What You Get for the Money – $1,000 to $1,999

15/11/2011 , by Admin No Comments Featured Articles

This is the second most popular price point for customers looking to purchase a water ionizer for use in their home.

You can find a lot of good products around the middle of this price range if you’re willing to sacrifice a little in plate size, power, warranty, and overall performance.  Still, any of these water ionizers will be able to produce good quality ionized water for drinking and other common household uses.

We’ll go through the most popular starting with the most expensive and working our way down.

Remember, this article is based on the full retail price for these products.  You may be able to find some of these models at special sale pricing.

Watershed Odyssey

For $1,999 you can get Watershed’s under counter water ionizer – the Odyssey.   The price seems pretty attractive, especially for an under counter model, but let’s take a closer look at what you’re really getting for the money….

The Odyssey is a 4-plate water ionizer operating at a maximum of 130 watts at full power.  Watershed water ionizers use flat/solid electrodes with SMPS power.

The most unique feature of this model is the triple filtration system.  The first filter removes sediment and particulates up to .5 microns.  The second filter removes sulfur, chlorine and other contaminants and the third filter provides additional removal of contaminants and particulates with a .1 micron carbon filter.

Like other true under-counter water ionizers, the user has full control over all of the presets and available adjustments through a control panel built into the faucet.  There is no display but voice alerts let you know the level of water you are producing with warning chimes when you are producing water that is not suitable for drinking.

Each time you use the Odyssey, the unit remembers the last setting you used that was safe for drinking and defaults back to that setting the next time you use it.  That means if you need acidic water this time, the next time you turn the unit on it will produce alkaline water at level one, two or three – whichever was used most recently.

As far as performance, the Odyssey can produce water with a pH range of 4.5 to 9.5-10.0 in most parts of the country.  This is the basic “acceptable” range for any water ionizer – providing 9.5 pH water for drinking and 4.5 pH water for use as a mouthwash or skin toner.

Advanced features on this model include adjustable power for alkaline and acidic performance, voice alerts indicating the level of the water being produced, cleaning cycle and filter change.

The automated cleaning cycle is based on an internal timer.  When the unit needs to run a cleaning cycle, it will be activated at your next use.   That means, you turn the unit on and you’ll hear a warning chime regardless of the level you may have selected.  The cleaning cycle will run for 15 – 20 seconds and then the audio warning will stop and the Odyssey will start producing water at the level you selected.

Watershed has a cleaning protocol that they recommend running at least once a year – it can be a little complicated with the under-counter design.  The company is looking at developing an internal cleaning cartridge or you can choose to send the main unit under the sink back to the company for cleaning and service.

You’ll need to replace the unit’s filtration system every nine to twelve months, depending on your usage and the quality of your source water.

All Watershed water ionizers come with a 5-year warranty covering both parts and labor.

Melody

The Melody water ionizer has been one of the best sellers for IonWays at $1,595 based on price.  Customers who don’t have the budget for an Athena or Delphi but want to stick with the IonWays brand usually end up here.

It’s a good basic 5-plate water ionizer capable of producing ionized water between 4.0 and 10.5 pH.  The Melody doesn’t have the same DARC cleaning system you find in higher end IonWays models but it will run a brief cleaning after each use.  At this time the company does not have any available cleaning cartridge or other cleaning protocol for users.

For your investment in the 5-plate Melody you’ll get four alkaline, four acidic and one neutral preset with a “memory default.”  Each time you use the unit it remembers that setting – the next time you turn it on it will default back to that last setting, whether that setting was alkaline or acidic.

The control panel lights up blue when you’re at an alkaline setting and red if you’re using an acidic setting so you’ll have visual indicators as to whether or not the water you’re producing is recommended for drinking.  The “Melody Function” on the control panel is the voice alert system which can be turned off.

The single Biostone filter effectively removes most common contaminants – you’ll need to replace the filter about every six to nine months depending on your use and the quality of your source water.

A good basic 5-plate water ionizer – no frills, performs well when it comes to producing ionized water for drinking.  You’re dropping down in price here so you’re dropping down in features as well.  You do have an onboard mineral port with this model.  Adding minerals can boost performance if you need stronger water than the machine produces on its own.

IonWays backs the Melody water ionizer with a 5-year warranty covering both parts and labor – after the first five years, the company stands behind the parts for as long as you own the unit with customers paying shipping and labor costs.

Watershed AQ500

At the bottom of this price range is another Watershed model – the company’s 5-plate water ionizer the AQ500.

Your $1,100 investment in the AQ500 will get you another good basic water ionizer capable of producing ionized water for drinking and acidic water for other uses.  pH range will be between 4.0 and 10.0 but will vary based on your source water.

The AQ500 also has an onboard mineral port that can be used to boost performance.  Another plus with this model is the ability to adjust the power settings.  Accessing the power settings isn’t as easy as with the higher end models but it can be done.  Not “preset specific” adjustments but you can make the machine use more or less power during the ionization process.

The single filter will last 9 to 12 months.  The AQ 700 comes standard with a carbon filter but the company does offer filter upgrades to either Biostone or .01 micron carbon filtration.

The cleaning cycle is timer-based.  When the unit needs to run a cleaning cycle you’ll know when you turn it on – instead of getting the water you selected the cleaning cycle will run for about 20 seconds, then it will start producing water based on your control panel selection.

You do get the “safe default” feature with the AQ500.  This model will remember the last alkaline setting you used that was considered safe for drinking.  Whether you get purified water at the neutral setting or acidic water this time, the next time you turn the unit on it will default back to the last alkaline level used that was safe for drinking.

There is no available internal cleaning cartridge for this unit at this time.  The company recommends running a vinegar or citric acid flush on the unit at least once a year.  The flush involves using a small pump, like you would use for a fish tank, to circulate vinegar through the unit for about an hour to remove scale buildup.

Watershed has a 5-year warranty on the AQ500 that covers both parts and labor.  Repairs are made here in the United States.

There are a few other water ionizers in this same price range but these are the most popular based on “bang for your buck.”  You should be able to get a good basic water ionizer in this price range but don’t look for a lot of extras and don’t look to get the stronger pH levels that can be good returns on your extra investment.

You should be able to count on good quality ionized water at the basic levels for drinking or use as a skin toner.  And you should be able to find a decent 7-plate water ionizer in this price range.

As always, do your homework, check for special pricing – and beware of deals that seem to be ‘better than the rest’ or you may find that your savings today may cost you in the long-run.

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