Water Ionizer Performance
Truth: over the years, the alkaline water ionizer industry has run rife with undocumented performance claims around pH and ORP and now molecular hydrogen (H2).
Truth: many people who sell alkaline water ionizers state performance absolutes, as in our ionizer will do “X”.
Truth: you can cut through all this. Below are four things you need to know about performance metrics in ANY electric ionizer.
Your Source Water Matters.
This first point cannot be emphasized enough. Performance levels are significantly impacted by source water - whether you are talking about H2, pH and/or ORP. Any ionizer running on hard water, or water with elevated levels of minerals or high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), will always perform better. The harder or more mineralized the water, the better the top-end performance. Conversely, the exact same ionizer on soft water with low mineral content will always perform lower than it can in hard water.
Comparisons are only legitimate if done using the exact same source water. Beware of importers in hard water areas who over-state performance. For example, Life Ionizers™ is located in Carlsbad, California. They have extreme TDS – over 600ppm1. To contrast, our TDS in Reno is 10% of that at between 60 – 70 ppm. Any credible ionizer company will state a range of performance. Not absolutes.
Your Ionizer’s Flow Rate Matters.
The second important point is that an ionizer’s flow rate will affect performance. All things being equal, slower flow rate will produce more performance. Some manufacturers intentionally produce ionizers with slower flow rates to compensate for less efficient electrodes. Slowing the flow will also typically raise pH, and high pH water doesn’t taste good to most people. The vast majority of alkaline ionized water drinkers settle on lower pH ranges for regular drinking.
Smart Shopper's Shortcut
What you need to know about performance...
Ionizer performance is NOT absolute. It depends on three important variables: water quality, the power applied at each setting and flow rate. In addition to these three variables, performance year-in and year-out is important and depends on how well an ionizer’s cleaning system works to keep the electrodes and membranes clean. Beware of any company or sales person who tells you “our ionizer will do “X”. It is simply not true. What is true is that when you understand the variables, and ionizer cleaning systems, you can make an informed choice. Learn how our AutoAdjust technology helps overcome the three variables and why DARC II cleaning keeps performance optimal over time. Be smart.
Power Matters.
Ionizers offer a choice of alkaline levels – typically four – that you choose with a push of a button. Each time you choose a higher level, more power is sent to the electrodes and incrementally more performance is achieved. Ionizers that advertise high power (some go as high as 800 watts!) are ironically only advertising that they have inefficient electrodes and membrane systems. An incredibly important and often overlooked point is that ionizers that utilize higher power will experience higher electrode heat. When electrodes get hot, the platinum plating deteriorates. Compromised plating delivers less performance over time. Many ionizers tout higher power as the solution to performance. In the long run, it isn’t.
Cleaning is King.
The effectiveness of an ionizer’s cleaning system affects performance over time. This is also an overlooked point. You can have the perfectly mineralized water, the greatest electrodes, proper flow rate and power, but if your ionizer can’t eliminate scale, its performance will drop. Quickly, if you have very hard water. We have tested scaled up ionizers that do not produce any alteration in the water. To achieve optimal performance the electrodes must be kept clean – over time. How effectively an ionizer’s cleaning system works is critical. Don't be misled by gimmicky marketing names for cleaning systems – it all boils down to the acid to alkaline cleaning ratio. When shopping, ask what the cleaning ratio is and how the system achieves that. If you do not get a lucid answer, run. Fast.
The Ultimate Solution.
While we can’t control source water, we do offer you the most advanced and effective solutions to all the other variables. Convenience: You want a flow rate that is fast enough, but not too fast. Super-fast flow rates will not only lower performance but they will significantly compromise filtration. Filters work on contact time. The faster flow, the less contact time, especially in GAC and vitamin C filters. The H2 Series runs at 3 lpm which is the ideal balance between great performance and great filtration.
Superior Filtration: USA made UltraWaterTM filters are the only ionizer filters that have been independently tested against 172 contaminants and shown to reduce virtually all of them to 99.9%. Even the toughest. There is no better filter available – because AlkaViva believes that healthy water should start by being clean.
H2 Infusion Technology: We employ the highly advanced Smart Electrode design and manufacturing. Next, we match the Smart Electrodes with our own proprietary membrane technology that is optimized to produce optimal H2 and ORP performance.
Superior Cleaning Means Lasting Performance: Our H2 Series ionizers employ our newly improved DARC II Cleaning System which previously (as DARC) was for 9 years the best cleaning system in the industry. DARC II offers the most effective 1:1 cleaning ratio using a constantly reversing polarity system controlled by a non-scaling ceramic valve.
Efficiency: The H2 Series employs the most sophisticated and advanced power delivery system. The correct current density ensures the longest electrode life and is only possible using more advanced (smaller sized) plates. You get efficiency and performance. While other less advanced ionizers are required to use maxed out power of up to 800 watts to achieve performance, our H2 ionizers run 150 watts of peak power ensuring fantastic power density, unmatched performance and long plate life. Our power supply also includes Auto Adjust which automatically adjust the background power using pulse width modification technology - optimizing performance. You get great alteration – even at the better tasting and lower pH levels that most people drink.
Independent Testing. AlkaViva is the only ionizer company to have commissioned an EPA-certified, third party, independent laboratory to document the performance results of different brands and prove our point about efficiency and performance. Bigger just isn’t better. When it comes to technology – including ionizers – smaller is.
Note on H2 Performance: while we understand the basic science of how H2 is produced during electrolysis, it is a new focus in our industry. No one fully understands all the unique nuances of this delicate electro-chemical process. We don’t fully know how certain properties, in addition to hardness and TDS, affect H2 performance. Apart from TDS and hardness, it is entirely possible that certain water chemistries lend to better performance, and others to less.
That is a lot of information. However, we feel these are all important points for properly informed customers to consider before simply reading – and believing – a company’s declaration that “our ionizer does X”.
To get optimal benefits, we offer AlkaViva's DARC II cleaning and our Smart Electrodes that are perfectly powered for maximum efficiency and performance that lasts. Exactly what you want.
Compare H2 Series to Other Brands.
1) http://www.carlsbadca.gov/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=25132
