awful scare tactics. We will forward this to Jupiter. I'm sure they'll have something to say about it.
Enagic: The other flaw in the mesh plate manufacturing has to do with the expensive platinum being used sparingly. Again, platinum is absolutely essential in order to produce alkaline water. When it is used sparingly, the result is an inconsistent and thin layer on the plates. Over time, because of the effects of flowing water, this metal will slowly lose its effectiveness, especially on mesh plating because of the peaks and valleys (holes). As the pictures of the decayed electrolysis plates demonstrate, when water is passed over the "peaks and valleys" of the thin plates, this process causes friction, thus accelerating the process of entropy or decay. The Grand Canyon is a perfect example of the decaying process by water.
Another serious flaw I see in mesh plating is the fact that the #1 enemy of all ionizers -- hard water mineral deposits -- get deposited and stuck between the peaks and valleys (holes) of the plates and render the ionizer ineffective over time if not dealt with correctly.
WFL: This may be true but a good cleaning cycle like Jupiter employs or prefilters will solve this problem.
Enagic: Again, the only reason companies use mesh plating is the increase in surface area. It is a cost-saving feature. Less metal means greater savings!
WFL: They use it because it is a more efficient use of the plate. It is a better design than just a flat plate.
Solid plates!
First off, solid plates are thicker and better constructed which means many years of trouble-free use, and because they are solid and smooth, that reduces the tendency of calcium and other tough minerals to get wedged in or stick simply because the plates are smooth.
Only two manufacturers incorporate solid plates -- Life and Enagic.
WFL: Not true. Jupiter uses solid flat plates in their older Melody and Microlite products. KYK used solid flat plates in their KYK Harmony, KYK 7000 and KYK 8000. But all major companies with the exception of Enagic have moved on to more efficient plate designs to increase the strength and accuracy of the electrolysis in their products.
However, there is a big difference between the two companies. Life ionizers is an assembly manufacturer and thus purchases their solid plates from the plate manufacturer who is the low bidder. This means that the platinum plates are sprayed and cut much like the mesh plates, leaving exposed caustic titanium. Life Ionizers come standard with mesh plates and the solid plates are an upgrade feature.
Enagic, on the other hand, is not an assembly manufacturer. Enagic takes a different approach. Enagic manufactures and assembles everything in house. Every conceivable part is manufactured in-house, including the shipping materials. This in return increases the quality control significantly.
WFL: Not necessarily. Some manufacturers are better at making parts than others. Some manufacturers specialize in certain parts. Making everything yourself does not mean higher quality or better products. Finding the highest quality components for your product is paramount, whether you can make them or not.
The manufacture of their plates are much different. Enagic manufactures their plates as follows:
First, a large titanium plate is cut into smaller size plates approximately 5" x 7". These plates are then DIPPED into high grade platinum, resulting in a much heavier and consistent layer of platinum over the titanium plates. Unlike the mesh plates, there is no exposed titanium.
WFL: We don't believe in this “spray on platinum” theory. KYK dips their plates in platinum. According to KYK, this is the only way to manufacture the plates safely. If manufacturers were spraying on platinum, their products wouldn't be certified for safety.
Due to the overwhelming fact that the titanium/platinum plates are the most important feature of any water ionizer, the evidence points to Enagic's solid plates as being the most effective of the two.
WFL: Solid plates are the least effective in ionization. That's why they have been abandoned by most companies. Think about it –- why would a company that previously used solid plates switch to mesh or slotted plates for their newer models if those plates weren't better? Would a manufacturer want to produce a lesser quality product than they previously produced? That doesn't make sense. And why do their newer products ionize better with the mesh or slotted plates? If the plates are worse, why do they perform better? This author's argument doesn't hold water.
Plates and Transformers - Does size matter?
Enagic: The simple and direct answer is yes for a number of reasons, but it is in direct proportion to the transformer or heating element. Allow me to explain.
View the picture to the left. This is a picture of the electrolysis chamber, which houses the titanium/ platinum plates. The chamber to the far left belongs to the SD-501, the center picture is of the Jupiter Athena, and the picture to the right includes the Life electrolysis chamber.
WFL: This is very subtle, but look how the Life and Athena chambers are placed in the back of the picture to make them appear even smaller. But it is true that Enagic uses bigger plates. It is also true that their product doesn't ionize as well as Tyent's, Life's, and KYK's top of the line products. So, that must mean we are right. Using big solid plates is old technology. Most of the middle of the plate has very little electrical current running through it and does not contribute significantly to ionization.
I am sure everyone reading this has in some way heated water on a burner or stove. Perhaps you have heated a very large pot of water in order to make spaghetti as an example. Our ultimate goal in heating the spaghetti is the outcome of this process, that is, to eat spaghetti. Is it more advantageous to place this large pot of water on a small burner or larger burner? The obvious answer is the larger burner and more importantly a burner that is designed to handle the large pot. Of course, the same can be said of a small pot. This would require a smaller burner.