tags: Questions, Science
Do electronic limescale inhibitors work?
June 22nd, 2005, by Rich.
I’ve been intermittently toying with the idea of fitting an Anti-Limescale device to the water supply in our home.
Today, with the delivery of a new phone book, I got a flyer describing a product called ScaleWatcher which reminded me of my occasional curiosity with the subject. It’s a nice convincing-looking flyer, with a money back guarantee, so I’m tempted to give it a go.
We have a nice glass sided kettle so it’ll be really obvious if it actually works.
I may be forced to try a little experiment and take daily pictures of my kettle, so please spare me from the madness and give me some definite answers:
- Has anyone I know actually used a household electric water softener?
- Was the experience worthwhile?
- Are they any better than the magnetic or salt based ones?
October 15th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
gary williams! please report on your observations!
I live in Utah too!
I’ve been reading this discussion with interest.
It seems the electronic descalers work, but only
under certain conditions, and we have yet to
identify what those conditions might be.
October 16th, 2008 at 8:59 am
I can’t remember how long ago it was that I posted an article with you guys but since that time I have been busy making and selling our Little Plumber water descalers. We have sold more this year than ever before and continue to wonder why people are still asking the question “do they really work?” We offer a 12 month no quibble guarantee so if our customers are not happy then they can send the unit back for a full refund. We have had one back in 10 years because the customer said it didn’t work. In fact it didn’t work because although the lights flashed the microchip that generates the range of frequencies we use was flawed. Anyway the customer got his money back immediately.
I am sure that there are many of our competitiors products out there that are not properly treating the house because it is really important to find out whether you have a “vented” or “unvented” plumbing system. If you have a vented system with a loft tank then you will need TWO units. One to treat the mains cold pipe and one to treat the cold down pipe into the hot water cylinder. We have a diagram on the site which explains all this. http://www.littleplumber.com
So to all those doubting Thomas’s out there…the answer is YES, if you get the right unit/units and fit them properly you will be scale free and your water will seem softer and more importantly you will save a fortune on your heating bills.
October 19th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Thanks Rich to opening this topic, this forum helped with my decision.
I think it is clear that there are two groups on this forum, it is like with every forum on internet.
One group of spammers and sales individuals trying hard to promote “their” great products (guess why), posting links to companies they are affiliated etc.
Other group of independent users of the products. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the second from the first but since there are so many unsatisfied users it is quite clear.
Why there is no such doubt whether salt conditioners work?
Unfortunately the electro-magnetic gadgets only work on their manufacturers sites, maybe there are many people not so good in physics that would accept the nonsense about polarised water and altering molecular structure by subtle electro-magnetic field, but to alter molecules you need much much stronger EM radiation. These devices simply belong to snake-oil ezoteric show-case.
Save your money and time by listening to the right group.
October 24th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Well, we’re all trying to make a living! Each of us must stand by our product and offer a gurantee of its effectiveness. NO ONE should buy a limescale inhibitor unless it has a cast-iron guarantee that it works - or your money back. We do! What good is a year’s guarantee? This is pointless. Most combination (combi) boilers take 2-4 years to ’scale-up’ even in hard water areas. If you buy a inhibitor that only comes with a year’s guarantee on its performance then you must question is effectiveness. We’ve been carrying out descaling for over 30 years and never found an electronic unit that actually worked - despite what the manufacturers say. That’s why we invented our own using silicate-polyphosphate. We KNOW it works - that’s why we can give a guarantee of your money back, even in 10 years time! http://www.limestop.co.uk
Water softeners work, of course, but they are expensive, need maintaining with salt (you wouldn’t believe how many people forget), and require servicing. You also usually lose a cupboard.
You can read about water hardness on our website http://www.scalgon.co.uk
November 20th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I was the VP of R&D for a company in St. Louis involved with a doc at Vanderbilt ni with a University using magnets to treat pain in cancer patients. I have degrees in
chemistry and physics. We experimented with very strong magnets in efforts
to remove hardness in water for use in Zamboni machines. The goal was to make
the hockey rink ice smoother. ALL EXPERIMENTS FAILED MISERABLY.
In addition, experiments were conducted using static magnets for relief of pain.
The theory was that a strong magnet would polarize the positive and negative
charges along a nerve cell and prevent the passage of a pain impulse. Immediately
the physicists debunked the theory. The only way to polarize a nerve cell is
with an electric current ie. a tens unit. An electric current can only be
generated by an oscillating magnetic field. Static magnets don’t work.
End of story…
We called in physicists from Washington University.
November 26th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
It’s all very easy for me to sit here and come up with nice things to say about our products the Little Plumbers http://www.littleplumber.com and to assure you that they work and do get rid of limescale and do prevent it returning. BUT I also get some great feedback from customers like this one from Bill in Arizona who bought one of our LP Solo’s, the battery operated model. He says:
“We are VERY impressed with our new LP Solo! I was concerned since the only access I had for installation was around the flexible copper tubing leading to our hot water heater, but overnight we had softer, sudsier and better tasting water. If our decorative fountains are an
accurate indication of how fast the minerals build up in pipes, Lord only knows how ANY water is getting through our 20 year old plumbing.
I know it will take time, but I’m anxious to see the difference.”
So while there are still people out there saying these products don’t work then ask Bill.
Of course we know static magnets don’t work because the water has to be passing the magnet for even a weak field to be generated in the water (Flemings Right Hand Rule) but our units use an electromagnet to put the current and the frequencies into the water. Even static water. And they do work. 10 years and only one back !!!
November 27th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I saw an electronic scale inhibitor for very little money in Maplin. Bought and installed it. Distant memories of school chemistry 50 years back suggested I could demonstrate a difference in the water hardness by testing samples of untreated tapwater, boiled water from a kettle and treated water from a bathroom tap with drops of soap solution. (All at same temperature, same quantity, same soap solution etc - detergent doesn’t work so well). The more drops of soap solution it took to produce a lather, the harder the water. This rough test showed that the treated water did appear to be softer than untreated but not as soft as boiled water. Which shouldn’t happen, because the scale inhibitor doesn’t remove the calcium. Anyway, two years later we still have limescale round the taps, on the shower head etc……
November 27th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Gavin (LittlePlumber) - Will you offer more than your 12-month guarantee then? Because that’s all you are giving on your website. You state that you have only had one back in ten years, but that’s no surprise when you only offer a 1-year guarantee!!! Think about it. We now give a NEVER-ENDING guarantee OF PERFORMANCE on our LimeStop - and we’ve never had a one back since we’ve been manufacturing Siliphos-filled limescale inhibitors from 2003. If something works then the manufacturers should have the courage to back it with a money-back guarantee that lasts for ever…we do! Gavin, every week of the year we remove a magnetic or electronic scale inhibitor to fit a LimeStop in place of it. We are doing that AFTER descaling the boiler. The boiler had ’scaled-up’ despite the magical bit of magnetism or electrickery! Today we removed another HydroFlow that hadn’t worked. Sorry Gavin, we’ve been in this for many, many years. We’ve tried them all, and only Siliphos works. And that’s why LimeStop comes with its ‘For-ever’ guarantee.
Cheers,
Barry Foster, Scalgon
December 4th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Thank you to all the contributers to this subject. I have only just commenced researching and looking at the electronic options of scale free water - but am more confused now. Surely there must have been some formal research done on this subject? If not then I would strongly recommned that one of the manufacturers, or several of them, jointly fund some independent analysis if they so strongly believe their marketing text.
Up until I had found this site I was going to purchase but am now totally reconsidering my decision - thank you all! As I have several friends who are also looking at this type of product I will share this link to the site with them.
December 10th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Hello Jacqui. I completely agree. As a manufacturer of something that I know works then far from being afraid of a test I would welcome it very much. In fact, we’ve been waiting for a call from Which? magazine saying that they would like one of our units to test. Anytime they’re ready we’ll personally deliver it to them. Ours works - that’s why we guarantee it ‘For-ever’. I see you are looking for an ‘electronic option’. Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. There are times when our LimeStop (small as it is) just won’t fit on the available pipework (if the plumber has made lots of joints). So I contacted the managing director of a particularly very well-known company to ask if we could buy 50 of his product to install where ours wasn’t possible. He and I got on well in the conversation until it came to the point that I stated we would want a money-back guarantee for our customers if it didn’t work. Immediately he refused. He made it plain that it was not a condition that his company would enter in to. That said it all for us and no more correspondence took place.