Very often, when chatting with new people, I get the question, “What’s your job?” And the standard reply would be that I’m in sales and more particularly, sales of water ionizer systems. This invariably leads to the next question that most people ask, “what is an ionizer?” To try not to confuse too many people, I often spot the reply, that the name is axiomatic by nature, it simply ionizes water! For the really interested people, it leads to yet another question of “So what is ionization?” Well, to answer that, I’ll leave it to another post to help you understand more. But for this post, I’ll be looking at the most fundamental question of what is an ionizer? Or more specifically, what is a WATER ionizer?
So what is a WATER ionizer??
Well, so in order to not sound so patronizing, a water ionizer would help separate water into alkaline and acid fractions using a process known as electrolysis. Another definition by Dr Hayashi for water ionizer would be ‘an electrical appliance connected to your kitchen water supply to perform electrolysis on tap water [through]… electrolysis chamber equipped with a platinum-coated titanium electrode where electrolysis takes place’.1 So simply put, through the process of partial electrolysis (a state where electrical current creates 2 different polarities, + and -), it helps to split or more technically, decomposes water into its fundamental states of H+ and OH-, which is acidic and alkaline respectively. So a water ionizer simply separates normal tap water into alkaline and acidic water
So what are the parts of a WATER ionizer??
There are 2 main sections for modern ionizers. There is firstly a filtration section followed by an ionization section.2
Filtration Section:
It consists of a filter that helps to remove sediments and possibly chemicals from the water source (highly dependent on the make-up of the filter).
Ionization Section:
The main component in this section would be the water cell that does the actual ionization (splitting the water into its 2 parts of alkaline and acidic). Most of the time, this portion is sealed, so most people would not be able to actually see the actual electrodes. Interestingly, some of the older systems actually let people see the rough size of the water cell.
Overall:
Well, whilst the above are the 2 main components that define a water ionizer, it is not all that is, there are many other components including
- Printed Circuit board (PCB)
The ‘brains’ of a water ionizer – the PCB regulates the options and functions that the user selects
- Power Supply
Without power or electricity, ionizers will not and cannot function. It will, at most be a filter in some cases.
- Sensors
Most of the systems would have several in-built sensors to serve a myriad of purposes in terms of detection, for example: water pressure, electronic parts failure, voice or sound prompts, mineral deposit build up, hot water influx, output water’s pH and ORP are amongst the many examples!
- Pipes, tubings and wires
These items though small, creates the network for the entire water ionizer to work. Much like our body and organs would not be able to work without our blood vessels or the skeletal system, these parts connects the main components together to make it work!
Some systems do also offer additional and optional features such as valves, cleaning devices, add-on ports for additional minerals and solutions. But ultimately, a water ionizer serves to provide alkaline ionized water to its users.
The picture below gives you an idea of what I mean.
Til another time!
Should you have any queries or need more clarification, do feel free to contact us at +65 6272-5337 / 6223-2267 or simply email us at sales@kemptrading.com
IK
References:
1. http://www.kemptrading.com/info2.asp?id=262
2. http://www.kemptrading.com/info2.asp?id=279
