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5 ways "no-salt" water softeners fall short

Aquality Solutions wants you to know the facts behind Non-Chemical Devices (NCD) which include "No-Salt" Water Softeners and other water treatment devices for residential or industrial use. Unfortunately there's little evidence about the effectiveness of NCDs due to a host of variables that complicate testing standards. While the inconclusive data raises a lot of questions, manufacturers of NCDs maintain that their systems do work "under the right conditions".

Based on case studies from industrial NCDs, however, it's easier to see that the technology hasn't lived up to its claims. Below we've summarized five issues, encompassing years of research and real-world testing of these technologies:

1. NCD's have little to no effect on scale or corrosion.

Based on the reported and observed leaks, and substantial iron level found in the boiler water, it is clear that the Dolphin NCD does not control corrosion within this boiler system. ... We would thus conclude that the Dolphin NCD has no evident effect on scale.¹

Based on the corrosion products observed in the cooling tower distribution basin and rusty appearance of the cooling water, it is evident that the Dolphin NCD does not control corrosion in a cooling water environment.¹

The analytical data clearly show a major loss of scale forming constituents from the cycled cooling water. This, coupled with the observed scale on the condenser tubes, shows that the electrostatic NCD does not prevent scale formation to any significant degree.³

Based on the reported scale problems, analytical data, and literature; we have concluded that the "Fre Flo tm" Catalytic Water Conditioner did not control scale formation in the treated cooling tower system to any significant degree. The observation of a severe white rust problem also demonstrates that this NCD does not control this particular form of high pH corrosion in a significant manner.³

2. NCD's aren't scientifically sound.

With traditional water softeners, testing under standardized conditions works because the mechanisms for how water softeners prevent scale formation are very well understood. This allows interpretation of the results in terms of how softeners will function under other conditions. ... But this is not the case with physical water conditioners. Showing performance under one set of conditions does not allow interpretation of performance under different conditions. ... To this day, issues related to the performance of magnetic or other types of physical water conditioners remain open questions. ⁴

Review of the supplied literature and Clearwater WEB site shows no theory of operation for the Dolphin [NCD] unit that is consistent with accepted scientific principles.¹

3. NCD's aren't necessarily more efficient or "green"

Comparison with a similar chemically treated cooling system in the same area also shows that the “Dolphin” treated cooling system would discharge 5.7 times as much blowdown. Thus the “green” claims made for the “Dolphin” NCD are not substantiated by actual operation when compared to an environmentally friendly chemical based program.⁵

As there are no adverse environmental effects associated with the chemical program in use, it is apparent that the chemically treated cooling system is superior from the “green” standpoint than the “Dolphin” treated system due to a substantial reduction in blowdown resulting in less water use. A building or facility owner cannot obtain LEED credit for a system that actually uses substantially more water than alternative technology, a typical chemical treatment program, and has no demonstrated environmental benefit.⁵

4. NCD's are much more expensive

Reducing the cost of the Dolphin installation by that of the chemical feed and control equipment gives a cost of $72,068, which results in a simple ROI of 11.4 years for replacement of the chemical water management program by the Dolphin NCD. This is an extremely poor ROI and cannot justify installation of such a NCD, even if it did work as claimed.¹

This analysis shows that the Dolphin NCD has a lower, about 5.5%, annual operating cost than a chemical program. However, when the difference in capital costs are considered, the Dolphin NCD has a very poor return on investment...⁶

On the economic side, controlled calcium precipitation within a cooling tower system could be accomplished in a much simpler, more cost effective way by simply adding sodium carbonate solution via a low cost chemical pump instead of a costly NCD, such as the “Dolphin”. While controlled calcium precipitation is not a very effective water management chemistry for cooling tower use, it is commonly employed in treatment of many potable waters for scale
control via hardness reduction.⁵

5. Companies marketing NCD's don't want you to know the facts.

In some states, law enforcement and/or consumer protection agencies have periodically issued consumer alerts about buying magnetic water treatment devices or issued injunctions against specific companies and their agents for making claims of product performance that were not based on scientific testing. Ultimately, due to various issues of participation and technical complications related to the difficulties in protocol design, this effort never got off the ground.⁴

ProChemTech, and the reporter, have received two (2) letters, dated July 24, 2003 and September 10, 2003, from an attorney representing Clearwater LLC, supplier of the Dolphin NCD. ... It is our opinion that legal threats, as noted above, made with the express purpose of preventing publication of findings is a good indication that the particular device, or process, investigated is, in fact, not capable of the marketing claims made. If the product functioned as advertised, there would be no adverse findings to report and thus no need of legal threats.⁶

Conclusion
When you're responsible for the water treatment in your home or company, it's important to look at the evidence behind the rhetoric. For Aquality, the answer is obvious. A non chemical device that claims to change the properties of water without additives—such as a "no-salt" water softener—has a poor report card among the industries that have been using them for decades.

But what about for home use? Could there be a difference between industrial and residential NCDs?

"It is not well understood, however, under which conditions these devices will work and when they will not. Residential applications are often the toughest of conditions because they involve intermittent flow, variable flow rates and single-pass operation." ⁴

With so much uncertainity, it is prudent to continue with proven technology with real, testable results.

Have questions? Please call us and let us know how we can help you: 1-866-4WATER1

Sources

¹ Keister, Timothy. "Case History Report on Non-Chemical Water Treatment Device: Dolphin HYTRONIC Series 1000" ProChemTech International, Inc., Jan. 2003. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. <http://prochemtech.com/Literature/Case_Histories/dolphin1.html>. Read Full Article

³ Keister, Timothy. Non Chemical Devices: Thirty Years of Mythbusting. Tech. ProChemTech International, Inc., 2004. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. <http://www.prochemtech.com/Literature/Technical/ncd.html>. Read Full Article

⁴ Andrew, Rick. "Non-Softening Scale Control Devices." Water Conditioning & Purification July 2008. Print. Read Full Article

⁵ Keister, Timothy. "Case History Report on Non-Chemical Water Treatment Device: Dolphin III "Dolphin Pulsed Power"" ProChemTech International, Inc., Oct. 2006. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. <http://prochemtech.com/Literature/Case_Histories/dolphin3.html>. Read Full Article

⁶ Keister, Timothy. "Case History Report on Non-Chemical Water Treatment Device: Dolphin II Dolphin HYTRONIC Series 1000" ProChemTech International, Inc., 15 Sept. 2003. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. <http://prochemtech.com/Literature/Case_Histories/dolphin2.html>. Read Full Article

 

Related articles:
Consumer Alert: Eco-Friendly Water Softeners Suspect
What are Non Chemical Devices?
The Professional Opinion on "No-Salt" Water Softeners
Behind the So-Called Science of "No-Salt" Water Softeners
Why Sketchy "No-Salt" Water Softeners Still Sell

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