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Polarized Water

Dan kamsickas said:
I have a buddy who LOVES them. He does a pretty good business replacing water heaters on houses that put those in on hard water instead of a softener.
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Dan, I want to make sure I am reading your comment correctly. Are you saying that your friend finds that the magnets do not help?
 
CentralTex said:
Dan, I want to make sure I am reading your comment correctly. Are you saying that your friend finds that the magnets do not help?
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Yup. You either remove the hardness or you don't. No matter what magnetism or ionization you use the minute that water hits the water heater it gets cooked out prematurely causing failure on the water heater. It's even quicker with the on demand ones. It kills the heat exchanger and because the water is hard the warranty is VOID.
 
Dan kamsickas said:
Yup. You either remove the hardness or you don't. No matter what magnetism or ionization you use the minute that water hits the water heater it gets cooked out prematurely causing failure on the water heater. It's even quicker with the on demand ones. It kills the heat exchanger and because the water is hard the warranty is VOID.
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I've also seen the "results" on a boiler. Old Raypak, guys were sold magnets that was supposed to eliminate the softener, three months later the heat exchanger was almost completely clogged and buckled.
 
If the primary goal is the prevention of boiler scale and related heat transfer efficiency, magnetic scale reduction might provide positive results. However, when the treated water is exposed to the atmosphere, the benefits and performance degrade quickly and substantially.

None of the “alternate” systems provide softened water in the traditional sense. Scale prevention systems attempt to bind the hardness minerals, so they remain in the water and do not attach to plumbing surfaces. Soft water uses ion exchange to remove the hardness minerals, so they are unable to attach.

If you are looking only for scale reduction in always wetted areas, then scale prevention systems in that arena may be as good as a softener. But if you are looking for the benefits of significant soap/chemical use reductions and RO membrane longevity then you will need traditional softening.
 
Ive talked a a couple of supposed water treatment experts and they essentially says what cant break 80 said. It may work for scale reduction, but won't soften your water as many are touted to do. I do have a friend who owned a car wash and he claims that his magnetic water softener significantly reduced buildup on his IBA walls from his hard rinse water (over 20 grains). But they looked like hell to me.
 
I asked my Master Plumber who works for individuals, companies, apartment buildings and government agencies. He never heard of such approach in 30 years of experience. Only recommends a softener.
 
What do I do with the 50,000 magnets I bought? I can't get the to stick to my copper water lines.
 
The lack of scale buildup on the walls of the car wash was interesting to me. I put a set at one of my car washes (in addition to the softener) and at my house (no softener). I'll let ya know what happens. The magnets were less than one bucket of wall cleaner, so I thought it was worth a try. We shall see!
Just a note - the article does differentiate between polarizing and softening. It's not the same thing, and doesn't pretend to be.
 
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