Water Systems: #3 Comparison of Water Ionizers

June 29, 2010

Sorry, the pictures in the article did not copy forward:

The True Costs and Benefits of Water Ionizers Recently I have been asked to

explain the differences between Enagic's water ionizers and others on the market

so frequently that I decided to answer on paper so more of you would have access

to the research I have done over the course of the past 2 years. Since I joined

Enagic in February 2005, I have been asked this question 10 or more times per

week. The more ionizing companies that begin distribution in the US, the more

information pops up on the internet, and the more internet information that is

published the more confusion there seems to be on the subject. This is actually

a wonderful phenomenon. The more the concept of ionization becomes a well known

process, the easier it is to enter into a discussion about water ionization. It

actually paves the way to greater understanding in the general public. This is

great news! Each time someone visits a site discussing pH or oxidation or

ionization, they receive some level of education in another way to assist them

in living a more health conscious lifestyle. These educational " bites " also mean

that you have less and less education to do to get your potential customer well

informed on these topics. Additionally, anyone who purchases any brand of water

ionizer is making a positive impact on the environment. They are removing

themselves from the hoards of people overburdening the planet with mountains of

plastic bottles. So from an environmental standpoint all ionizers are one step

closer to a cleaner planet. However, as a consumer trying to educate themselves

in order to make a wise purchase, there are many other things to consider. First

and foremost, the machine needs to fit the individual's needs, be built to last,

and provide true health benefits. Unfortunately, not all water ionizers are

created equal, nor are all manufacturers. Some companies are simply riding on

the coattails of the well respected Japanese companies and either inadvertently

or purposefully misleading the general public; while other companies are in this

To better explain this, let's use the automobile industry as an analogy. There

are many types of motorized vehicles manufactured and sold with the general

purpose of moving people from one place to another. These would include

manufacturers of luxury cars, farm trucks, and golf carts. Each of these devices

has several things in common:

1. They all have motors

2. They all have wheels

3. They all have seats

4. They all have the capability of moving people from one place to another

So theoretically, each could transport you from LA to New York City, however the

experience would be dramatically different. You can imagine that a cross country

trip in a golf cart is an attainable trip, but when travelling at the speed of

20 miles per hour it would take a very long time to arrive at your final

destination. Additionally, while travelling in your golf cart you would be

exposed to so many natural elements that you would arrive at your destination in

less than pristine condition. Now an old farm truck would be a big step up in

speed and protection from the elements, but the ride would still be a bit bumpy

and likely not entirely reliable. However, a cross country trip in a luxury car

would be a trip one could look forward to taking. The ride would hold everything

you were looking for, speed, safety from the elements, comfort and reliability.

This same concept is also true of water ionizers. All ionizers are capable of

restructuring water. How much, how efficiently and how effectively the water is

changed will be dependent upon 2 things – the quality and configuration of the

electrical components and the composition of the filtration media. These factors

encompass 90% of the differences from one manufacturer to another and should be

the deciding factors in purchasing an ionizer. The additional 10% is simply

price. Any prudent, health conscious consumer will consider a water ionizer an

investment in long term health. Therefore it would be wise to choose a machine

which is capable of producing the best results over the longest period of time.

To do less would simply be throwing money away.

However, it has been increasingly difficult for consumers to make that

determination due to all of the distributor hype, false information and out and

out lies published on the internet. So it is my goal that this document provides

distributors adequate explanations and information to assist true information

seekers make informed decisions. Over the past two years I have noted that there

seems to be a pattern in the questions that are asked repeatedly. Each time a

new or existing ionizing company rolls out a new product there is a flurry of

excitement, a resurgence of poorly documented information and a lot of press

released on the subject of water ionizers. All of this new energy generally

results in at least one new distributor who is on a mission. Unfortunately, the

newest " expert " generally has little or no real background to truly understand

the chemistry, physics and pathophysiology necessary to separate fact from

fiction. When that happens some new article is posted on a website that causes a

stir. Newcomers to Enagic who are not accustomed to these attacks begin to get

questions from potential customers and are unsure how to answer them. I will

attempt to remember all of the questions since early 2005 and answer them to my

fullest ability in this document. The two most frequently asked questions these

days revolve around a paid advertisement that a Jupiter distributor posted in

early 2007. It poises itself as an article debunking the myths and facts around

Kangen Water™. In actuality it is strictly an advertisement used by both Jupiter

distributors and Life Ionizer distributors. It is NOT an article written to lay

out facts and myths – it IS a sales promotion piece. I am going to begin with

that sales promotion piece. In the following paragraphs the sales promotion

article will appear in red while my response will appear in black. Interspersed

in the discussion I will include information on various other water ionizing

units as they relate to a particular topic. This article is written with the

intention to address some of what is been said on other websites and in public

meetings, so that customers wanting the best value for their money, are able to

make an informed opinion about " Kangen water " without the hype. This article is

nothing but " hype " . The authors and Jupiter distributors who sponsor this

article actually pay a monthly fee to the search engines to have it appear in

the colored box at the top of the page. Those spots are reserved for

advertisers. From my vantage point very little of what has been written is based

on scientific fact or truth. Myth 1: Kangen water is different from alkaline,

Fact: The Enagic water ionizer contains a filter and ionizing chamber just like

all other water ionizers. Just to kick this discussion off, Kangen Water™ is a

trademark owned by Enagic. It is Enagic's trademarked name for ionized, alkaline

water with a high –ORP or antioxidant potential. Enagic's water filters and

plates are actually quite different from those used by all other water ionizing

manufacturers. These differences, which will be discussed in detail, do make a

dramatic difference in the quality of the water that is produced. Let's begin by

discussing the ionizing plates which make up the chambers. Electronically

restructured, ionized water is produced when water passes over electrically

charged metal plates (a more complete explanation follows on the next page). It

is an irrefutable law of electricity, chemistry and physics that the higher the

electrical voltage a plate can sustain and the longer period of time water stays

in contact with this voltage, the more complete the ionization process. So in

terms of ionization " bigger really is better. " Enagic's LevLuk series utilizes 4

¾ X 7 inch titanium plates that are heavily coated with platinum. Unlike any

other ionizing units available at this time, Enagic's LevLuk SD501 uses 7 of

these plates. Other water ionizers use much smaller and fewer plates (Fig. 1a &

Figure 1 – SD501 Compared to Others Figure 2 – Inside Jupiter's Unit – Note the

Size of the Ionizing Chamber Since both of these metals are quite expensive, it

is the plates that dictate the price of the machines. (A few months ago I

actually weighed the plates on a postal scale and Enagic's SD501 plates weighed

2.75 pounds.) At this time platinum costs $1250/oz and titanium costs have

dramatically increased in the past 2 years with food grade titanium selling

above $400/lb and medical grade above $1400/lb.

Last year the Jupiter Company ran a campaign that announced that " Bigger isn't

Better! " This was a part of an advertising campaign to inform people Kangen

that they had developed a technique utilizing mesh, rather than solid, ionizing

plates to increase surface area without increasing plate size (Fig. 3). Figure 3

– Jupiter's Mesh Plates This sounds reasonable to people who are not well

informed on the subject of ionization. And it is a wonderful way for the

manufacturer to save a lot of money in production. However, it has some very

serious flaws. A thorough explanation will take several paragraphs. Just so you

won't get lost this text the explanation of ionization will appear in blue. As

most of you already know, ionization happens when water, HOH, dissociates into

H+ and OH-. The most efficient and effective way to accomplish this utilizes

electricity. When electricity passes through water this dissociation happens

quickly. The greater the electrical charge and the longer the water is exposed

to this electrical charge, the more complete the ionization. That is why water

ionizing units use metal plates. Metal plates conduct electricity, and that

electrical charge is what causes the dissociation of the water molecules. This

brings up several points to consider:

1. Some metals are better electrical conductors than others. For instance, some

manufacturers use aluminum, stainless steel, copper, white gold or metallic

alloys. The most reputable companies use titanium and platinum.

2. During the electrolysis process these metals give up varying amounts of their

metal into the water.

3. Titanium is chosen because it is a very dense metal. This makes it a good

conductor of electricity over a very long period of time. Additionally, its

density keeps it from readily breaking down in water. That is one of the reasons

it is the preferred metal used in medical grade screws and pins to hold bones

together. However when it does break down, it is considered toxic to the body.

4. Platinum is chosen because, unlike titanium, in minute amounts it is actually

a trace mineral that has many health benefits.

5. The more heavily coated the plates, the longer it will take to break down the

platinum and expose the titanium. (Of course the heavier the coating, the

greater the manufacturing costs.)

These points are very important factors. Jupiter's mesh plates are made from

titanium coated with platinum. While this mesh will conduct electricity, there

are 3 distinct drawbacks to using wire mesh:

1. Wire mesh cannot conduct as high an electrical voltage as a solid piece of

metal.

2. The higher the voltage passing through these mesh wires, the faster the metal

degradation.

3. This results in a machine that has a shorter useful life.

In other words, each time electricity passes through these wires that create the

mesh, more platinum is breaking down into the water. While that, in itself is

not harmful to the body, it means that the titanium will be exposed sooner – and

that is harmful to the body. That is the very reason that bigger, more dense

titanium plates with a thick platinum coating offer a more effective long term

solution. These plates will consistently produce a more complete ionization

process and will last much longer. Unlike any other company, Enagic offers a 5

year warranty because their units are made to last. Gold Fox Company utilizes

white gold rather than platinum. From the standpoint of durability, white gold

is a much softer metal than platinum. Therefore as electricity flows through the

plates the gold will rapidly break down exposing the platinum plates in a

relatively short period of time. As pointed out in the paragraphs above, the

coating medium provides a buffer to keep the titanium from coming into direct

contact with the water. The faster that buffer breaks down, the sooner the

machine becomes a health liability. Some Chinese and Korean ionizers have used

stainless steel and aluminum in their ionizers. Utilizing these inferior and

much less expensive metals in the ionization process would create water that is

actually hazardous to health. Kangen Water

As I stated earlier, the most reputable manufacturers of water ionizing units

all use titanium plates coated with platinum. The following is an excerpt from

an official LifeIonizer website: This continuous flow model is designed for

countertop applications and is constructed with two built in pre-filters that

total 12 stages of filtration.

Highest pH of any Ionizer

Highest ORP - Anti-Oxidant level of any Ionizer

Twin Filters

Five (5) Year Warranty Produce strong anti-oxidant water typically exceeding

-850 mV

Platinum coated titanium electrolysis plates

Device has been designed and built with 12 steps of purification. (Patent

obtained)

Functions are activated or utilized easily by one-touch controls.

At this point I will address only the topics of pH and ORP. They boast producing

water that is the highest of any ionizer, but their range is pH 3.5-10. That

statement is inherently flawed. If the highest pH it produces is pH 10.0 then

the lowest pH it can produce is pH 4. Remember pH is measured on a scale of

0-14. This is a very simple mathematical exercise; add the pH number from the

acid hose to the pH number of the alkaline hose and the total will always be 14.

This is just a function of physics and chemistry. While official test data on

the ORP readings is not yet available, field testing in the Bay Area revealed

low positive ORP numbers when tested side by side with Enagic's SD501 which

achieved high negative numbers. This is in direct opposition to the statement

above which claims the " highest ORP – Anti-Oxidant level of any Ionizer.

Advertising and marketing hype is one thing but misrepresentation of the facts

to create a better market niche lacks integrity in the marketplace. The next

topic of discussion is filtration. While platinum coated titanium plates are

unarguably the industry standard, differences in filtration styles and mediums

have been used in an attempt to distinguish the companies from one another. This

is one of the areas where manufacturers have made some wild claims about their

filters. Filtration is a VERY IMPORTANT topic. The main job of any filtration

medium should be to remove unwanted, potentially harmful debris and chemicals

from the water without removing the minerals necessary for ionization. Kangen

Enagic's filters accomplish this by using 3 components (Fig. 4, 5):

1. Calcium Sulfite (CaSO3) used for its biocidal or disinfecting properties a

2. Antibacterial granular activated carbon

3. Mechanical filter that filters to 5 microns

Fig. 4 - Enagic Filter Fig. 5 - Enagic Filter Dismantled When dismantled there

were only 3 components, those listed above, nothing more, nothing less. In the

photo above the calcium sulfite and all of the granular activated carbon had

been removed, leaving only the mechanical filter. I have researched the official

Jupiter website and spoken to several Jupiter distributors to get full

disclosure on the contents of their newest filtration media. Below you will see

a diagram from the official website. As you can see, Jupiter's filters use

varying amounts of Coral Calcium, Tourmaline, activated granular carbon and 4

layers of fiber filters in the .1M filter. In the .01M filter as much as ¼ of

the activated carbon has been replaced by an ultra fine filter (Fig. 6). Kangen

Fig. 6 – Crosssection Images of Jupiter's Filter Diagrams Since this subject of

the filters is quite extensive, the major points will appear in black, while the

research in will appear in blue to help you make it through these topics more

easily. Coral Calcium: In the past, Jupiter called the coral calcium Biostone.

Recently this has been revised and is now referred to in their literature by its

actual name, coral calcium. Some of you may be unaware of the fact that in order

for minerals to be bio-available the human body they must come from a plant

source. Coral is not a plant, it is an animal. So, much like calcium from bovine

sources, it is not bio-available to be used by our bodies. So what becomes of

that excess calcium in our bodies – it creates stones like kidney stones and

gallstones; it produces calcium deposits that can become bone spurs or joint

deposits that create painful joints. It can cause hypercalcemia which can lead

to a whole host of horrible symptoms including death.

On a less dramatic note, I have yet to find tap water in the US that doesn't

already have too much calcium. This excess calcium creates lime deposits on our

plumbing fixtures and can quickly coat our ionizing plates. This coating

diminishes the flow of electricity through the plates, resulting in incomplete

ionization of the water. When tap water is not completely ionized, many of the

pollutants present in the water are not separated out and end up in the drinking

water. Tourmaline: One of the items they report is that tourmaline produces an

electrical charge emitted into the water as far infrared energy. After a solid

week of researching tourmaline I have discovered many disturbing facts about

this gem stone. The list is quite extensive, so I am going to print it in blue

again so that you don't get lost.

1. Some tourmalines can produce an electrical charge, called pyroelectricity,

when the stones are heated. Under these circumstances the stones yield a

positively charged end and a negatively charged end.

This is a definite problem since the water passing through the units is cold

rather than hot.

2. The other way to produce an electrical charge is to apply pressure to a

tourmaline crystal in the specific direction of the vertical crystal axis. The

stones in their official rendition of the filter are rounded pebbles. They do

not appear to be laid in a specific direction to expose the vertical axis.

Additionally, there is no pressure applied.

3. Tourmaline is comprised of many minerals which dissociate in water. Below is

a partial list of minerals as well as a few of their potential toxic side

effects:

a. Sodium – hypertension

b. Calcium – kidney & gallstones, bone spurs

c. Lithium – hallucinations

d. Iron – heart disease, especially in men and post-menopausal women

e. Aluminum – linked to Alzheimer's (upon autopsy Alzheimer's patients had 4

times the accumulation of aluminum than considered normal)

f. Silicone – excessive bruising, stomach irritation, rashes

g. Boron – interferes with normal estrogen and testosterone hormone production &

hair loss

Micron Filter: At .01 micron filtration, too few minerals present for complete

ionization. Electrolysis requires adequate minerals. Too many or too few

minerals impede complete ionization. Once water begins to lack mineral content,

it becomes more acidic and more oxidizing. It will then lock on to any minerals

it can. It is reasonable to assume that this filtration process would encourage

the transfer of minerals from the coral calcium and the tourmaline into this

filtered water. If these minerals could be utilized by the human body, this

would be a great big plus factor. However, since they are not bio-available to

humans and can cause tremendous health risks, this is not a desirable feature.

12 Stage Filtration: LifeIonizer, a Korean manufacturer, equips their units with

2 separate filters. Each is billed as a 6-Stage filter. The official product

specifications for the filters are as follows: Specially devised, high quality 6

Stage filter: Life Ionizers have the most comprehensive pre-filters available on

the market today. Each unit has two built in filters totaling 12 stages of

filtration/treatment. Stage 1 Pre Filter Relatively large contaminants such as

sand, dirt, residue are removed prevents Special Block Carbon Filter from being

contaminated Stage 2 Special block carbon filter Removes unpleasant tastes and

odors, residual chlorine, environmental hormones which easily dissolves into

water and trihalomethanes Stage 3 Poly-Ethylene Filter Removes microscopic and

contaminated substances that could not be removed from the previous filtering

process Stage 4 Active Carbon Filter Removes chlorine, deposits formed and

floating in water, trihalomethanes (mixture of organics with chlorines),

residual chlorine, and volatile organically combined substances. Kangen Water

Stage 5 CaSO3 H2O Adds alkaline minerals Stage 6 Silver-Added Active Carbon

Preserves the beneficial alkaline minerals and removes unpleasant taste and odor

from water. As mentioned earlier, field testing 2 different LifeIonizer units

produced very dismal ORP results – these readings were actually positive numbers

– I was compelled by curiosity to determine what could create such appalling

readings. A filter set was purchased and dismantled to verify all 6 of the

separate filtration medium specified on the website in an attempt to rule out

the filtration as the source of the problem. If it was just the filter, the

problem could be easily solved by making a few minor adjustments. The two

filters were carefully sawn in half to reveal the contents in as undisturbed a

fashion as possible. Much to our surprise there were only 2 things to be found

in those filters – granulated carbon and a poly-ethylene filter. There was no

block carbon, no CaSO3 (Calcium Sulfite), and no pre-filter to be found. (Fig.7)

This was true of both filters. Figure 7 – LifeIonizer Filter Cross Section Cut –

UV Light: Akai, another Japanese manufacturer, has the most unique approach to

killing microbes present in the water. Akai utilizes a UV light to destroy

undesirable microbes. While complete ionization should kill any microbial

content in the water, Akai took an extra step to be certain. The remainder of

their filtration utilizes activated granular carbon as well as a mechanical

filter. Myth 2: Kangen water is better than alkaline, ionized water Fact: There

are 2 ways the quality of Kangen or alkaline water are measured – by how acid or

alkaline the water becomes (pH) and by how much ionization occurs (ORP). As I

pointed out in the previous " myth " point, Kangen Water™ is Enagic's brand of

alkaline, ionized water with a high –ORP. The very measurements that are

mentioned, pH and ORP, are what sets Enagic's units apart from all of the

competitors that I have tested to date. Enagic's units produce a stable and

consistently higher pH and –ORP than other units. Each time I have tested the

water from my SD501 in my kitchen, the pH holds at 9.75 for 21 days in a closed

container out of excessive heat; and the ORP tests consistently at -925mV and

holds at -900mV for up to 56 hours if stored in a dark glass bottle with a tight

fitting lid on my countertop. Because all water sources are different, your

results may vary. Over the past 2 years I have regularly called various Jupiter

dealers to obtain information. I am always honest and tell them that I am doing

research on water ionizers and I want to know anything that they can tell me

about their machines. I was proudly sent to this site recently by a distributor.

They consider this unit to be roughly equivalent in their line to our DX or DXII

units. At the time this test was performed, Jupiter was claiming that they could

achieve a -800mV ORP from the Melody. But when I pressed the salesman, I was

told that the normal readings were about -175mV. Tests performed in my own

kitchen, using the same tap that is used to produce my Kangen Water™, showed

that the Jupiter Melody consistently produced water which tested at only a

-120mV ORP with a pH of 9.6. Another factor is that the ORP Kangen Water

dropped at an alarming rate when stored in a dark glass bottle with the same

parameters utilized with the Kangen Water™. After only 2 hours the ORP had

dropped to -20mV. These tests indicate the lack of stability in the water which

would generally be attributed to incomplete ionization, a direct result of

inadequate ionizing plates. The following chart was copied from a Jupiter

website with test results: The following analyses were performed by certified

laboratories on water from a Jupiter Mavello ionizer, a model similar to the new

Jupiter Melody.

Oxidation-Reduction Potential and pH: Ionized Level

O.R.P.

pH

Tap Water

+ 10mV

7.0

Level 1 alkaline

-165mV

8.7

Level 2 alkaline

-185mV

9.7

Level 3 alkaline

-215mV

10.3

Level 4 alkaline

-248mV

10.8

Purified Water

-20mV

7.2

Super Oxide (Acid)

+65mV

4.5

BEST O.R.P.

-90mV to -250mV

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