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  • Alkaline Water Ionizers Compared

Alkaline Water Ionizers Compared

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Alkaline Water Ionizers Compared

There are quite a few competitors in the marketplace and important differences between the various brands of water ionizers. Unfortunately, tricky marketing and questionable sales tactics are often used to avoid answering important questions such as who is behind the ionizer you buy and how reliable and proven will your ionizer be under USA conditions.

The chart below shows technical and basic differences between multiple brands of ionizers in as unbiased a manner as possible. It may not be as "interesting" to read as on other sites, but hopefully will provide you with essential and accurate information.

  Jupiter Orion Jupiter Melody Jupiter Athena Tyent KYK Harmony Enagic® Life Ionizer Gold Fox
Overall Rating
Suggested Retail Price $1,895 $1,495 $2,195 $1,895 $1,199 $3,980 $1,895 $1,199
When Wholesaler first in USA 1986 1986 2007 2007 2005 2004 2006 2003
How Long Brand in USA 14 years 14 years 14 years 1+ year 3 years 4 years 1- year 4 years
Independent Lab Result Best pH N.A. 10.47 10.54 N.A. 9.48 9.46 N.A. N.A.
Independent Lab Result Best -ORP N.A. -637.1 -812.0 N.A. -482 -578.7 N.A, N.A.
Independent Lab Result Flow Rate 3 LPM 3 LPM 3 LPM 1.5 LPM 3 LPM 8.0 LPM 1.5 LPM N.A.
Manufacturer
or
Assembler 		Manufacturer Manufacturer Manufacturer Assembler Only Import cell from ? Assembler Only Import cell from Taiwan Manufacturer Assembler Only Import cell from China Assembler Only Import cell from Taiwan
Water Expertise Certified WQA staff Certified WQA staff Certified WQA staff None Limited Limited Limited Limited
Number of Electrode Plates 5 5 5 7 5 7 5-7 5-7
Manufacturing Process Electroplating Electroplating Electroplating Dipped Dipped Dipped Dipped Dipped
Plate Source Japan Japan Japan Korea? Taiwan Japan China Taiwan
Cleaning Frequency Cleans while you use it
DARC		 Every time
automatic
post use		 Every time used
DARC		 Every 24-48 hours for 20 secs Every 12 hours for 30 secs Every 15 gals for 30 secs Every 6 gals for 30 secs Every 12 hours for 30 secs
Wait while Cleaning? No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Stops Scaling on Plates Yes Largely Yes No No No No No
Water Flow Control Onboard No Yes Yes No No No Yes No
Mineral Port Yes Yes Yes No No Saline No No
Installation Options 2 options 3 options Designed as undersink 2 options 2 options To tap with diverter only 3 options To tap only
Filtration
(in Microns)		 .01M .1M or .01M 01M .1M .1M or .01M .1M .1M or .01M 1M
What is in filter? Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline Carbon & Ceramic Carbon Carbon and Calcium Carbon and Calcium Carbon
Price of Filter $69 or $89 $69 or $89 $59 or $89 $85 ? ? ? ?
Electrical Supply Transformer Transformer Transformer SMPS SMPS Transformer SMPS Transformer
Mineral Port Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes In filter No
Power Usage 80W 110W 80W ? 200W 230W 200W 400w
Number of pH Levels 48 9 settings
plus control knob		 48 ? 64 7 9 4
Color Changing Screen Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
Filter Life Indicator Yes, by actual liters. Yes, by actual liters. Yes, by actual liters. Yes Yes, by actual liters. Yes, by timer Yes by actual liters Yes, by actual liters.
Warranty 5 year 5 year 5 year 5 year 5 year 5 year 5 year 1 year
pH/ ORP Measurement No No No No Yes No NO Yes
Hot Water Alarm Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No
Flow Rate Indicator Yes Yes Yes Yes ? ? Yes ?
Price $1895 $1495 $2195 $1395+ $1199+ $2390+ $1497+ $649+

Comments/ Helpful Advice

1. The above details were gathered from data research in September, 2006 and 2007.

2. Copy models from China/Taiwan are beginning to show up in the USA.
Be careful of products that have not been made for the USA market and have no track record here.
These models can disappear as quickly as they have appeared, leaving customers without any backup service, filters or parts. Jupiter Science produces 90% of all water ionizers in Korea with a production plant capable of over 100,000 units a month.

3. * Most ionizer units use only genuine Platinum Titanium. This is because Platinum is by far the most effective and stable element for water ionization. Some models made in Taiwan are using Platinoiridium or Platinum mixed with Iridium. They don't use platinum titanium because platinum titanium is 7 times more expensive than iridium. The Japanese and Korean governments does not allow any company to sell iridium for drinking water applications because it is bad for your health. The EP units made for the US market do not use iridium while the same models in Taiwan/China do use iridium.

Also there are new models on the market using 'white gold' for their plating. This is very misleading as there is no such thing as "white gold" since gold is always yellow. "White gold", in fact, is actually an amalgam and contains at least 62% silver and other minerals. Platinum is about $1250 an ounce while Silver is about $12 an ounce. Obviously all the Japanese manufacturers and Jupiter Science etc would use "white gold" if it was any good.

Some companies use cheap plates that are dipped in iridium instead of been baked which is a more expensive and effective method. Jupiter Science is the only company in Korea that manufactures their own plates (in Japan). All other companies are just assemblers importing their plates from Taiwan or China.

4. ** Enagic® models are so expensive not because they are better than some other brands at a lower price, but because Enagic® needs to markup prices in order to be able to pay out 8 levels of sales representatives. Ask why their filter replacement is well over $100 and ask to see their compensation plan. For further comments please see our Report on Kangen Water.

5. A few manufactures make a lot of profit from replacement filters. While most brands have reasonable filter prices there are some that don't.

6. Some manufacturers are employing larger plating and claiming they are superior. They hope to fool the consumer into thinking "bigger, is better". With electronics quite the opposite is true (consider how the radio, camera, computer and TV have evolved). Effective conductivity is the primary determinant – not electrode size - of effective delivery of voltage into the water needed to create electrolysis. The larger electrodes draw 3-4 times more power decreasing the electrode life with no additional benefit to the water quality. Generally the larger electrodes have poorer conductivity due to inferior plating processes or the grade of materials– so they have to be larger.

7. The BionTech is different from other water ionizers in that it is a batch system that uses 4 liters of water to produce 2 liters of alkaline water about every 15 minutes. The disadvantage is that it is slow to make alkaline water and needs to have the water added in manually. Advantages is that you can use it anywhere there is power and you control your input water. It is also capable of making super acid water of 2.5 pH.

8. When looking at what brand to buy look also at the level and quality of ongoing support you will be getting.

9. By US tested we mean that the company have been selling in the USA for at least one year. It takes a number of years to show that a water ionizer is reliable (less to show it is not).

10. We do not recommend models that use UV lighting as a means for moving bacteria or viruses. UV light has to shine through a clear surface but in time these surfaces tend to become opaque or dirty (especially where there is hard water). Also the UV bulb may stop working and UV light may not work well with fast water flow. In comparison anti-bacterial filters will always work at optimum strength as long as they are replaced in time. All ionizers that use filters have a filter counter inbuilt.

11. Some new companies from China, Taiwan and Korea claim to have an inbuilt ORP meter. Although a good idea this is still only at this stage gimmickry. It is very hard to get an accurate ORP reading and an ORP meter needs to regularly recalibrated and cleaned (since its points quickly gets oxidized). In our tests using ionizers with inbuilt ORP we found that the readings were very inaccurate and misleading when compared to the results from a proper ORP meter.

Jupiter Science Models Compared
Consumer Buying Guide and Checklist
Alkaline Water Home Page

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