Hello, my name is Allen Trent. This is my true account of
what I have experienced in researching and now manufacturing
Trentatrons. If you have any
doubts about these devices (most of us do at first) and you have the time, please read the
following chronicle of my research and development of these
products. Even if you don't purchase my product, it will
help guide you to the few vendors out there that have
good products and help you stay away from the ones with outlandish
claims (such as "works on steel pipes"). Don't expect top
notch performance from refrigerator magnets or cheap magnets in
plastic cases with tie wraps.
I was doing some research on the Internet when I came across a
web page that talked about magnetic water treatment devices.
This website had a neutral bias toward them and showed how they
made a crude arrangement using Neodymium magnets and plumbers
straps. They mentioned many of the claims made for these
devices. They stated the following: "The only claim that we
can confirm is that magnetically-treated water DID taste different
(and better!) when we sampled it in blind taste tests. The
difference was far easier to discern when using chlorinated water
from town instead of our mountain spring water."
Since I don't buy bottle water typically (refrigerator water is
fine with me), the idea of better tasting water did appeal to me. Having an engineering background I was very skeptical of these
claims. But OK, that's pretty easy to test, so I did.
14 June 2004:
I purchased a large neodymium ring magnet locally and
preceded to thread several feet of tubing around and through it,
and then connected it to the water line feeding my refrigerator.
I was really surprised that it really did
change (and improve) the taste of the water.
So, I did more research where I found
studies that backed up the following claims:
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They prevent the build up of
lime scale and corrosion in pipes, water heaters, boilers, and
cooling towers and over time will dissolve and remove existing
scale. Elimination of lime scale and corrosion from heating
elements provides a major reduction in energy usage along with
savings from a reduction in maintenance costs.
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They make the water feel
softer and wetter by reducing the water surface tension.
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Here are links to three different studies
made on Magnetic water treatment devices:
Heat Exchanger
Fouling and Cleaning: Fundamentals and Applications
US Dept. of Energy Federal
Technology Alerts
Cranfield University School of Water Sciences
Still not convinced? Neither was I completely until I considered
Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
From watching TV or from first hand
experience we know that MRI's work and are very valuable medical
tools. The basic principle on which they operate is the
same principle that makes Magnetic Water Treatment work.
Hydrogen (and a few other elements also) have a strong response to
magnetic fields.
The main feature of a MRI machine is an intense static magnetic field.
Without this intense static magnetic field MRI's simply would not
work. Additional magnetic and RF
techniques are employed to modulate and then measure the response
of this static magnetic field to produce the 3 dimensional images of our
bodies. Further information on MRI theory is available here
FDA Primer on MRI Systems.
This link describes the magnetic influences involved at the atomic
level on certain elements, MRI basic theory, and talks about the "Five gauss line".
This Five Gauss Line
specifies the perimeter around an MR scanner within which the
static magnetic fields are higher than five gauss. Five gauss and
below are considered "safe" levels of static magnetic field
exposure for the general public.
Other benefits claimed are as follows:
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Softer skin and softer more
manageable hair. |
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Improved soap
efficiency and softer laundry. |
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Reduced stains and deposits
on laundry and dishes. |
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Pools and Spas require less
chemicals and water clarity is improved. |
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Dental tartar and plaque
reduction and prevention for us and our pets. |
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Fertilizers and chemicals
used in agriculture work better as well as the plants take up the
water better. |
23 June 2004:
Well, those claims are
a little more subjective and harder to document. You can
always find positive testimonials on someone's marketing website
but you never know how real they are. So, I found a seller
on eBay that sells those wrap-around refrigerator magnet type
devices. I sent emails out to six of his buyers asking them
what their experience had been with those devices. I
received these three replies.
One gentleman said he
thought they were working but felt he needed stronger magnets.
A reply from one lady
said she thought they might be working.
.
The last reply was from
a second lady who stated:" My recommendation to any one who asks me, would be don't
waste your money. Sorry, just being honest".
Well I had read on the
internet that there were some variables that could limit the
effectiveness of these devices. What got me excited was that 2 of the 3 people
who responded thought they might be working.
So, as any good engineer might do, I decided to build my own
magnet systems and see what they would do for me. The hallmark of
my life's work has always been over-engineering my designs.
Not only did I base my design on the strongest rare-earth
(Neodymium) magnets I could find, but also on the best heavy
carbon steel frame that I could come up with.
The heavy steel frame is
most important. The
steel frame
shapes and magnifies the magnetic flux inside the mounting frame
itself. The Neodymium magnet field is very intense and the
steel frame provides shielding
which contains the magnet field and
also prevents disturbances from outside magnetic fields.
Any magnetic water treatment device without a full
steel enclosure will
not contain it's own magnetic field nor provide shielding from
outside
magnetic field disturbances. Consider that when you look at some of
those units that use car sign material or plastic cases and
tie-wraps. How big is their Five Gauss
Line? The maximum gauss rating of the ceramic magnets
used in the other MWT devices is 3900 gauss (2500 gauss for the
flexible magnets). The ratings of the neodymium magnets that
I use are from 12,100 to 13,100 gauss. But, what really
counts here is the flux density inside the pipe. Few of the
other vendors even discuss flux density inside the pipes.
The few that do, do not show actual test measurements inside the
pipe. You can view the actual measurements of
Trentatron Flux density on
the Performance
page.
9 July 2004:
All design projects begin with prototype development, as mine did.
I contracted with a local millwright to construct the two steel
frames that I needed for my prototypes. One assembly is
designed for copper pipes up to 1 1/4" in size and PVC pipes up to
1" in size (residential water service). The second assembly
is designed for copper pipes 1 1/2" to 2" in size and PVC pipes
from 1 1/4" to 2" in size (spa, pool, and commercial service).
The magnets were obtained from a local source of Neodymium
magnets. Finally I had my steel frames built to my
specifications and my magnets. I was now ready to test these
devices for myself.
10 July 2004: The next
morning I went out and dug up my flowerbed in front of the water
service entrance valves to my house. The hot Texas summer
sun was in full force and by the time I got the hole dug and the
Trentatron installed I was hot, dirty and sweaty. As soon as
I was finished I hit the shower. I was taking my shower
thinking my thoughts when suddenly I realized or felt a change in
the water. It was a small change but I had felt the water
hardness and surface tension change as the magnetized water made it through my
plumbing to my shower head. Thirty one years ago I lived in an
old ranch house that was fed by a deep water well. That was
the sweetest softest water I have ever lived with. We used
small amounts of soap and shampoo but it never seemed that we ever
got the soap off, no matter how long we rinsed. Well if that
is the type of water you are demanding I can tell you right now
that my Trentatrons will not turn hard water into that type
of soft water. These devices reduce the water surface
tension to make it feel softer and more slippery. But, they
do not remove any minerals, they just change the form of the mineral
composition and reduce the surface tension. Since it's
claimed that these devices reduces water spotting I gave my
bathroom a good cleaning to see how it would work on my shower
doors and fixtures. I then went out to my hot tub. My
hot tub is a very old tub with none of the modern ozoneators or UV
water treatment devices. It only takes a few days after I
change the water for it to begin to get cloudy and start to
smell funky unless I treat it everyday heavily with spa
chemicals. I drained, serviced and re-filled the hot tub
with my newly magnetized water. I then installed the TAT-2
model on the water return line of my hot tub.
18 July 2004:
So, what has been my experiences with these new
Trentatrons?
Just as the gentleman mentioned about his magnet system above, I
have noticed the following:
| My hair is much softer and more manageable. |
| My drinking water tastes much better. |
| My shaves are smoother and with less nicks. |
| My shower door has stayed cleaner with less
spotting. |
| My skin feels softer and smoother after
showers and from being in the hot tub. |
| My laundry is softer and my whites are
brighter (I did not cut back any on the detergent or softener). |
| My teeth feel cleaner as if I had just had
my teeth cleaned. |
| And most importantly my hot tub water has
stayed clear and has not started to smell funky while I used
less chemicals but used it more often. |
| My garden which normally fades out in the
hot Texas July sun has re-bounded and is greener and fresher now
than before I installed the
Trentatrons. |
These claims are not nearly as wild and crazy as the claim that
you can use magnets to take 3D images of your brain now is it.
19 July 2004: That just leaves one last claim that I
have not addressed. That claim is that they prevent lime
scale formation on heating elements, in boilers, and cooling
towers thereby saving money on energy and maintenance costs.
Calcium deposits on heating flues and elements are insulators
which requires additional use of energy to heat the same amount of
water. The deposits require additional maintenance to
prevent premature failures of heaters and boilers. Just
this week I noticed a plumber over at my next door neighbors
house. He was replacing the hot water heater. I have
lived in this house since February of 1982 and it was new when I
moved in. The house next door was sold the next year and it
is now on it's 4th hot water heater (house was a rental unit until
1997 which meant no maintenance on the hot water heaters).
I replaced my original hot water heater in July of 1998 when it
finally started to leak. Prior to this I worked on the
original heater many times, replacing burnt out heating elements
that were caked with calcium deposits, replacing the
thermostat/overload units, and draining heavy calcium buildup from
the bottom of the tank.
My present heater is designed to help fight deposit build up in
the bottom of the tank. So far I have not had any problems
with it and I still drain the tank at least once a year to remove
the buildup that does occur even on this lifetime type tank
design. I drained the tank the day (10 July 2004) I installed the
Trentatrons
and even attempted to remove the heating elements so I could check
them and remove the calcite buildup. I wanted to take photos of
them, clean them, and then check them later on to see how well
the Trentatrons were working for me inside the hot water heater.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the heating element out.
It was stuck or installed so tightly that my element tool would
not break them loose. I am now depending on the
Trentatron to
remove the calcite from this heating element for me.
I finally was able to talk to my neighbor about his hot water
heater. The water heater he just replaced was installed
three years ago. It began to rattle and bang when it was
working. He was advised that he needed to drain it to remove
the sediment. He drained the heater which only made the
condition worse. He spent $ 530 having this 3 year old
water heater removed and a new heater installed. The day it was
removed I went over to the dead heater and removed the heater
elements and took the following photos of them:
Click on image for full size view then use back
button to return
Both elements were caked with scale with the upper element being
in far worse condition. In the second image you can see the
scale that scrapped off the element as I removed it from the
heater. Installation of one
Trentatron unit would have
prevented this problem at fraction of the cost. This heater
could easily have been saved by cleaning the heater elements,
draining and flushing the tank thoroughly, and installing a
Trentatron to prevent further lime scale buildup.
26 July 2004:
Well after talking to my neighbor about his heater I decided that
I REALLY needed to take a look at my heater elements since they
had been in service twice as long as his. Once more
I drained my hot water heater. Holy smoke where did all that
crap (sediment) come from, especially that green stuff? I
just drained my heater 16 days ago when I installed the
Trentatrons
and I didn't have nearly as much sediment come out as I did today.
Well ,try as I might that top element just wouldn't budge.
But, I was able to get the bottom element out. The bottom
element was rough to the touch from scale but it had no buildup
except right at the screw base. There it had a small amount
of the green stuff built up between the electrodes. Here are
photos of sediment from the second draining, the lower element,
and some of the lime scale that had been removed from the elements
in just 16 days of Trentatron use.
Click on image for full size view then use back
button to return
The only conclusion I can come to is that my
Trentatrons have been
doing their job of preventing and eliminating existing lime scale.
I had a heavy build up of new sediment that included a noticeable
amount of the green scale. The green scale came off of the
heating elements. Two weeks ago I had only a few small
pieces of the green scale that came out of the heater on the first
draining and flushing.
29 July 2004:
Today I installed a
booster Trentatron
on the hot water pipe coming out of my hot
water heater. It seemed to really help with the laundry and
I am still amazed at how soft and manageable my hair has become.
4
August 2004:
Last year I replaced the Master Bath Tub with a fiberglass tub
that had scoring in the bottom as an anti-slip feature. What
it really did was build up an ugly stain in all the surface
grooves in the bottom of the tub. Nothing would touch this
stuff until today. I noticed that all the grooves near the
drain were shiny white again. With a little help then from
Tilex I was able to clean shiny white, the entire anti-slip
surface.
14 August 2004:
My tub has stayed relatively clean and white and is now a breeze
to clean. Now I have also noticed the
tile areas where my shower head sprays the magnetized water.
The water has scoured the tile and grout clean of 22 years of use.
The buildup beyond the direct spray areas is also melting away.
I just can't believe that my new tub no longer has that ugly dirty
stain in the bottom of it. Comet cleanser and Tilex wouldn't touch that stain
but magnetized water simply melted it away. I had fought that
stain for the longest time, then given up, and now it has simply
melted away.
23 August 2004:
My kitchen sink drain has run slow for many
years now. If I wasn't careful, the disposal would shoot
waste over and up into my other sink when I used it. Well, I
have now realized that I no longer have this problem. The
disposal is no longer sending waste over into the other sink.
Sinks drain like they did 22 years ago. Amazing!
11 September 2004:
The latest amazing story I have
regarding these devices came yesterday. I forced some
skeptical friends of mine to allow me to put one of these
devices on their swimming pool/spa system. I did not have my
camera with me so I asked that they take a photo of the tile
work with their digital camera. It had significant scale and
stain buildup above the water line. OK, it was put on their "
To Do" List. That was two weeks ago. I called yesterday to get
an update on my magnets. The first thing my friend said was
that she was sorry. She had not gone out in time and taken the
requested "before" photo. In less than 3 days all the stain and
scale deposits on the pool tile was gone, so no "before" photo
was taken. Then she was REALLY interested in knowing how these
things do what they do. She's a convert now also.
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