An Opportunity for Enagic Dealers to Provide Ionized “Kangen Water” for Everyone

The simple truth is that ionized or “Kangen” water can help your body heal itself of many ailments that people face on a day to day basis.  Your body is capable of working brilliantly, but it needs the right fuel mixture, just like any other machine.  Abuse the machine, and the performance deteriorates rapidly and often permanently.  Take care of the machine, and it will work tirelessly for a lifetime.  The great news is that all water ionizers are effective in regards to helping your body heal itself. 

How can something so good be known by so few? 

The level of awareness of water ionizers in many countries in Asia is virtually 100%. How can it be that more than 99% of people in the United States and Canada have never heard of these simple but effective machines despite the fact they have been available here for 8 years? 

The simple answer is that nobody is telling the story.  Let me refine that statement… nobody except the dedicated Enagic dealers have been telling the story.  The water ionizer industry in North America owes its entire existence to the efforts made by Enagic dealers.  

Enagic dealers are just regular people who have discovered that drinking ionized water changed their lives.  When the owners of Enagic water ionizers start seeing positive results, they share the information with others.  This process has been going on, one person at a time since 2004.  The dealers of the Enagic MLM system have sold tens of thousands of machines, which is a huge accomplishment.  However, the number still represents less than one Enagic unit for every five thousand homes in the USA and Canada.   As you can see, Enagic has only scratched the surface when it comes to awareness of water ionizers.  Enagic representatives have done a fantastic job with effective demonstrations and providing education about ionized water during their meetings with prospective clients, but the work has only begun.   

While the Enagic system has been successful, it has the same fatal flaw that eventually ruins most MLM systems.  The flaw is the high price that is charged for the units.  At a price of $3,980, the units are just too expensive for the average person to pay for drinking water.   The price issue is accentuated by the fact that competitive products offered by more traditional distribution systems offer excellent products at much lower prices.

When I was in the water ionizer business, virtually all of my sales were made to people who had been introduced to ionized “kangen water” by an Enagic dealer.  Everyone that contacted me wanted to purchase an Enagic SD501, but the high price turned them off.  As competitors, we would direct potential customers who had been educated by Enagic dealers to the “independent” review sites that offered machines producing similar results for half the cost. Enagic dealers would typically respond to the price difference by bashing our products as being inferior. We would refer to the 8 levels of sales commission paid out for Enagic machines under the MLM system, and presto, the sale was made.  

I suspect that if the price of the Enagic SD501 was under $2,000, the dealers would sell five to ten times as many machines because of the great work done by the Enagic dealers.  Instead, sales are lost to other companies, or the sales are lost because people want the Enagic Sd501 or nothing at all, or sales are lost because people get turned off by the entire process.  Since my goal is to get people drinking ionized water, regardless of the brand, I find it disturbing that so many more people could be drinking the water.  

As time progresses and awareness of the payout structure of Enagic increases, Enagic’s well deserved role as the industry leader will continue to erode.  Additional pressures are building for Enagic dealers who are now faced with updated models offered by Sanastec via the traditional means of distribution.  Now, Vollara has popped up presenting itself as an MLM alternative to Enagic with an untried product that sells for half the cost of the SD501.  The same pattern happens over and over again to MLM organizations, and the dealers often move on to other MLM products as they see the writing on the wall.  I believe it would be a shame for Enagic dealers to move on to other MLM endeavors, because it is the water ionizers themselves that are important, not the MLM system.

I have had a number of high ranking Enagic 5A and 6A dealers contact me recently expressing great concern about the future of Enagic.  The Enagic dealers had always been under the impression that the Enagic machines were superior to all other products.  This impression allowed the dealers to sell their units at $3,980 with a clear conscience.  They correctly believed that nothing is more important than your health, so it was logical for people to pay more for the “best” product.  Enagic dealers believed for years that they were providing a valuable public service to people by telling them that the competitive products were inferior.  As the reality that other machines are as good or even better than Enagic struck home, many Enagic leading dealers have been devastated.  It is easy to understand their frustration, because they are good people who are passionate about helping others.    

My concern is that many of the great Enagic dealers are going to become discouraged and stop educating others about ionized water.  I believe that it is imperative that we keep these incredibly valuable people working with water.  If you are an Enagic dealer who is feeling angry, or if you just feel like giving up, don’t quit!  The game is still in its infancy and we need people like you to continue the education process.     

If you are still experiencing success with Enagic, keep doing what you are doing.  However, you might want to consider investigating other brands that are less expensive.  I can assure you that they are effective.  If you have customers that can’t afford the SD501, put yourself in a position to offer other great products at lower prices.  You know from your own experience that the water works.   

If this article applies to you, but you don’t know where to start, contact me.  I will be happy to take time to answer your questions.  I will provide facts and tell you the truth, without a sales pitch.   There are lots of good machines on the market to choose from.  I believe the key to success is to find people with strong business ethics who will support your efforts.  It will be very difficult to find anyone with a support system as strong as Enagic, but there are good people out there.  My goal is to increase the awareness of the water and I believe that Enagic dealers are the “best of the best” when it comes to educating others about water.  Since I can use all the help I can get, I’m at your service.  

The opinions in this article are those of the author.

63 Responses to An Opportunity for Enagic Dealers to Provide Ionized “Kangen Water” for Everyone

  1. What do you know about the Hydrogen Stick?

    • Hi David:

      I just sent you a long email talking about a new product that will soon be on the market, as well as some comments on the current products that are now available.

      I think the Hydrogen sticks are OK, but I would never use one to replace a proper water ionizer. When the price of water ionizers come down in the near future, the demand for cheap alternatives will drop. Hydrogen sticks add minerals to the water, which creates a higher pH. If you simply want a higher pH, there are much cheaper ways to achieve the goal such as using mineral drops, or stirring a spoonful of baking soda into a glass of tap water.

      • Concerned

        I was introduce Kangen and the Water Filtering machines, The Gentleman and his wife are and seem to be very nice folks, I was very impress with the quality of the water, but for me the price is a bit high for thier products and as you have mentioned here, We need more people to be aware of the water they drinking and provide a product that will be better affordable to the common folk.

        Please contact me Sir

        Ruben

        • Hi Rueben:

          Thanks for your comment.

          The Enagic representatives are typically genuine good people who are passionate about sharing their message.

          I agree that we need more people to be aware of the water as I spend a lot of time trying to spread the word with my blog.

          The Enagic people are wonderful at spreading the word. It is too bad that they are saddled with such an overpriced product, because they could be achieving so much more in terms of helping people if they had a unit that was affordable to the “common folk” as you say

  2. Ionized water is known as the “Kangen Water Scam” because they call ionized water “kangen water”.Although the ionizer is a high quality unit, the cost is excessive & way too expensive. The good news is that most companies that sell ionizers are not setup as multi-level marketing businesses.

    • Hi Ben:

      The “Scam” designation is part of the disgraceful behavior that is widespread in the water ionizer industry. If people do their homework, they will discover that the Enagic machines are overpriced in comparison to other water ionizers, but their is no “Scam” going on in terms of the machines being able to ionize water and therefore provide tremendous benefits. It is easy for anyone to determine that Enagic pays out 8 levels of selling fees and their reps will happy to show you the “business opportunity”.

      When people talk about “Scams”, the implication is that you are paying for something that the manufacturers or producers sell with the knowledge that they don’t work. For example, think about how many people undergo chemotherapy at $50,000 per session when their physicians know that the treatments won’t help. There is often no reasonable justification for the treatment that is likely to cause much more damage than good in many cases. However, the treatments are still performed on the grounds that perhaps a miracle might happen.

      I watched as my Dad’s body was ravaged by chemo when there was no chance of recovery. Now that was a “Scam” that was legally performed by the “leading” practitioners of their time. I would have rather seen my Dad be told to purchase a water ionizer at any price and eat a strict alkaline diet. He may still have died, but at least he would have had a realistic chance to survive. In the very least, the last months of his life would not have been 1,000 times better than the torture that he underwent with chemo.

  3. Hi Rob,

    I read the long convo with Gabe and I really enjoyed it.

    Did you know that Kangen Water Tm is trademarked by Enagic? Also, the dipping process in which they use on their Medical Grade/Surgical Grade plates is patented as well.

    Enagic is the only company on the planet who can make Kangen Grade water…..which is approved by a group of over 6500 Medical Doctors in Japan. In other words, no other company can make Kangen Water except Enagic because they have the patented process which no other company can use.

    I was just wondering if you had that information. Also can you show a picture of your lab where you have your 11 machines or maybe post a YouTube video of a quick test?

    Make sure you pour all of the water at the same speed too. Also, make sure all of your machines are brand new for fair results.

    Satisfied Enagic Owner,

    Dustin

    • Hi Dustin:

      Thanks for the comments. The commitment and loyalty of Enagic owners is legendary.

      As we all know, “Kangen” means “back to the source. It has nothing to do with a process. All water ionizers use electrolysis to produce ionized water, including Enagic. The statement “no other company can make Kanger Water except Enagic” is meaningless as all companies can make Kangen/ionized water. The entire “Kangen” trademark is worthless marketing hype. Sorry for being so brutal, but the Enagic dealers use this type of nonsense in an attempt to diminish the other machines in the industry. Sanastec now uses the Kangen name and I bet all the other companies can as well if they bothered to challenge the trademark.

      The info you provided about Medical Grade/Surgical Grade plates is marketing “garblygook”. It means nothing. The plates themselves have very little to do with the output of the machines, and the coating definitely has nothing to do with the performance at all. The platinum coating only serves a protective surface over the titanium plates. In fact, the coating process for the plates used by Enagic is nothing to brag about based upon the research I have done.

      I’m not here to bash Enagic, as I really appreciate all the hard work their dealers have done. However, when false or meaningless statements are made (and Enagic dealers are the undisputed kings of false statements) it makes me angry. I don’t care how Enagic or anyone else markets their products as long as they are not making false statments that appear to make other products seem less authentic or beneficial to your health.

      I’m spending my summer in Muskoka at my summer home for the 44th year. I have had a lot of people encouraging me to do real “independent” videos without a business angle. I’m spending the next two months at my summer home in Muskoka, but when I return to my home in September, I will purchase a video recorder and some lighting so that I can start doing videos from my lab. I will set up some kind of review site within my blog so that people can watch videos of different machines. Each video will feature one machine only, and will illustrate how the machines works and my comments on the machine. The videos won’t feature comparison tests, because all the machines work and it is too easy to play with the numbers if you know what you are doing.

      You can be certain that I won’t be working with NEW machines unless companies want to send me new machines to test. I already have far too many machines according to my wife, so purchasing more machines is out of the question. Perhaps you would like to send me a brand new SD501 to test, but it doesn’t make sense as the one that I have is less than a year old.

      • Hi Marissa:

        Thanks for adding your endorsement to Vollara….let the Enagic Vollara wars begin. I will let it go as long as it doesn’t get stupid.

      • Hi Marissa:

        Thanks for the offer, but I already have a SD501 and many other machines here. My wife is pressing me to sell off some of the machines after I have done the videos as we don’t need all the ones we have.

        I have been speaking with Jay and David, the owners at Jupiter. They are good guys and have a real interest in helping others. I have to say that all of the Jupiter people that I have met or worked with have their hearts in the right place.

        Jay and David were telling me that they actually hired someone to help create an organization for the industry which would promote the industry and fair play in the industry. In Canada, we call the person that holds that position an Ombudsman. Canadians are big on Ombudsmen as opposed to lobbyists. The guys at Jupiter said that none of the competitors would cooperate and help pay for the creation and maintenance of an association. Now why doesn’t that surprise me.

        Being retired and out of the business offers me a different perspective on the industry. Whereas I used to get caught up in all the dramas created by the unsophisticated players, I now just look past it.

        It drives me crazy to think that only 1 out of 1,000 households in the USA and Canada own a water ionizer, when the machines are so beneficial to your health. It also drives me crazy to see the fake “review” sites and all the mudslinging. My goal is to increase the awareness of these amazing machines from one in one thousand to one in one hundred. From there, we will strive to increase awareness to one in ten and eventually to everyone, just like it is in parts of Asia.

        If I keep working on this blog, hopefully the players in the industry will stop thinking I’m trying to take over the industry and realize that they will be the beneficiaries of my work. Only those that play nasty or cheat or lie have anything to fear from me.

  4. Hello again,

    So metal doesn’t matter inside of an ionizer?

    What do you know about service centers inside USA for ionizers?
    From my research I have found that to be a problem with most
    Korean made machines.

    Which machine do you drink from?

    Dustin

    • Hi Dustin:

      I’m not sure I understand what you are referring to when you talk about metal in a water ionizer.

      Each of the major companies some of the lesser known companies that sell water ionizers in the USA provide domestic service centres. As far as I know, the companies all do a reasonably good job in servicing their machines. None of the companies actually repair damaged products, as they simply replace faulty parts. Therefore, the repair work can be done by removing a few screws and popping in a new replacement part.

      I drink water from several different machines as I have about ten different kinds.

  5. Hello Rob,
    Thank you for this info, I was introduced to Kangen water on Facebook and knew nothing about the company or the technology. I was excited about what I had heard and it made sense to me. I was anxious to try it out, when I found out the price tag… needless to say, I am still without ionized water. I can not afford a $4k machine, no matter what it does.
    I am only 40 yrs old and suffer from a few health problems that are very premature for someone my age. I came across someone selling the Vollara unit and found out the machine is half price. This is much more attainable for me, however I want to know that I am not throwing $2k away by buying something that is poor quality. The Kangen unit claimed to do more to help your health with its drinking water than just the ionizer, but I don’t remember the details. Are these other things just fluff, or are there other benefits to be had from the drinking part of it (I know you can clean with the water too, and use it to help the skin, etc)
    Specifically I am dealing with Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, and what I am wondering is the Kangen unit offering something more than these other machines, that may help me deal with my health issues? One of the other claims that comes to mind is the restructering of the molocules so it is more absorbable.
    Greatly appreciate any thoughts or input you may have on this.
    Thanks,
    Mike

    • Hi Mike:

      I understand your concern about the price of the Kangen units as $4,000 is a lot of money. However, I wouldn’t choose the Vollara product as an alternative at this point in time. I haven’t got my hands on a Vollara unit to test it yet, but Gabe (one of the valuable participants in this thread) has informed me that the Vollara only has one ionizer product and it runs on very low power and only has one plate. You can purchase the best water ionizer money can buy for about $1,700, so it doens’t make any sense to pay $2,000 for an untested unit like the Vollara. I would let someone else be the Guinea Pig.

      I’m in no position to offer medical advice. I can however tell you from my own personal experience that drinking water eliminated the debilitating arthrits that was diminishing my life. I have also talked to dozens, if not more than one hundred people who have enjoyed significant relief of their arthritic symptoms once they began drinking ionized water.

      I have never had psoriasis, but I have spoken to several people that have experienced significant relief after drinking the alkaline water and swathing the affected skin with acidic water.

      Will you achieve results similar to those I have mentioned above? There is no way to know for certain, but you can be sure that the water won’t hurt you.

      If you have any doubts about the ability of the water to help you, perhaps you might consider contacting someone you know who owns a machine. You could drink water from their machine to see how the the water affects you. If you don’t know anyone who has a machine, call a company that sells water ionizers and ask them to provide you with test water, or refer you to one of their clients in your area. I believe Kangen representatives provide potential customers with free water for a month or two before cutting them off. Personally, I don’t like the practice but I can see how it would be effective. When I was was in the water ionizer business, I used to sell a lot of units to people who called in that had been cut off by their Kangen representative. The callers wanted to buy a machine because of the benefits, but were turned off by the price and by the pressure put on them the Kangen dealer.

      I hope you make the effort to test the water or purchase a machine. I expect you will join the hundreds of thousands of people that faithfully drink the water.

      • Rob,What is the brand name and modal of the best $1700.00 water ionizer machine.Do you know which good ionizer machines that are sold thru MLM. thanks, Norm

        • Hi Norman:

          I assume you are referring to an article I wrote a few years ago. At that time, I was talking about the EOS Genesis Platinum which was selling for $1,695. I still believe it is the most sophisticated electric water ionizer on the market because of the ability to go into the back office and fine tune the machine depending upon the source water conditions. However, I must admit that I haven’t dabbled in electric water ionizers for a few years because I have become a believer in natural water ionizers. I don’t know why anyone would pay thousands of dollars for a device when you can get the same or better results for $59 (see http://www.vyvwater.com) unless you need the acidic water. Even if you need acidic water, you can buy an acidic water unit for $199 (see http://www.sanilizer.com). I have tried to contact the people behind the Sanilizer but they make it impossible to do so from their website so I remain suspicious of the company.

          I was recently asked to help out a company that I did some work for many years ago because the owner decided to retire. I turned down the offer because i”m crazy busy, but one of my sons has taken over the company. I have been making some calls on his behalf and am astounded by how many people who bought $2,000 plus water ionizers have abandoned them for one reason or another. People move and have to leave their machines or they can’t set them up at their new residence. Others find the annual cost of the filters to be an issue, especially when they can buy a brand new system for $59 and the replacement filters only cost about $60 per year. It just makes sense to me to buy a very affordable alkaline pitcher to see if you like the water. You can always get a more expensive unit later.

          If I was interested in working with electric water ionizers, I would work with the people who want to sell their machines by finding buyers of the machines for half price. That way, the seller gets to recover some of their investment and the buyers get perfectly good reconditioned machines. Someone with time and expertise could create a really good business of putting buyers and sellers together.

  6. Hi Rob/Mike,

    Glad I stopped by today!

    Rob, I’d only make one correction to what you said. The Vollara unit doesn’t use 1 plate, it uses direct disk ionization. It converts water thru electrolysis, but the way it does is with a disk electrode. Saying the unit only has 1 plate [in the world of plates] gives the impression of low quality water. It’s apples and oranges. It’s also important to know Vollara just isn’t a new ionizer importer. It’s a new subsidiary of Aerus, who also owns electrolux, land o’lakes, horizon organic dairy, etc. Solid companies and long histories. To my knowledge, only 1 other company is tryig to drive cost down right now. The rest are going for bigger, better and more expensive. There’s room to continue decreasing, but at least it’s starting.

    I don’t just use Vollara in my inventory, there are a few others I make available [after the recommendation of a few…including Rob], but I’ve found the water to be not only comparable, but in some cases better. Especially in extreme high/low TDS.

    Mike, if you’d like to talk, please let me know. I do [and will] give a 60 day $ back guarantee. Even long-distance. If I know someone close to you with a Vollara unit, I’ll see if I can arrange a way for you to get the water and look at the unit. I’ll give Rob my contact info again, although I think he has it. If you’re interested, ask him.

    Here you go Rob. Black it out for the forum if you’d like. 785-856-3912, iesolutions@ymail.com, skype: gabehunninghake

    Bottoms up!
    Gabe

    • Hi Gabe:

      Thanks for the correction. As I mentioned before, I don’t know much about the Vollara.

      I must force myself to keep an open mind when it comes to a MLM system when it comes to the water ionizer business. I like the fact that there has been a move to establish lower prices. However, I find it hard to believe in a company that has so many different products in so many different fields. Where is the focus and the committment to research and product development? An example of my concern is the Enagic SD501. The machine is made by Toyo, a world famous tire manufacturer, who has not improved or updated the machine in 14 years. The SD501 is just the old Pureport II with a different face.

      Vollara only offers one product that has been brought to the attention of the MLM company. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. In the meantime, great water ionizers with proven track records from well established manufacturers can be purchased for $1,700 and the prices are definitely starting to drop. It seems to me that if Vollara is already behind before it really gets started.

      I didn’t remove your contact information like I normally do for contributors. While I’m against self promotion on this blog, you have been a great contributor to the thread and you know more about Vollara than I do. To be fair to readers, it makes sense for anyone interested in the Vollara machine to contact you.

  7. Dear Rob,

    Thanks so much for all of the information on ionized water that you have provided and for your unbiased approach. I agree that Enagic folks have done a fantastic job educating, but I too am allergic to MLM and feel it is too bad that such an important product can’t be produced and sold for for much less so that many more people could enjoy the tremendous health benefits.

    I have high BP, diabetes, CAD, congestive heart failure, arthritis, degenerative disc disease, GERD and I’m in a wheelchair because of severe spinal cord compression that has caused exstensive nerve damage. I don’t expect miracles, but do believe in the tremendous benefits of alkaline water. I just cannot afford a $2,000, much less a $4,000, machine. You said the best unit on the market can be purchased for $1,700 so where can I can I buy it and what kind of guarantee/support comes with it?

    I am amazed that almost everyone in Asia has heard of this technlogy and such a small fraction of American and Canadian families know about this life changing water. God bless you for getting the word out!

    • Hi Mary:

      Thanks for the kind words.

      Whenever life starts to get me down, I just have to think about how lucky I am to have my health and family. Yesterday, I got a call at 9am from my son. He was returning from an errand and a deer jumped in front of his vehicle on the highway. He swerved to miss the deer and got caught in the loose gravel. A couple of seconds later, he was upsidedown at the bottom of a ditch, having rolled over 1 1/2 times. The SUV was demolished but my son was fine and he crawled out the rear passenger window. Sorry for the digression, but it is on my mind and heh, it is my blog.

      There are no guarantees when it comes to health. Water ionizers help so many people, but not everyone. The water also helps for many ailiments, but not all ailiments. The water ionizer companies typically offer a 60 day money back guarantee. Some companies offer a full refund during the 60 day period, while others typically charge a 15% restocking fee. The 15% restocking fee is more than fair and should be charged because the vendor loses the credit card charge (about 2.5%) and must check out and clean the machine and install new filters. Then the machine has to be sold at a discount as a demo unit. When I was in the business, I found that a returned unit acutally cost about 30%, so the 15% restocking fee only partially covered the loss. Again I digress.

      There are a number of great water ionizers available on the market now. Unfortunately, most of them are priced in the $2,000 to $2,500 range. The EOS Platinum is a top of the line machine that currnetly sells for $1,695. It has everything the other leading machines have, and more. There is still room for the price of the machine to go lower, but at least it’s a step in the right direction. I suspect that it is just a matter of time before the competition realizes that the public wants and will eventually demand lower prices. Tyent was selling a lower quality EOS model which Tyent called the IonQuench for $1,440 that is also a good unit. However, I believe that EOS has stopped making the units for Tyent, so I don’t know who makes the IonQuench machines. I would need to know who is making the IonQuench machines now before I would recommend it.

      I agree with you that it is a travesty that less than 1/10 of 1 percent of people in Canada and the USA know about water ionizers. I have made it my life goal to change that. Sometimes I feel like I’m swimming upstream all the time, but it is comments like yours that keep me going.

  8. Thanks Rob. You may be right. I think Vollara looked at their competition as Enagic only. While there are other manufactures, Enagic is the only company hitting the streets trying to help people. They do the hard work and then Tyent, LifeIonizers, etc grab the sale because of their lower prices.

    Just for clarification, Vollara offers numerous other products through their network of distributors. Electricity recycling/surge protection, laundry systems that eliminate detergent, air purification, etc. They have point people responsible for each area and an entire section focused on new product development. They will continue to improve in all industries, but unless Enagic gets their act together and begins dropping prices instead of just adding more plates, there won’t be much of a push. What’s on the drawing board is some pretty amazing stuff…and like it or not, very little of which can be found outside of the MLM world.

    I have my frustrations as well, one of which is the stereotype MLM reputation. Some of it deservedly so, but most is not when given a fair look. If a MLM company can effectively train and motivate their sales force to do the hard work of introducing ionizers, then they should get paid more than the ones who sit back, design misleading “reviews” and then smear the initial company/distributor just to make the sale. (By more, I do not mean $2,000 more) Vollara’s top line product is priced in line with EOS, Chanson, etc, but still allows income for the business owner who’s done the hard work of introducing and helping.

    Unfortunately, it seems the ionized water industry is becoming polluted.

    BTW…my latest series has been on cancer. Talk about a scam. Click my name and it should like to it.

    • Hi Gabe:

      Sorry I missed you on Skype the other day.

      If Vollara product is good and they market as well as Enagic, then I think they will do well regardless of their miscalculation on prices. I still need to take apart a Vollara machine and test it before I can offer any worthwhile opinion.

      I hope that the “pollution” that you refer to in the industry will clear up over time. We need to continue to put pressure on the companies to play fair and play nice so that public doesn’t think the whole industry is a scam. I continue to remain optimistic….otherwise my blog is a waste of time.

      I will take a look at your series on cancer as I enjoy your work on your blog.

  9. No problem. I missed you first. :)

    I’ve been thinking a lot about the miscalculation on price recently. The more I think from Vollara’s perspective, the more I think it’s completely and accurately calculated. Follow this logic with me.

    Vollara is a network company. They grow more by increasing the size of their distribution network than they do through end user sales only. Therefore they add incentives to packages of products to start a business with more than they do retail profit.

    Here’s an example in numbers. I can sell a $1999 ionizer to a customer and make a $700 profit. Any vollara distributor can at any level. The person with 1 week in business makes the same retail profit as someone who’s been working for 15 years.

    However, I can also offer the customer already willing to spend $1999 another choice. And I don’t care if they want to develop extra income or not. I can register them as a dealer and for $1999, they get the following:

    1- Alkaline Water Ionizer

    1- FreshAir Surround Environmental Treatment System which sanitizes the air and all surfaces within a 3000 sq. ft space. Proven by numerous university and gov’t studies.

    1- LaundryPure which eliminates the need for hot water, detergent, fabric softner and sorting. They clothes are truly clean, not just covered with chemical scents. [Hotels and medical facilities like these]

    2 months of nutritional/cellular support including Immunitize (google it).

    I think anyone would see that as a good deal and very few are going to go with the ionizer alone.

    For me, the beauty of that is I’ve just helped the client on a much larger level. Their home is safer, their clothes last longer, they save money in a very short return period and they have the option of making some part-time money [if they want to] by helping others be healthier as well.

    My profit is $640 for that package with no long term monthly expenses or requirements to the client. I’m not upselling anything. I’m just adding additional value.

    The client is also not stuck with 3 other expensive ionizers to sell and if they don’t want a business they don’t have to work it. They just keep the products and all parties are happy.

    So…I don’t think Vollara priced the ionizer to sell 1 at a time. I think they wholesale priced the entire package at half the enagic so we can show a client how much more they can get for 50% of the investment. Or for how much more they can get for roughly the same cost as a tyent, eos, chason, etc.

    Since their inception, Vollara has talked about uncompromising health because no one wants to be just partially healthy. I think I now see how they plan on implementing and sharing that vision.

    Let me know if you want a package…then you can take the ionizer apart.

    Just kidding.. :)

    Gabe

    • Hi Gabe:

      Good to see you keeping up the vigil.

      Your list of crosses the border of a sales pitch, but I let it go because you have given so much to this blog.

      The extras cost you $60 based upon your profits dropping from $700 to $640. That seems like an inexpensive way to introduce products to clients with the hope of capturing future business, so it seems like a good business idea. Whether people want those extras is another question.

      Thanks for providing the math on the profit structure. Based upon a retail sales price of $1995 and your profit from the sale of a unit of $700, that means the MLM company is providing the unit to the system for $1,295. Based upon what I know about conventional water ionizers, that introductory price is way way way too high. I don’t know the cost to make the Vollara, but based upon the description you have given me in the past, I suspect that the company itself is probably making about $1,000 per unit. If the company dropped their huge profit margins, the unit could easily sell for $1,500, which would make the price more palatable.

      Ultimately, the real measusing stick is whether the Vollara works. Any comparison of prices is irrelevant without taking the performance and durability and ease of use, and ongoing operating costs into consideration. I don’t know the answers to any of those factors, so it is unfair for me to comment.

      I really value your input on this blog. Up to this most recent post, you have been able to keep the rah rah down, but it slipped right out on this one. I’m happy that you are excited about your business opportunity, but the goal of this blog is to provide informaton. Words like “uncompromising health” sound very MLM to me.

  10. Hi Rob and Gabe,
    Glad to have stopped by for a check up on the amazing ionizer blog. I commend you both for your knowledge and opinions about particular ionizers out there.
    I have some questions for both of you and I really believe that these will be beneficial for the inexperienced ionized water drinker.
    1) What are your thoughts about http://www.kangenlegend.com?
    2) what is the value of an ISO certification?
    3) why do some ionizers pass face value tests and then return to tap where as others maintain more stable readings? Watts? Power?
    4) what is the average mark up on an ionizer and how do you know how much it costs to make?
    5) is there a difference between MLM and Direct Sales?
    6) why would our country shut down if all salespeople quit work for only 24 hours?

    Truly,
    Dustin

    • Hi Dustin:

      Gabe has been great. Thanks for recognizing his efforts.

      I will answer your questions by number as they are easier to follow.

      1) I checked out th website. It is a well done and expensive Kangen promotional site. The information is so promotional that it turned me off. Phases like “chosen by 6,500 Japanese doctors” is typical of Enagic. If you read the detail behind the statement, the association that includes 6,500 doctors chose Enagic over other entries. How much do you think that has to do with endorement money and efforts versus 6,500 doctors actually choosing Enagic over other machines.

      2) I don’t put a great deal of value on ISO certification. It is a good thing, but I put much more value on UL or CSA (or their accepted derivatives) approval. ISO is a measure of plant quality and has very little or really nothing to do with a product.

      3) I don’t understand your question. I believe you are asking why some machines water that has improved pH and ORP values initially and then return to the original values found in the tap water, while others don’t. Sounds like a Kangen remark to me as they are always claiming superiority for one thing or another. The reality is that water is very stable and ionization alters that stability. Altered pH remains alter for extended periods of time while ORP returns to pre-existing values much faster. My testing of various machines doesn’t prove anything conclusive in terms of comparisons between the longevity of altered conditions. The results vary depending on so many factors that the entire arguement becomes irrelevent. The bottom line is that the goal is to drink the water as fresh as possilbe.

      4) The markups are huge. In general, the markups on most direct selling units are in the 300% to 400% range. In defence of the industry, the markups are not excessive compared to many products that we buy. However, the electonics industy operates on small margins and these products are electronic products. Only one tenth of one percent of home have in the USA and far less in Canada own water ionizers. Once the awareness grows, the prices will come down. If you remember back a few years, a 42″ plasma tv cost $9,500 while you can purchase more advanced but similar products for well under $1,000. I expect that water ionizers will be available in the $1,000 range at places like Costco in the next few years if sales volumes increase.

      5) MLM or multi level marketing relies upon a self motivated marketing team that has many layers of commission. Direct sales usually consits of levels as well, but fewer levels. Direct sales typically have a manufacturer, a manufacturing agent, various distributors operating in different countries or territories, wholesalers, and dealers. The mannufacturing agent typically adds 10%, Distributors typically add 10% to 15%. The percentage added by wholesalers is all over the map, but the range seems to be 20% to 40%. Retails/dealers usually double the price. So, when you add it all up, if the price out of the factory is $1, the price to the consumer is about $4. For an MLM product like Enagic water ionizers, the price and margins about about double the products sold by direct sales.

      6) I answer questions about water and the products relating to water. I leave it at that

  11. Hey Rob.

    I just have a few minutes, so no long post. My list was not for the world to see…just wanted you to get an idea of what I think Vollara is thinking. From my perspective as a business owner, I like the leverage it gives me.

    I should have just sent you a direct email, but I know you can approve/disapprove comments as needed.

    My only other thought is with respect to duration. Only time will tell I guess. The DDI system went through extensive testing so I’m not worried about functionality problems. Especially in light of how Vollara has righted the ship when it came some of the other technologies they now manufacture.

    Good results this week. 1 client who hasn’t been able to loose weight in a year despite working out and watching the diet has lost 5 lbs in 10 days. Another who is battling diabetes is seeing improvement in blood sugar levels and a third with acid reflux and fibromyalgia is improving as well. The last 2 have tried medicines for 20+ yrs. Only the water has shown signs of working.

    • Hi Gabe:

      I would not have allowed your post or responded to it on the blog if you had let me know that it was a FYI only message.

      Great news in regards to the feedback from your clients.

      Weight loss: I have talked to hundreds of people who have lost from 5 to 70 pounds of weight once they begin drinking the water. The water doesn’t work for everyone but it works for a a good percentage of people

      Diabetes: I have talked to several (not hundreds) of people who have experienced great results when they started drinking the water. Their insulin levels drop by siginificant amounts and it seems that the fluctuations in their insulin levels level out.
      Acid Reflux: The improvement in acid reflux is almost universal among the hundreds of people that I have spoken with. I had a very bad case of acid reflux and mine was fixed within a week and I haven’t taken any more medication for more than two years.

      fibromyalgia: When I was in the water ionizer business, I corresponded with three different women that suffered terribly from fibromyalgia. The water changed their lives to the point that the Fibromyalgia was no longer an issue in their lives.

      If you would like to share the individual stories that you have outlined in your post, I would be happy to post them on the blog.

  12. سلام
    برگردان يا ترجمعه شما ضعيف بود من هميقدر فهميدم كه شما دستگاه يونيزه كردن آب را در كانادا داريد و نمايندگي ميدهيد شما بمن ايميل بزنيد كه شرايط نمايندگي شما چيست تا من هم شايد پيشنهادي ساده بدهم من در ايران شهر تهران زندگي مي كنم

    • Hi:

      I wish I could communicate in more languages, but my only language is English. Sorry!

  13. “” the dipping process in which they use on their Medical Grade/Surgical Grade plates is patented as well.””

    lol… so many claims, so little substantiation… sigh, this is embarrassing to the industry…

    hey enagic reps, do some due diligence before making such silly claims, you have to start being responsible for this stuff…

    I got a news flash for everyone, all the machines out there make the same restructured water… if you can prove otherwise, I am sure you would…

    so, where’s the proof of this vaunted SD501 being worth 4K?

    where?

    • Hi Gavin:

      Welcome back again. I’m grateful for your input as always.

      The Enagic reps mean well….they really do. The information that the dealers are fed ranges from “leaving a lot to be desired” to “downright lies”. I don’t know how to combat the problem other than to continue to encourage the dealers for all the hard work that they do, and to recommend that they do their homework as you suggested.

  14. Hi all,

    I’m very impressed by the comments I’ve read here so far, so I’ll relate my situation and welcome all replies. 😀
    I am (or the store where I work is) a Chanson dealer; I was given the opportunity to choose which ionizer we would sell, and I chose Chanson, as I believed it to be the best on the market (for the price). If you’re familiar with Dr. Robert Young, he’s also made comments to that effect.
    Today I met a Vollara dealer- I was (am) totally unfamiliar with this brand, except for what I was told by the dealer, and what I’ve read so far here. So now I’m basically wondering just which ionizer is best for the money. -I fully intend to be honest with our customers, and up to now I’ve been saying Chanson is best, since I’ve seen credible video showing pH as low as 1.86 and as high as 12 (without adding any sort of chemical).
    Rob, I welcome your opinion on this, and anyone else’s with anything unbiased to say.

    Thanks for your time, and keep up the excellent posts!
    -Terry

    • Hi Terry:

      Thanks for dropping by and providing your input.

      If you work or own a store that sells water ionizers, don’t be afraid to give the store some free promotion here. People are always looking for a place where they can actually see and test the machines.

      I’m very familiar with Chanson. I like their machines. I don’t care for the twisted ethics of the owner, but that just makes him one of the boys in this industry. It is inevitable that the industry will eventually evolve to a point where the leaders will combine both good ethics and good business skills.

      I have a great deal of respect for the reseach and work done by Robert Young. However, the story of how Robert Young came to switch from Jupiter to Chanson is not pretty. The story behind how Robert Young came to appear on the video with the owner of Chanson is even worse. Suffice it to say that everyone has an agenda and that means that you should take what you see on presentations on the internet with a large, and I mean a large grain of salt.

      Which water ionizer is the best value? Historically, I would say that depends on what features the customer was looking for, their budget, and the condition of the source water. The 7 plate machines have all become so good that it is really doesn’t matter which one you choose. Even the five plate machines are great performers when good source water conditions exist. In fact, I’m testing a four plate machine that is still waiting for safety approval that is delivering fantastic results.

      My goal all along has been to drive down prices so that more people could afford these incredible machines. Now we are starting to see it happen.

      Tyent makes a very good machine, but their products are grossly over priced at as they range from $2,495 to $2,995. Tyent has introduced four new and improved models in two years and the price keeps going up each time as they add more plates and more power. Tyent has been at the forefront of pushing the “bigger is better” theme. The reality is that the machines are far more powerful and have more plates than they need to be effective. What the market really wants is a machine that works and can be purchased at a reasonable price.

      It seems that Tyent has finally grasped the concept that people may want to spend less on a machine as long as it works. Tyent forced KYK out of business in America by taking advantage of the weak distributor of KYK products, and then made an agreement to bring them back under the Tyent umbrella. Disgusting ethics, but a brilliant business move. The “new and improved” KYK unit sells for $1,525. The websites say the price is $1,795, but the dealers all offer the machine at $1,525, so who is kidding who. The old KYK machine was a great product until KYK decided to cut costs by putting knockoff parts into the machines that EOS produced successfully for them for several years. It remains to be seen if KYK has solved all of the problems that they created when they left their reliable supplier. At least the price is moving in the right direction.

      Chanson sells a full line of water ionizers. Their VS70 under counter unit is the best value for under counter machines in the industry at the moment, but the other machines in their lineup are not impressive relative to the competition.

      The Jupiter machines all have five plates and limited power. That means that their machines are best suited to the entry level buyer, or situations where the source water conditions are excellent. As such, the Jupiter Venus at $1,195 would be my choice from their line of products, as the Venus performed as well as the other more expensive Jupiter machines that I tested.

      Right now, the EOS Platinum is my favourite. The machine is technologically superior to anything out there right now and it is offered at $1,395. The list price is $1,695, but the American distributor seems to change the price every few weeks. It is a shame that such a great product is being handled so badly by the distributor. It appears that the distributor has already lost all of the major dealers to Tyent as Tyent is able to exert their market power over dealers to force the dealers to choose between Tyent/IonQuench/KYK and EOS. Once again, Tyent’s ethics are terrible, but their business skills are sharp. If the EOS distributor in the USA doesn’t get its act together in a hurry, Tyent will end up stealing the entire segment with an unproven product that sells at a higher price. That would be a shame.

      The good news is that the players in the industry will all fight hard for market share. That means that prices will continue to drop until the excess profit has been squeezed out of the industry. There is still lots of room for prices to drop. I expect it will be the dealers that will be forced to accept lower profit margins or get pushed out of the industry when prices fall. I just don’t see the distributors reducing their large profit margins unless they are forced to do so by competition. The good news is that the consumer will benefit as the price wars heat up.

      My advice for anyone looking for a water ionizer is to find a good dealer that puts your interests first. The machines are all good, so you really can’t go wrong.

      All of the above opinions are based upon my research and testing. I do my best to leave the treachery of the players of some of the players out of the equation.

  15. This is my first time on your blog and after much of my own research on water, especially Kangen water. I have to let you know that your review of the Hydrogen Water Stick is incorrect.

    A small review of the website itself, will show that PH is not the aim of the hydrogen stick.. Dr. Hayashi (the doctor behind Kangen water) himself created the hydrogen stick after discovering PH and ORP were side effects of the true cause of the “healing water”.

    Quite simply, the available hydrogen after electrically splitting the water is what the body uses for healing. Unfortunately, the electrical process of splitting water is known to have some long term side effects. I can give you examples of this research, but I don’t think we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater..

    But I did want to correct your review for people who may be interested in the product.

    • Hi Christopher:

      Thanks for your contribution.

      I have been getting a lot of emaills about the Hydrogen Sticks and many of them give positive endorsements.

      The body uses both hydrogen and oxygen to heal. The water produced from water ionizers is rich in hydroxyl ions which carry a negative charge and are rich in oxygen due to the OH- configuration.

      You can perform an interesting test when the water comes out of the drinking line of a water ionizer. If you hold a flame close to the water, you can actually see the hydrogen burning off if your machine is producing a strong alkaline water. In addition, when the water goes into the glass, you can see that the water is somewhat cloudy. What you are actually seeing is the hydrogen bubbles rising to the surface and popping before they disappear.

      What concerns me about the hydron sticks is that we have no idea what is in them. Why does the manufacturer keep this a secret and why does the manufacturer recommend that you throw away the water if you leave the stick in for too long. And while we are at it, why doesn the water begin to smell after awhile.

      I’m all for innovation and hydrogen machines were the “new” thing when I was visiting water ionizer factories in Korea in April of this year. I don’t have a problem with the theory behind water sticks, but lets find out what we are drinking and lets find a solution for filtering the water first.

      Ian Hamilton, a long time advocate of ionized water from Australia, has been testing the new technology for some time, using a much more sophisticated filtering system that is more reliable. He is excited about the results it has been delivering as they can produce reliable ionized water without using electricity. The new machines are actually hydrogen machines and based upon the same principle as a hydrogen stick. I have ordered a test sample to see how it checks out. I would be happy to endorse the technology if I’m satisfied that it is safe and produces good results. The good news is that the machines will be very inexpensive compared to water ionizers because they are basically a box with a sophisticated filter.

    • Hi Chris:

      Thanks for your comments. I have done a lot of research since I wrote the article and I’m now much better informed. I agree with you that it is all about Hydrogen ions.

      I still don’t care for the hydrogen sticks except for travel because they don’t clean the water, they are slow and therefore not convenient, and they are expensive for what you get. After saying that, if someone can’t afford $399 for an Alkastream, then a Hydrogen Stick is a lot better than nothing.

    • Thanks Gabe:

      Anyone that is reading this should click on the link provided by Gabe to see a video of exactly what I was talking about in my last comment to Christopher.

      Gabe is a great friend to this blog. He is committed to educating and helping others. He sells Vollara water ionizers plus other household products such as air cleaners. He operates a good blog with lots of good stuff on it. There you go Gabe…your own person advertisement from me….you deserve it

  16. Thanks Rob…I truly appreciate it.

    Your new blog is looking awesome. Mine should be updated by next week. I’ll let you know when it’s ready to go. I now have a whole new appreciation for web designers.

    • Hi Gabe:

      Keep up the good work. Maybe you and Marissa representing the Volara machines can challenge Juli and the Enagic gang to a MLM dual while the rest of us can all sit back and watch the fireworks. Actually, based upon what I know about you from our discussions and your posts, you are above all of that.

      Thanks for the compliment on the new format for the blog. The praise all goes to Bernard, who works hard for us for free! All of this really wouldn’t be possible without Bernard.

      • I’m not going to fight it out with Juli. I don’t have the time or energy and there is enough already out there I’d just be regurgitating. If Marissa does, she can. She has the experience to stand on her own as she is Ex-Enagic and was very well connected within their company. She wrote some of their sales literature.

        I’ve spoken with her and she is another of those who truly believe in the water. She lost faith in Enagic and went elsewhere. She could have just as easily ended up supplying Chanson or Tyent, but chose Vollara instead. [Her blog, which I’ll let her share if she wants, gives the details.]

        I met with an Enagic rep yesterday because I wanted to find a kindred spirit. In many areas I did, but not when it came to the water. He firmly believes theirs is worth $4k, but he’s sold very few of them retail. Most of his sales have been via downline recruits. Compensation and income opportunity first, water second. He even tried recruiting me. God Bless him. :)

        I just wish everyone would stop the pissing match and fight a much larger enemy. Like the people preaching Breast Cancer Awareness and then holding out their hand for $$$…as if their brand of awareness is going to help.

        • Hi Gabe:

          I knew you had better things to do with your time than fight. Good for you. I want to stay out of it as well, but being male and coming from an Irish/Welsh background, I have a lot of history to overcome.

          The Enagic reps are amazing as they are so passionate. You don’t get to be that passionate over money alone…the machines have to work….and they do. Hopefully, we, as an industry, can find a way to tap into the passion and determination of the Enagic reps and get them focused on delivering value. I think the Enagic reps believe that the Enagic machine is the only good machine, which is simply not true. I also think the Enagic reps believe that the only way to make money in the water ionizer business is to sell Enagic products, which is simply not true.

          When I started this blog, I just wanted to share my passion and my knowledge for the water. It gives me great encouragement that so many others share the same passion.

  17. Dear Rob,
    I appreciate your objective approach to the alkaline water debate. You seem very sold on it’s benefits and I would love to know why. When I check into the science behind it I am not finding much that is credible. Is there a place you can direct me to thatyou trust to read up on this? There is so much pro and con and it’s hard to sift through all the “webalony” to make a decision on what to purchase/if to purchase.

    Thanks for your help,
    Patti

    • Hi Patti:

      You are absolutely correct when you say that there is not much from the world of science to back up all the claims being made about water ionizers. The closest (and should I say only) thing to an expert imo is Dr. Hayashi. You can check out his stuff on line.

      What I can say with 100% confindence and purity of thought is that the bloody things work based upon my own experience and the experiences of hundreds of people that have shared their stories with me. I don’t know how or why my computer or my cell phone works, but I don’t really need to. I just need them to work. I know this is a lousy explanation, but I have spent a ridiculous amount of time researching pH and ORP and now Hydrogen. Nobody has provided fool proof evidence of the how or why, and to be blunt, the only arguement that makes any sense to me is the Hydrogen story.

      If you read up on the hydrogen guys, they tell us that water ionizers are bad for you. That is what Mercola has picked up on, as he doesn’t do any actual research himself, or even bother to check his facts. I talk to a lot of people who have been on the water for along time, and I don’t buy the Hydrogen “scare” tactics. Water ionizers work for me and lots and lots and lots of people and have been doing so for a long time. Bottom line is that water is the key and there seems to be a couple of different ways to go (natural ionization and electrolysis ionization) and they both work.

      I will be writing alot about this subject in the coming days and weeks. I may not be able to shed any more light on the subject than is already available, but at lease people will have the most current and plausible explanations.

      • Hi Patti,
        First of all, I love your “webalony” term. If you don’t mind, I’m going to use that now and again.

        I might add 1 thing to what Rob said. See if their is someone close to you who will let you try it. I was like you, did a ton of research and then just decided to jump in because I didn’t feel like I could really know without trying.

        Call the companies and search for dealers. Get on their respective facebook pages and ask for a sample. You should be able to find someone close to you. I would also recommend buying the water from them. Getting it from them for free leads them to think you’ll possibly buy a machine from them in the future. Be honest, tell them you are researching and are not sold on the whole concept yet.

        As much as we’d like to think we can make logical decisions, our brains really are experiential. Taste, feel and then decide.

        Good luck.
        Gabe

  18. I was just wondering why everyone attacks Enagic, mainy about the cost, yet no one seems to be willing to mention the other priced machines besides the SD501? Did you know they have machines that start at 1,280? Maybe it would make you look bad to actually mention the truth about the competition, when it is so much easier to complain about the price of ONLY their high end machine, and leave out the other 3 models? It’s too bad I cannot find a truly unbiased report anywhere that I feel I can trust. Do you know of the high quality control that they use in manufacturing their product, from beginning to end themselves (they do not outsource and assemble) and that their titanium plates and hoses are medical grade,and the plates are dipped, not sprayed with platinum, etc, etc, etc, and oh btw that the owner of the company made a product that is designed to last a lifetime? And is the ONLY product endorsed by the 6,500 member group of doctors in Japan that are the equivalent to our AMA here in America? I guess to some the only factor is price, so why not mention all the options? Y

    et a 37 year old company strives to make a high quality product that is changing peoples’ lives as well as giving you an ionizer you may not have to replace, as long as you properly maintain it, and everyone attacks them? Must be a reason…

    Why not compare the unit that costs comparably to the one you mention, the junior2, because it works well also…for almost $2000 less, or even mention they have a travel system that some purchase for their home and it works great for them, as long as they don’t have a serious illness and don’t need the higher -ORP or need the sanitary (strong acid 2.5ph) or cleaning (strong alkaline 11.5ph) water as the travel unit only makes the drinking (8.5, 9.0 and 9.5) and beauty water (same ph as the skin 6.0).

    Did you know that since the -ORP of the water (of ionizers) does not last the founder of Enagic made it a rule that we are not to sell the water because it does not have a shelf life, this is not to be dishonest and try and force you to buy a machine, as many people still do anyways because it is very sale-able as it beats any alkaline water selling in the health food stores for $2.00 a liter. The idea is to give the water away with NO OBLIGATION so people can experience the water for themselves because using water that is always 3 days old causes you to miss out on the anti-oxidant property of the water, the negative ions we desperately need that would be missing if it sat on the shelf. You would be missing the property that enabled them to become a certified medical device in Japan…So forgive me if you ask to buy water from me and I give it to you fresh instead :)

    There is also a lot of science behind it, and a lot of medical studies as you may know. Mercola debunks alkaline water because he sells another kind of water purifier, but he is right by saying it is unhealthy to drink water that is too highly alkaline, like the 11.5. It is not made for drinking, just like the 2.5 and the 6.0 are not for drinking…ugh. Oh well I have rambled enough, I wonder if you will even post this lol.

    Is there anywhere that is truly unbiased?

    Frustrated Friend

    • Hi Friend:

      Thanks for sending along your comments. Like so many other Enagic dealers, your passion clearly shows through.

      You are correct about everyone talking about the SD501 and its pricetag. The only problem with your argument is that nobody form Enagic ever talks about their low end models or bothers to sell them. I have tested the Sunus (the $1,280 model) and it is not a good machine.

      I’m aware of the quality control used by Enagic and agree that it is good. I’m also aware of the marketing “jazz” including the 6,500 doctor association that can be “purchased”. The “certified medical device” was achievec by paying for testing and the designation was earned for the acidic properties of the water, not the drinking water properties. Enagic doesn’t bother to tell that fact to its dealers.

      Did you know that the ORP of an antioxidant filter such as the Alkastream ($399) does last a week. I have personally witnessed this fact,. I have also received similar results from more than a dozen well respected people in the industry (including a number of high ranking Kangen dealers) that were part of the test program of the Alkastream. Everyone who has been part of the test program is amazed that the ORP numbers remain high for a week. The reason for these so called “amazing” results is that the antioxidant filters create the ionization naturally by running water over magnesium, and the “real” or “stable” ORP is dependent upon the amount of minerals in the water. The ORP levels in water created by an antioxidant filter stay consistent because the minerals remain in the water and continue to react with the H20, causing the ongoing creation of hydrogen ions. Ionized water created by means of electrolysis from water ionizers such as the Enagic SD501 may be able to have huge negative ORP levels initially, but the ORP level of the water will work its way back down to the “real” or “natural” level of ORP depending upon the level of mineral in the water.

      I’m a big fan of water ionizers, because they do work. However, while the human body does react very well to the initial detoxification process in the first days, I no longer believe that humans should be drinking water with a pH of 9.5 or 10.0 over a sustained basis. From all of my research, I now believe that an initial detox of 9.5 is great and should be repeated about twice per year, the rest of the time, people should be drinking water with a pH of 8.0 to no more than 9.0 and a negative ORP of no more than -300. Given those parameters, people don’t need to spend $4,000 or even $2,000 on a ionizer.

      The antioxidant filters produce that same desired health benefits as electronic water ionizers, but the water can be consumed anytime as opposed to the first ten seconds (which is what you have to do with electrolysized water to gain the maximum benefit of the hydrogen that escapes when the bubbles rise to the surface of your drinking glass or bottle).

      Antioxidant filters remove fluoride, chlorine, chloramine, VOCs (the EPA has just announced that they will be including the removal of VOCs in the Safe Drinking Water Act) lead, mercury and other contaminants such as the recent newsworth items chromium 6 and perchlorate, while water ionizers such as the $4,000 SD501 only remove chlorine. I don’t mean to pick on the SD501, as most of the other water ionizers only remove the same contaminants. Dr. Hayashi refers to the water coming out of water ionizers as “dirty” water. I think the term is a bit nasty, but you can’t deny the fact that water ionizers don’t remove contaminants.

      I think the policy that Enagic uses of “giving the water away” for a few weeks so that people can see the results for themselves is awesome and I wish it would become a standard policy in the industry. However, the other companies don’t have any “soldiers” on the street who are willing to go out and tell the story. Instead, the other companies rely on people to put up websites criticising Enagic for its high cost.

      You are correct that there is no such thing as truly unbiased. My bias shifts over time as I test and research more and more products. I started out being biased towards Enagic, then Tyent, then EOS, and now Alkastream. As you can see, it is more a matter of choice based upon information and testing. I can’t help but be biased towards the antioxidant filters, but that is because of the results that they produce in terms of both natural ionization and filtration at a cost of $400. That doesn’t mean that I’m against water ionizers…far from it.

      As far as to whether I will post a comment or not, I post virtually every comment that doesn’t go over the edge. I even posted a comment from one sad fellow that called me a cocaine addict. Anyone that knows me is aware of the fact that I don’t do drugs, I rarely drink any alcohol at all, and I work out between 5 and 10 hours per week. People that care about their bodies and what goes into it, don’t do drugs. My personal vice is “Nutella”, a decadent combination of chocolate and hazelnut.

  19. Hello, I’ve been browsing your wonderful site to learn as much as I can about the many options.

    My question is about the Alkastream. Does it do everything that the ionizers do? And for only around 400.?

    If not, would one want to purchase both the Alkastream and an ionizer unit or would that make the water too alkaline? Just a little confused about the differences. I certainly would at least want the filtration process that Alkastream provides, just can’t figure out what I wouldn’t be getting without an ionizer?

    Thanks for your unbiased research. Frankly, yours is the only sight where I feel comfortable in trusting what I’m reading about this subject. I was given a Kangen demo a few days ago. Wonderful, very nice distributor who, as you have said, is passionate about the product. My hunch is that most of the distributors of any of the companies are passionate and truly believe that their water is the best. I am simply not interested in selling, only finding the right units for myself and family. Just a consumer.

    K

    • Hi Kip:

      Thanks for the kind words.

      My response is a long one and I have decided I will actually use it as the basis of today’s article. This has happened many times before, and I’m grateful for readers giving me ideas.

      The Alkastream will definitely NOT do everything that a water ionizer will do. It does much more in terms of filtration, but it only provides healthy drinking water while an electric water ionizer provides a much wider range of pH levels.

      The goal of both systems is to produce free hydrogen, which acts as an antioxidant. Both systems produce micro clusters which are more readily absorbed. That is where the similarity ends.

        Electic Water Ionizers “EWI”:

      Water ionizers run water across electrically charged plates that produce two streams of water. The “drinking” stream produces a mass of bubbles in your glass when it first comes out of the machine. The bubbles are hydrogen gas. When the beneficial hydrogen bubbles rise to the surface, the disappear as the hydrogen is lost in the air. That is why I always try to drink fresh water within the first ten seconds of it coming out of the machine.

      EWI’s can produce tremendous variation in pH because they are artificially forcing ionization throught the power of the use of combining electricity with the available minerals in the water. The pH and ORP of water produced by an EWI will always return to the natural ionization level of the source water, which is dependent upon the level of minerals in the water. Here is a cool way to demonstate this fact. You can use an EWI to create really low negative ORP such as negative ORP. Run a few ounces of negative ORP water into a glass and use an ORP meter to test the level. Next, put the palm of your hand over the top of the glass to make sure the water doesn’t go flying out, and shake the glass vigorously for ten seconds. When you retest the ORP, you will find that it has dropped hundreds of points. The “temporary” or “unstable” ORP level will disappear as the water reacts to the movement and the air.

      EWI’s don’t remove much in the way of contaminants. Some remove more than others (Jupiter’s Biostone filter being the best and Chanson’s tiny carbon block filter being the worst). I believe that every EWI should have a pre-filter system (about $250) because there is a lot of nasty stuff in our water that you can’t see.

      Antioxidant Filters “AF” (the Alkastream that you referred to)

      AF’s produce hydrogen naturally by running water over magnesium. This method of ionization was discovered by Dr. Hayashi in the year 2000 when he was working for the Japanese Institute of Water in an attempt to understand why water ionizers were so effective.

      The pH and ORP in the water produced by AF’s is “stable”, which is why the ORP level will sustain itself at a much lower level for long periods of time such as a week. I have people reporting from all over the USA and Canada that ORP levels produced by their Alkastream units maintain the ORP level for much longer than the water produced by an EWI. The reason for this is that the AF’s put minerals in the water and the presence of the minerals causes an continued coupling and uncoupling of the hyrogen bonds that join hydrogen atoms to oxygen atoms in a water molecule. It sounds a little “scientific”, but it is true as electrical reactions are taking place in every piece of matter in the universe, including inside our bodies. So, if you plan to take the water with you to work or to the gym, you will get better ORP stability from an AF than from an EWI.

      The AF’s are a first and foremost a filter. In fact, I would rather have the filtration from an AF than a $250 pre-filter system that I recommend for EWI’s. The EPA has recommended that the dioinizing resin exchange systems used in AF’s is the number one way to get rid of the Chromium 6 (the Erin Brockovich contaminant) and a myriad of other contaminants. In case you are wondering, the EPA ranked Reverse Omosis systems second, but we all know that RO systems rob the water of the natural minerals that our bodies require.

      Summary:

      Purchasing a EWI or an AF should depend upon your needs. If you need acidic water for skin or cleaning applications, or for really low ORP levels for strong detoxing or fighting off cancer (Goolge Dr. Robert Young’s thoughts on this subject), the an EWI is that answer. You will still need a $250 pre-filter system.

      If you are looking for clean and safe drinking water, I recommend an AF. The reason I recommend an AF over a basic $250 pre-filter system is that the AF’s also provide all the incredible health benefits of the drinking water produced by an EWI and the incremental price difference is only $149 (derived from the selling price of an Alkatream at $399 less the $250 cost of a pre-filter system = $149).

  20. If you just want the external benefits from acidic water in the 5.0-6.0 range, you can also buy inexpensive bottled water. It offers the same pH and +ORP ranges as creating it with an EWI would.

    Additionally, EWIs will dump a variety of chemicals down the drain tube. If we capture and then soak our feet, rinse our hair or cook pasta in it, then I’d assume we’re absorbing those harmful substances as well. Bottled water isn’t regulated, but if we find a decent RO, we can be fairly certain it’s pretty pure. Which is what my wife and daughter mist on themselves after bathing and I after shaving.

  21. Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I need to decide now on whether to get a pre filtration system and EWI or just the Alkastream. Just to be clear, you are saying that purchasing both is not necessary? If I were to purchase an EWI I should only get a regular pre filtration system with it and not the Alkastream? Sorry, am just wanting clarity on this. In other words—is it a one or the other decision?

    The other thing I’m not certain I understand is the whole idea of needing the minerals that are in the water to begin with. Are we mainly talking about Calcium/Magnesium? I would think that the amounts are negligible compared to what we receive in our food and, in my case, supplements. Unless we were consuming well water, it just seems that, for instance, a glass of milk would contain more calcium than many glasses of water. That whole reverse osmosis/distilled debate never really struck me as very important. I am no scientist, though, and probably never fully understood it completely.

    Thanks again,

    Kip

    • Hi Kip:

      The Alkastream will clean the water better than a pre-filter imo.

      The Alkastream will produce water produce water with a pH of 8.5 to 10.0 depending upon source water conditions and the flow rate of the water. Therefore, if you are just looking for healthy drinking water, the Alkastream will do very well. It’s ORP is also much more stable so it will last if you don’t plan to always drink the ionized water right away.

      If you want acidic water, you will need a EWI. In the alternative, you could buy a Alkastream for purity and drinking water, and an acid machine such as an E2 Spray made by Hyunsung E&E. The E2 Spray makes acid water via ionizing tap water with salt (NaCl). The acid machines sell for about $300, which is overpriced by about $100 imo based upon what they cost to make. When you start to add up the cost of an Alkastream ($399) and an E2 Spray ($299), you are at $700. A good water ionizer costs about $1,500 and the pre-filter costs about $250 for a total of $1,750.

      If you run water through an Alkasteam, and then through an EWI, you will get clean water, but the pH will be very high (the ionized source water entering the EWI would likely be well over 9.0), so you wouldn’t be able to get acid water. The Conventional Wisdom (see my recent article) of the water ionizer companies will be that the Alkastream won’t be enough. They will be right if a person is looking for a wide range of pH levels. However, I have read statistics that EWI owners use their machines 30 times for drinking water for every time they use it for acidic water.

      If you can afford the $1,750 for the EWI and pre-filter and you want to be able to have acidic water, then buy an EWI and a pre-filter system. If you are just looking for clean, safe drinking water, the Alkastream is a much more reasonable choice. Different people….different needs….different choices. Thank goodness for that, or we would all be just like me:)

      People don’t need a water ionizer if they pay attention to their diet. A water ionizer provides and easy way to obtain antioxidants while hydrating. You would be surprised how little good nutrition is in many of the foods that we eat.

  22. Thank you, Rob. I completely understand it now. I am mainly looking for good, clean, healthful drinking water.

    Yes, good nutrition is number one(but even with this subject there is such wide ranging debate over what is truly good nutrition and from which food sources). I’ve gone through this maze, and actually decided to go(dietary habits) with what kept my long lived relatives healthy and happy(incidentally–maternal grandfather drank well water all 99 years of his healthy/active life!). Who knows, right?

    So, the foods for health, exercise, vegetable juicing, enough sunshine, no meds, outside air, love, some fortunate good genes, and now finally deciding on what type of water to consume and I should be set and prepared to maintain good health. It’s just so incredibly amazing how diligent one has to be in deciding which way to go on nearly all of these topics for health. The shame of it all is that there are so many people writing books, promoting a certain diet, pushing a certain juice, or health plan, or whatever, under the guise of wanting to truly help people, when in reality it’s the dollar that is pushing them. I honestly believe that most health care practitioners—whether allopathic or naturopathic–genuinely start out with the noblest of intentions….but sometimes along the way….. And then the consumer becomes a kind of faceless victim.

    This is why I appreciate blogs and sights like yours so very very much.

    Thanks again,

    Kip

    • Hi Kip:

      Once again, thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate them, especially when there are people out there who are trying to hurt me for what I’m trying to do.

      You have absolutely grasped the essence of the ingredients for good health…eat well, exercise, get outdoors, sleep, live and love, and hydrate.

  23. Hello Kangen,
    I ordered a portable machine from a roommate that just wouldn’t stop hounding me every day, I had to move from her place, she was so bad telling me to stop this or that, because of being FAT. I stopped the order 2 days after ordering and I’m still waiting on my payment back it been 24 days and NO ONE WILL HELP ME, Brian is her director down here in Clearwater Florida, Patti Marqueen was the lady I ordered from. Can someone HELP ME. Or is this company a spam as the internet writes. I’m not happy with the way your company does service. Thing twice before ordering people. That’s just wrong.

    • Hi Robin:

      I hate hearing stories like this. I have never contacted the Kangen head office, but I assume that they would be able to help you.

      Enagic is definitely not a scam company at all. I’m sure they will provide you with a refund.

  24. Hi Rob,

    I see that the last post to your blog was early 2011, but then, I’d like to think your blog is still active to this day. I am from the Philippines and had just recently purchased an Enagic machine with a staggering $3.7k price tag. Its the model one down from the SD501. I was just seeking answers to the shelf life of Kangen water in the web that I came across your blog and been overwhelmed by all the issues discussed. Though you mentioned that there is great awareness for ionized water for Asian people, the choices as to manufacturers of EWIs is rather limited unlike there in the US or Canada. But after reading all the comments and posts in your blog, I was left wondering about pursuing the business side of purchasing an Enagic unit. How can I promote the ionized water and push for a sale without saying — “this is the best in the market” knowing most of them can’t afford its tag?

    Warm regards,

    John

    • Hi John:

      A small number of people have made a lot of money selling Enagic products. Most people never recover their initial costs. The math is similar for most MLM companies.

      Enagic machines work (I have owned one in the past). If you tell people the water works and you chose Enagic, I think you will find that some friends and family may buy one through you in the future.

  25. hi there, love also the alkanized water. feel energetic these days

  26. hi Rob
    i read John Reyes post of October 21 2014 and he seems to Speak my mind. How Can i promote the ionized water and push for a Sale?
    please i need helpful materials from you on other reviews made by other water ionizers sent to my mailbox.
    Warmest regards

    • Hi Joseph:

      I don’t know why anyone would promote alkaline ionized water. The alkaline function adds zero health benefits. The creation of molecular hydrogen (H2) during electrolysis provides all of the health benefits.

      If you want to learn about hydrogen, check out the following sites:

      1) http://www.molecularhydrogenfoundation.org
      2) http://www.h2healthyliving.com

      If you want to find an actual company to check out, the guys at http://www.h2fx.com are leading the way in North America. If you visit the H2FX website, click on the H2 MINUTES tab at the top and watch some or all of the videos. The videos are 100% information on H2 and zero sales pitch

      A number of alkaline water ionizer companies are trying to jump on the H2 bandwagon (eg. Kangen, Alkaviva, Echo) but their claims are grossly exaggerated.

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