How to Buy a Water Ionizer

Top 5 Most Popular Water Ionizers

The 5 most popular water ionizer companies currently are Jupiter Science, KYK, Life Ionizers, Enagic/Kangen® and Tyent USA.  Each of these companies offers quality products that produce pure alkaline and acid water.  Between all of these companies you’ll find a machine to satisfy your needs. Experience, reputation and  service however varies from poor to excellent, so a company’s track record is especially important in this industry.

Jupiter Ionways

Jupiter Science/Dong Yang, established in 1982 and was one of the first water ionizer companies, they though no longer manufacture their own ionizers.  The U.S. distributor currently gets its’ products from a Korean manufacturer called Ionia.  Ionlife sells ionizers in the U.S. under several brand names.

Life Ionizers

Life Ionizers/Earthtrade Water, Inc.has been in business since 1996, with offices in California, Canada, Europe and Australia. Earthtrade Water, Inc. is a full-spectrum water products company offering both consumer, commercial and industrial products, from water filters to water ionizers. Life Ionizers was one of the first to offer ultraviolet purification, GRID plates and free external filters.

Tyent

Tyent, USA  was established in October of 2007. They are a reseller for a small manufacturer in South Korea. Since being introduced to the U.S. Tyent has come out with several new models, including their more expensive Turbo models, similar to the Life Ionizer Turbo models. The company is still a little too new to have a strong track record for reliability, reputation or customer service.

Enagic Kangen

Enagic started in the U.S. in 2004 when it introduced the LeveLuk SD501 ionizer – the same model it is still selling through its multilevel marketing business. Multiple levels of high commissions in this business model mean their units sell for many times more than comparable models by other companies. Since they focus more on marketing than product development, they haven’t made any product improvements in over five years. Enagic’s main claim, that they have the largest plates, is misleading since bigger isn’t necessarily better and their overall design is outdated. Their pH and ORP claims are also misleading since they use additives to increase pH, which is not needed in up-to-date designs.

KYK

Dr. Kim Young Kwi, a pioneer of water ionizer technology, founded KYK in 1982 in Korea. Like other early pioneers, KYK hasn’t kept up with the newest technologies. The latest KYK model tries to get around this with a few improvements. However, they only offer a 5-year warranty on most parts, with a lifetime warranty on the plates and electronics, which doesn’t compare well with the full lifetime warranties of Life Ionizers or Tyent.

We’ve developed a 10-Point Checklist of things to look for when buying a water ionizer. With the checklist you can use a simple process of elimination to quickly and easily compare companies and products:

1. Company reputation & history
2. At least 7 electrodes or plates
3. GRID plates available
4. At least 200 watt SMPS power supply
5. At least 2 internal filters (with no calcium sulfite)
6. Customizable external multi-stage filters available
7. UV light system available
8. Convertible for countertop or under-the-counter installation
9. Availability of unique advanced features & models
10. Industry & Government Certifications

Water Ionizers – From Worst to Best

The first brand to eliminate has got to be Enagic®. They are a multilevel marketing company, which doubles their price. Their older flat plate design requires oversize plates and an inefficient transformer. More modern models with comparable flow rates are available at lower cost.  Finally, they use high-pressure sales with an unacceptably short return policy and a poor 5-year warranty.

Jupiter was one of the pioneers in the industry. However, they are next to be eliminated because they are no longer a manufacturer and just haven’t kept up with the newer, more innovative companies. Their brand name is now just a label. Finally, Jupiter models have transformers instead of more efficient SMPS power supplies and they only have 5 plates.

Tyent USA makes some nice ionizers, especially the Turbo models, but they are a very young company with little track record. As a rule of thumb, it takes at a few years for a new company to work out all the “kinks.”  So if a new company comes out, you may want to wait until it has proven itself.  They only have a 5-year warranty on their most popular model.

KYK Ionizers traces their beginnings back to 1982, founded by one of the pioneers in the industry. However, they haven’t kept up with the newest technologies. The latest KYK model has few improvements. We’ve learned from reliable sources in Korea that KYK may be getting out of the competitive water ionizer business entirely.  Finally, they offer only a 5-year warranty (lifetime warranty on the plates).

With 18 years in business, Life Ionizers has the longest history of consistent reliability.  EarthTrade Water, the parent company of Life Ionizers,  is a real, full-spectrum water products company that does  research, innovation and development. All these other companies only sell ionizers.  Life Ionizers also offers more innovations than any other ionizer company. Finally, they are the only major company with a no-hassles lifetime warranty on all parts including the plates. After analyzing all the features and, more importantly, the intangible factors, Life Ionizers clearly stands out.

Except for Jupiter, with only 5 plates, the most popular models in this analysis have 7 plates and are comparably priced under $2,000. Tyent recently came out with a 9-plate turbo model. Life Ionizers now offers several new models including a 11-plate clinical model, an 11-plate commercial model and 4 industrial models with up to 4,000 liters per hour output.

Remember, the bottom line is this:The only way you can be sure your family is drinking pure healthy alkaline water is to make it yourself!