Alkaline Water Purifiers Compared

	Jupiter Orion & Aquarius	Jupiter Melody	Jupiter Microlite	Jupiter Delphi Undersink	KYK Harmony	Enagic® SD-501	Life Ionizer	Gold Fox EP-1000
Manufacturer or Assembler	Manufacturer	Manufacturer	Manufacturer	Manufacturer	Assembler Only Import cell from Taiwan	Manufacturer	Assembler Only Import cell from China	Assembler Only Import cell from Taiwan
Number of Electrode Plates	5	5	5	5	5	7	5	6
Type of Plates	Mesh Diode	Coated	Coated	Mesh Diode	Plated	Plated	Plated	Plated
Plate Source	Japan	Japan	Japan	Japan	Taiwan	Japan	China	Taiwan
Cleaning Frequency	Cleans while you use it DARC	Every time automatic post use	15 secs each time used	Every time used DARC	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	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stops Scaling on Plates	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Water Flow Control	Onboard	Onboard	Onboard	Onboard	Yes	Yes	Onboard	Tap only
Installation Options	2 options	3 options	2 options	Designed as undersink	2 options	To tap with diverter only	3 options	To tap only
Filtration (in Microns)	.01M	.1M or .01M	.1M or .01M	.01M	.1M or .01M	.1M	.1M or .01M	1M
What is in filter?	Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline	Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline	Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline	Carbon, Calcium & Tourmaline	Carbon	Carbon and Calcium	Carbon and Calcium	Carbon
Price of Filter	$59 or $89	$59 or $89	$59 or $89	$59 or $89	?	?	?	?
Electrical Supply	Transformer	Transformer	Transformer	Transformer	SMPS	Transformer	Transformer	Transformer
Mineral Port	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	In filter	No
Power Usage	80W	110W	110W	80W	200W	230W	200W	400w
Number of pH Levels	48	9 settings plus control knob	9 settings	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, by actual liters.	Yes, by actual liters.	Yes, by timer	Yes by actual litres	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	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Flow Rate Indicator	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	Yes	?
Price	$1795	$1395	$875	$2645	$1199	$3980	$1895	$795

Comments/ Helpful Advice

The above details were gathered from data research in 2007.
For more clarification on any brands please contact us (Toll Free) 1-800-875-9025

1. Jupiter Science is the only Manufacturer of water ionizers in Korea and one of only a few in the world. Other companies are simply assemblers (buying parts from elsewhwre) with no ongoing Research and Development. All Jupiter Science cells are manufactured in Japan by Jupiter Science's own R & D. Department.

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 has been making ionizers since 1982 and produces 90% of all water ionizers in Korea with a production plant capable of over 100,000 units a month.

3. Jupiter Melody, Orion, Aquarius and Delphi ionizers are still the only ionizers to always give alkaline water (even when cleaning). This patented system means that there is no waiting, no risk of drinking acid water by mistake and also means that scale build up on the plates is minimized.

4. * 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.

5. ** 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®.

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

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

10. 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).

11. 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.

12. 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.
Hanna Instruments (the leaders in selling ORP meters worldwide) have the following page on how to ensure you get good ORP readings. As you can see, by clicking here, it is not as simple as putting a cheap probe inside a machine.

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The statements enclosed herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products mentioned on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your family doctor.