| Everyone who sells swimming pools
is deeply aware of the value of the liquid water, one of the most
desirable commodities this earth provides. Nowhere else in our universe
do we know of another place where liquid water exists. It is indeed
the rarest matter of all. But this is not the only reason water
is precious to us.
Water is the most necessary substance for life. In fact, living
creatures - like spas and pools - are basically vessels for liquid
water. Because we work in an industry that relies so heavily on
sanitized water, it is imperative that we strive to understand how
water reacts under various conditions. This is not always an easy
task, as liquid water refuses to follow some of the most fundamental
laws of nature. It is the one substance that turns into something
lighter when it crystallizes - which is why ice floats. And even
when liquid water cools down to near freezing it violates one of
the basic rules that heat rises and expands things. As water cools
down to below 39 degrees Fahrenheit, it does not shrink, it expands!
It expands so much that the coldest water moves to the top above
warmer water! That's why freezing starts on the top of the water.
We should be happy that it does that. Because of this solid layer
of water on top, the rest of the water is insulated.
Another weird water fact is that it accepts more heat energy than
its normal share - a great benefit to life. Indeed, no other substance
can transport as much heat energy. That's how liquid water normalizes
the temperature extremes in our living zones - it absorbs heat when
there is too much, and releases heat if there is not enough.
Hard Water Facts
The list of anomalies in the behavior of liquid water could be continued
on and on. But we have to consider one more: Although water is chemically
neutral, it is one of the best solvents known to man. Water has
the capability to entrap other substances. In other words, it tends
to cluster around every non-water particle, forming conglomerations
or complexes, as they are called scientifically.
Water's capacity to entrap substances results in its high mineral
content. The amount of these dissolved minerals being carried by
the water determines its hardness. One of the most common minerals
in water is calcium carbonate, a substance that forms mountain ranges
such as the Alps. When liquid water evaporates, the dissolved minerals
become over-concentrated and must crystallize. This also happens
when the temperature of the water increases, or when the solubility
of the carbonates in the water decreases. The consequence is a sediment
of those minerals on the walls of the container - in our case, spas
and pools. These sediments of minerals that grow on the container
walls are actually limestone, which is hard and difficult to remove.
Very hard water can produce these hard sediments with bad consequences.
Unfortunately, this process is a slow one and cannot be recognized
immediately. Nevertheless, the effects of hard water are quite noticeable
if left to build up over time. Today, the water lines that the Romans
had used for hundreds of years show accumulations of hard lime scale
many inches thick, as in the beautiful Pont du Gard in southern
France, for instance.
But it only takes a few years for hard lime scale to take its toll
on water pipes and equipment. Such sediment layers in heaters hinder
the transfer of heat.
For swimming pools, the removal of existing hard lime scale is usually
accomplished by an acid wash, which interrupts the operation of
the system. Furthermore, the acid can attack pools walls and open
up leaks.
Most water supplied by water districts in the United States is well
cared for, analyzed chemically and rendered clean enough for drinking.
Most of it contains a good amount of calcium content. This is important
for proper taste and a healthy mineral balance. However, it tends
to create deposits of scale over the years if no preventative measures
are taken.
Root Of The Problem
Preventing scale can also be accomplished via water softeners, which
work as ion exchangers. They take the calcium out of the calcium
carbonate and replace it with sodium. The resulting water is not
recommended for drinking because of the sodium content. And used
in larger amounts, it also adds salt to the ground water. Other
chemical additives may rid the water of calcium carbonate, but only
by risking contamination.
If one is serious about finding a cure for an undesired condition,
it is essential that he or she find out what the source of the problem
is. In the case of hard lime scale, the reason for its formation
is easy to understand with a few basic laws of crystallography.
The change from dissolved calcium carbonate to lime scale is a phase
change from liquid to crystalline. Any phase change needs a starting
point. Most of the time a piece of a different material may serve
as such a starting point. Such a piece can be extremely small, like
a speck of dust, a supermolecule or tiny solid particles. If such
starting points are not available in the water, the crystallization
can start only at the materials that make up the container walls.
The crystallization grows in layers until it becomes lime scale.
Once we know what causes lime scale, the means of prevention seem
obvious. We have to provide the necessary crystallization points
for the minerals in the water so that the minerals do not wander
to the container walls to find crystallization points.
How can we do that? By creating a disturbance in the water that
produces crystallization centers for the minerals. Actually, most
water contains huge amounts of such centers. Almost all of these
potential centers, however, are entrapped by the water-molecule
complexes and cannot act as crystallization centers. Therefore,
we have to break a few of these complexes so that their internal
captive particles become free. Once free, they act as centers for
mineral molecules and form micro-crystals. That leaves less calcium
carbonate to form hard lime scale on the walls.
Magnetic Connection
Fortunately, an entire arsenal of complex-busting techniques is
available. The disturbance can be mechanical whirling, sonic disturbance,
electric frequencies and magnetic disturbances. They all reduce
the formation of hard lime scale to some extent. Lately, magnetic
devices have become more and more popular for a number of reasons.
Permanent magnet materials have been developed in recent decades
to be 100 times as strong and much more durable than the old-fashioned
magnets made out of steel. In contrast to steel magnets, which weaken
with age, modern ceramic magnets do not show any changes with age.
They keep their forces so precisely stable that nuclear submarines
base their subpolar, under-ice navigation on instruments depending
on the accuracy of permanent magnets. So once they are magnetized,
permanent magnets never need recharging or an energy source, which
makes their use most convenient and unfailing.
The effects of magnetic fields on running water have been observed
long before these better magnets were developed. Patents on treatment
of water with magnets appeared as early as the 1950s. Though these
magnets were not very strong, their effects were pronounced. These
effects were described as making the water appear to behave as if
it was softer, as if the mineral content was lowered. Noticeably
less scale was produced after prolonged use.
Eastern Influence
This technology was used mainly in eastern countries, which was
lacking a competent, reliable chemical industry. Hundreds of reports
have popped up in Russia, China, Poland and Bulgaria detailing the
successful use of magnets to treat water.
Lacking any chemical means of softening the water, these countries
used magnets to treat water for irrigation and industrial uses,
as well as for personal use, where improvements of taste and faster
drying were reported. Many attempts to explain the reasons for the
observed effects were made without much success. Also methods of
measuring the effects remained unsatisfactory.
In western countries, the use of magnetic water treatment methods
developed much more slowly. Water softening by chemical means was
in general use, and the difficulties of explaining and measuring
magnetic effect on flowing water kept it suspect for western minds.
In addition, the chemical industry tried to discourage its utilization
for obvious reasons.
However, the practical effects of magnetic water treatment were
undeniable after prolonged use. A number of companies took advantage
of the situation in western countries to market magnetic devices
for water treatment, often equating magnets with magic or mysticism.
But there is no mystique in how magnets work to treat water problems.
For example, the agriculturally oriented California State Polytechnic
University in Pomona, Calif., pioneered the re-use of irrigation
water by using magnetic water treatment devices. The positive effects
of magnets on water were confirmed in the 1980s through systematic
research. With the scientifically sound knowledge of the processes
involved, it was then possible to develop treatment devices with
the newest permanent magnets. Also a quantitative method evolved
for evaluating the effectiveness of the devices.
New Technologies
The new devices had a great effect on water treatment. Not only
was the formation of scale totally eliminated, the removal of scale
deposits in old water pipes could be accomplished in relatively
short times. This had taken weeks with the older devices.
How can magnets do that? How can they provide nucleation centers
in the water? The shortage of nucleation centers in the water is
known to result from the capability of the water molecules to cluster
around each foreign particle rendering it unavailable as a nucleation
center. The forces of the magnetic fields on those water molecule
clusters are very weak. However, the clusters vibrate in a number
of ways, when they pass a number of magnetic poles at a certain
velocity, the periodic changes in the magnetic fields may coincide
with one of the internal vibration frequencies of the water clusters.
Resonance may occur and result in cracking open such a cluster.
The formerly entrapped particle is set free, and the nearby mineral
molecules rush from all sides to their nucleation center where they
form circular platelets.
The minerals that form the circular platelets do not have to crystallize
on a container wall. In turn, the number of hard crystals is reduced
accordingly. This percentage reduction is the magnetic treatment's
effectiveness rating.
Since a method of quantitatively determining the effectiveness of
magnetic devices was developed, manufacturers have been able to
maximize their efficiency for industrial and residential use. Today,
there are basically two types of magnetic water treatment devices:
one is built into the pool's circulation system, while the other
simply attaches to any pipe within the pool's circulation system.
In-line devices are usually more effective than the clamp-on variety.
But naturally, the clamp-on units are easier to install and are
most desirable for water systems that circulate, like a pool, thus
giving the water repeated treatment over time.
Hard lime scale forms wherever tap water evaporates or is heated.
While it may not be noticeable for a long time, there are commercial
appliances that show a white deposit after only a few days of use.
Steam cleaners, for instance, may become inoperable after two weeks
due to heavy scale deposits. They have to be washed often with acid
in order to avoid filter clogs. Also, dishwashers in restaurants
need to be freed from the white scale deposits regularly. In the
average residential home, it may take a couple of years until a
layer of hard scale reduces the cross section of water pipes significantly.
And in swimming pools, a rough band of sediment often develops along
the waterline, which may require mechanical grinding to be removed.
In many cases where the water has a high iron content, the scale
deposits develop a brownish tint. They may even acquire a deep brown
color, as is often evident in toilet tanks. In dairy operations,
fatty substances often mix with the sediment and create "butter
stone." In regards to cooling towers, circulating water may
mix with algaecides, and the ensuing deposits may be toxic.
These examples indicate that lime scale may contain more than calcium
carbonate. Other minerals dissolved in the water solidify, as well,
and can produce unsightly or even dangerous substances.
Using Magnets
Fortunately, a well designed magnetic treatment device will prevent
such deposits from developing, as long as it's sized for the maximum
water flow capacity of the particular plumbing system. Safety inspections
may be required, but in most cases, inspection reveals nothing more
than an accumulation of sludge, which can be removed easily.
Recently, a pool builder inspected my 30-year-old pool, which has
been fitted with a simple magnetic water treatment device that is
clamped on one of the lines between the pump and the filter. He
was astonished to feel not a trace of roughness on the waterline
tiles, and he could hardly believe that we did nothing to clean
the tiles since last summer.
During the resurfacing of my driveway, a small bulldozer happened
to rip one of the feed lines for the lawn sprinklers out of the
ground. A young plumber replaced the old galvanized piping with
new PVC tubing. The next day, he returned and asked permission to
saw off a little piece of the old pipe. The reason: He wanted to
show his father, a longtime plumber, that it was possible for the
outside of a water pipe to accumulate a thick crust of rust deposits
while the inside of the 30-year-old pipe was without any substantial
deposits.
But how could the old water tubes of my sprinkler system be free
of interior deposits? After all, these tubes had been in the ground
for 18 years before I had a magnetic water treatment device attached
to the house's water supply line. At that time, lumpy, hard deposits
of reddish brown stones had already reduced the inner diameter of
the 1-inch piping to less than 3/4 inch.
The removal of these hard deposits was rather dramatic. On Feb.
28, 1982, when the magnetic device was installed on my house, I
had opened all faucets, toilet flushers, drains, and garden hose
outlets. Soon I found it necessary to remove all faucet strainer
heads because the brown water emerging carried lumps of brown matter
with it. It took about four hours until the emerging water had become
colorless and ran steadily.
This event can be explained using the same facts about crystallization
in water that were detailed in part one of this column. The only
difference between magnetically treated water and untreated water
is that magnetically treated water enables minerals to crystallize
in the water instead of on the surface of some pipe or container.
As a result, we have converted the water formerly saturated with
dissolved minerals into a mixture of solid microcrystals and clean
water. When this purified water flows past other minerals, it is
capable of dissolving a new load of minerals.
In large industrial installations, like cooling towers, this process
is evident as large chunks of old lime scale break off the walls.
The treated water does not dissolve the old scale only from the
outer surface; it penetrates between the scale and the wall. This
area is the weakest part of the scale, so the water can split the
crystalline matter from the container wall. The dramatic speed of
this process makes some precautions necessary. In order to avoid
clogs, filters and strainers should be temporarily taken out of
the circulation system.
Clamp-on magnetic units typically have an efficiency rating of 20
to 40 percent. Although they are capable of removing the old lime
scale, this may take several weeks. But because they also prevent
the formation of new scale, the units are always producing some
benefit.
Corrosion prevention is another benefit of magnetic water treatment.
Periodic acid washing of a pool is one of the main reasons for the
metal corrosion. In some cases, after long periods between acid
washings, the hard deposits may cover up some of the weak spots,
which turn into leaks when the deposits are dissolved by the next
acid wash. Because magnetic water treatment makes acid washes unnecessary,
a major cause of corrosion damage is eliminated.
Also, after a long period of magnetic water treatment, the interior
of pipes becomes covered with a thin, continuous coating. This layer
does not change over the years. Analyzed by a number of scientific
institutes, it has been determined to be a corrosion-preventing,
inert substance. In one case, it was found to be aluminum silicate.
The Steinbeis Institute in Reutlingen, Germany, has devoted years
of research to the study of corrosion and has published numerous
articles outlining the corrosion reduction experienced with water
systems treated with magnetic devices.
Improving Water's Image
Effectively treated water looks sparkling clear, even if the water
supply is murky. Some water experts claim they can recognize a specific
silky appearance of magnetically treated water. This might be due
to the multitude of microcrystals, which can reflect sunlight. The
developing microcrystals, however, are so small that they are visible
only with high magnification.
In regards to smell, water that comes with a slight sulfur odor
loses this smell after being treated with magnetic devices. Of significant
interest to this industry, the chlorine odor of chlorinated water
is greatly reduced by effective magnetic treatment. In fact, slight
chlorination may become unnoticeable to the average user.
For aromatic brews, such as teas or coffees, the desired aromas
can be achieved with fewer ingredients if the water is effectively
treated. The ensuing aromas appear cleaner to perceptive noses.
It is said that in some eastern countries - China for instance -
many people heat their tea water in a pot containing a magnet.
Other Effects
One of the most obvious effects of magnetic water treatment is the
enhanced ability of most cleaning chemicals and detergents. Magnetically
treated water increases their effectiveness to the point where just
one-third or even one-fourth of the cleaning agent is needed. In
cases of naturally contaminated water from lakes, an intense magnetic
treatment has made the lake water fit for human consumption.
Magnetically treated water runs off a cleaned surface faster and
in thinner sheets because surface tension is reduced. As a result,
one sees fewer water spots from drying. This has been applied successfully
by the watering of decorative plants by sprinklers.
Surface tension in water is critical to biological life. Surface
tension makes water rise in the fibers of the plants, it fills the
capillaries in your body and it determines water's ability to penetrate
soil and other materials. Therefore it is not surprising that wherever
magnetic water treatment has been practiced, growth patterns have
changed. Experiments with groups of growing farm animals and agricultural
plants have been conducted at universities and federal institutions
with stunning results. Some were hard to believe, so the scientists
were reluctant to publish them immediately, pending confirmation.
Following are some of the results of scientific research:
At a California university, two control groups of 24 piglets, each
with normal feeding were compared with two groups of 24 piglets
that were getting their water from a magnetic treatment device.
The latter groups consumed twice as much water and grew an average
12.5 percent faster. Cotton plantings with various irrigation were
compared in California. The cotton plants irrigated with magnetically
treated water grew to larger sizes with larger and denser foliage.
However, they produced one-third less cotton than the control plantings.
A Washington navel tree watered with magnetically treated water
carried less fruit, but each orange became unusually thick and juicy,
weighing 20 ounces, on average. Similarly, a Eureka lemon tree fed
magnetically treated water carries lemons that grow up to one pound
each.
One biologist suggests that the slightly reduced surface tension
of the magnetically treated water may facilitate its penetration
of cell walls. This could accelerate the normal dividing of the
cells in growing parts of living individuals. This would account
for the faster vegetative growth and the reduced reproductive cell
division responsible for the number of flowers and fruit.
The accelerated growth of plants by the use of magnetically treated
water is possible because the root tips secrete enzymes that dissolve
crystals in the ground, enabling the roots to ingest the dissolved
minerals.
This is not the case for one-cell organisms that pollute pool water.
Algae and bacteria have to ingest their food directly through the
cell wall. They get plenty of water through it, but they cannot
receive any nourishment in the form of crystallized minerals, which
cannot penetrate the cell walls. Thus, bacteria in magnetically
treated water starve.
Observations on swimming pools confirm this effect. The normal chlorine
content of treated water of swimming pools can be reduced by at
least half if the water is efficiently magnetically treated. Even
without any chlorination, no algae growth can be detected for about
36 hours. This is the normal duration of the affectivity of the
magnetic treatment. After one to two days, the microcrystals formed
by the treatment start to redissolve. After this time, a vigorous
growth of algae occurs in the non-chlorinated pool if it is not
replenished with treated water.
In short, a swimming pool benefits by the application of
magnetic water treatment for a number of reasons:
Because a pool has a circulation system, installing a magnetic clamp-on
device is simple.
Chlorine content can be reduced by at least half, and chlorine odor
is further reduced because much of the chlorine is incorporated
into the microcrystals, which we cannot smell.
The treated water does not produce sediments on a pool's waterline.
No hard lime scale develops in the circulation system - neither
in the filter nor in the heater.
Dr. Klaus J. Kronenberg is a world-renowned physicist
specializing in the study of permanent magnets.
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