Water Soft Question

[bob smit]

I have a Kinetico softener in my personal home which I've rebuilt twice over the years including resin change.
This system as u probably know, recycles based solely on water usage (no timer). Yet, do to the condition of my water, I still use allot of salt that cost $$ since i don't use the cheep stuff.

MY Question: I recall an advertisement some time ago that was selling some type of electrical device to replace the resin/salt system.
I do not recall the name of this device nor the manufacturer.
I can only assume that a special kind of resin or the like that uses an applied electrical charge to do the attraction and the ion release is accomplished when the electrical charge is turned off. In other words, the electrical charge is used for the exchange in place of the salt breaking the ion charge. Just a guess.

Does anyone know of this system/method, and if so do U know of any results and/or reports?
Bob Smit, County Electrical Inspector

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[H.G. Watson, Sr.]

Are you asking about sodium free (potasium based) water softeners or the so called "salt free water softeners" (not really "softeners") or so called "descaler" (not really, perhaps "scale control") systems?

Those electric or magnetic devices weren't well thought of by studies commissioned by the Water Quality Association WQA, water quality, NSF certified, certification, filtration, contamination, lead, reverse osmosis, RO, softening I haven't looked into the claims either way. Here's a link to there recently re-issued Consumer Alert on the subject: http://www.wqa.org/pdf/Consumer_Alert_softening.pdf

You might enjoy reading this: "Magnetic water treatment and pseudoscience" Magnetic water treatment pseudoscience for one person's persepctive.

Perhaps you're referring to a Reverse Osmosis (RO) to ElectroDeIonization (EDI) system. Here's a link to an article that popped up when I searched EDI in the WQA library search engine: "Fundamentals of Electrodeionization (EDI) Technology" Link: http://www.wcponline.com/pdf/0703Gallagher.pdf

HTH

[bob smit]

Thanks HG. I wasn't really paying attention to the commercial at the time, but thought of it when my show came back on. Never saw the comm. again.
Appreciate the links, will investagate.
Bob

[H.G. Watson, Sr.]

My pleasure.

From personal experience (fighting the dreaded sunsetting and subject to inopportune mid-day napping and late night/wee hours of the morn wakefulness): beware the dreaded infomercial! Rarely is anything what they make it out to be.

[bob smit]

Holy quap HG, that was allot of reading and is a complete field of study.
The info caused me to be skeptical enough not to waste my time/money.
As we've all learned from past experiences; when something works, one doesn't have to go looking for it, the technology will sell itself.
Thanks again.
Bob Smit, C. E. I.