Benefits

Family Pool

Girl Spraying Water

Garden

The other day while listing the benefits of Trentatrons (and other MWT devices) I realized that it makes the water better in nearly all of the areas where we use water.  It simply is just Better WaterThe Trentatrons reduce the surface tension of the water which makes it feel softer and be a better more active solvent.  This improves the efficiency of all the detergents, fabric softeners, lawn chemicals, pool and spa chemicals and fertilizers that we use.  This allows us to either reduce our usage of these products and save money and the environment or continue using the same amounts and see improved results from them.  I have not cut back on my laundry products but  my laundry is cleaner, brighter, and softer.  The changes or improvements that have impressed me the most are as follows: (most pronounced first)

  • My hair is softer and more manageable.

  • My Shower and Tub are so much easier to keep clean.  It melted away stuff that Comet and Tilex wouldn't touch.

  • My water taste so much better.

  • My Hot Tub water is more forgiving of neglect and lack out of chemicals.  The water stays clear and doesn't start to smell funky.  I am able to use less chemicals and still have clear water.

  • My laundry is cleaner, brighter, and softer. 

  • My plants and garden are greener and stronger from using the magnetized water.

But the pay back is hard to measure for the benefits listed above.  Most people won't cut back on chemical or detergent usage, they just get better performance from what they do use.  So they are more of  "Quality of Life" issues than money saving issues.

The main pay back from Trentatrons comes from Savings in Energy,  Maintenance, and Replacement Cost

Energy savings is associated with the prevention or removal of scale build-up on a heat exchange surface where even a thin film (1/32" or 0.8 mm) can increase energy consumption by nearly 10%. Example savings resulting from the removal of calcium-magnesium scales are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Example Increases in Energy Consumption
as a Function of Scale Thickness

Scale Thickness
(inches)
Increased Energy
Consumption (%)
1/32 8.5
1/16 12.4
1/8 25.0
1/4 40.0

Typically, residential hot water production represents 30 % of each households energy consumption.  For an all electric home averaging 2000 kwh a month that would be 600 kwh of electricity usage each month,  for hot water.  At $0.11/kwh that would be $ 66 a month just for hot water.  My next door neighbors hot water heater (see My Chronicle page) easily had a 1/4 inch build up on his heating elements and it had only been in service for 3 years.  Using the table above you can see that a typical house would incur an additional ($66 x .40=) $ 26.40 per month  cost with 1/4 inch calcite buildup on the heat exchange surfaces.  That translate into yearly cost (or savings) of $ 317.  For my neighbor, that doesn't include the $ 530 he spent replacing his 3 year old hot water heater.  His heater died an early death from corrosion and calcite buildup.  On My Chronicle page you can see that the lower heating element from my own hot water is clear of calcite buildup after only 16 days of Trentatron use and 6 years of service.

Maintenance cost will be reduced on Electric Hot Water Heaters and other heat exchanger surfaces where servicing is possible and/or required.  Electric heater elements no longer need to be removed and manually cleaned of (or be replaced when they burn out from) calcite buildup.  Residential gas hot water heaters do not provide a method for manual removal of calcite buildup on heat exchange surfaces.

Consider electric hot water heaters response to calcite buildup.  When a heating element is insulated with calcite buildup it will increase the internal temperature of the heating element itself instead of all of the heat being transferred directly into the water. The insulation produces higher operating temperature inside the element and reduces the total power it produces.   How? The heating element has a positive temperature coefficient which increases it's resistance as it's temperature goes up (more resistance=less power).  Still, the heat it produces must go somewhere (or it burns out).  Instead of being dumped into the water the heat is dumped back into the base of the element and into the steel tank itself.  This increases the external tank temperature.  This produces more external heating which must be dealt with and can cause problems with the temperature regulators and the over-temperature shut off controls of the heater. 

So Trentatrons by keeping your heating elements free of calcite buildup, provide you with long term energy savings combined with reduced maintenance needs and an extended service life of your heater.