Common Questions and Answers

Q: What is MagnetoHydroDynamics (MHD)?
A: This rather impressive sounding word is what scientists refer to as the study of the effects of magnetic energy on fluids. Michael Faraday discovered that water flowing past a conductive material will generate a weak electrical charge. This discovery (made over 120 years ago) is the basis that we use today when treating water and other fluids with magnetism. There are many principles at work. Some of them we understand while others are not yet fully answered.  
Simply put, MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS (MHD) is a simple physical water treatment using advanced magnetic technology for neutralizing the lime scale caused by Calcium Carbonate in hard water.

Q: Do magnetic systems soften water?
A: The magnetic systems don't technically "soften" hard water. "Softening" usually means replacing some of the most essential minerals in the water with SODIUM (which doctors warn can be harmful to health), or removing those minerals with special filters. Both of these methods present problems because of their pollution, health risks and/or wasted water. The conditioning systems treat water without chemicals through the principles of physics - not chemistry. 
With the reduced surface tension of water after magnetization, we are creating soft water behavior.  The character inherent in hard water is its crystallizing phenomenon. When hard water is properly magnetized, the nucleating effect of the crystallization (scaling) is reversed.

Q: Will the MHD system remove minerals from the water?
A: The magnetic scale control systems will keep the minerals in solution so they will not accumulate (form hard crystals) in plumbing systems and at heat exchange locations.
Lime scale develops when the minerals in hard water precipitate out of solution as water is heated and form hard crystals called Calcite. By passing water through a properly applied magnetic field, the physical nature of the water and calcium molecules change so as to allow the formation of less dense crystals called Aragonite. Since Aragonite is very light weight, it will remain suspended in the water flow as it passes through the plumbing system. New scale formation is prevented and existing scale is removed over time.

Q: What is unique about the magnets and their configuration?
A: The systems are not made with ordinary magnets.  A few key principles are critical in the successful design and application of magnetohydrodynamics:
1. Strength of the magnetic field (power)
2. Properly focused energy field (polarity)
3. Contact time of applied magnetic field (quantity of units)
4. Ideal location (to account for turbulence, distance of travel, pipe composition, flow rate, mineral composition, temperature etc.)
An MRI specializes in magnetics and its influence on the human body.  A bar-code scanner specializes in magnetics and its influence on bar codes. Similarly, we specialize in magnetics and its influence on conductive fluids.

Q: Will magnetization affect the pH of a fluid?
A: As a result of the magnetic influence, fluids are configured and ionized such that the total number of H+ and OH- ions are forced to move toward parity.  This is a direct result of being placed in physical close proximity to other molecules that are able to accept these ions into their structures.
By accelerating the general ionic content, an acidic fluid is forced toward basic and a basic fluid toward acidic (neutralization). Additionally, this unique ionic activity buffers the pH, actually reducing the wide variations found in fluids.

Q: Can magnetized water reduce corrosion?
A: Yes, in two distinct ways:
1) The magnetic influence helps to neutralize and buffer the fluid.
2) By removing scale formation, we can eliminate scale-related electrolytic corrosion.  This type of corrosion is caused by the adherence, and subsequent electrochemical reaction, of scale (dissimilar metals create an electrical charge) to process equipment surfaces.

Q: Can the systems have a beneficial effect on process fluids that are presently conditioned with chemical additives?
A: Yes.  When magnetized, process fluids mix more readily with conditioners because the lowered surface tension creates "wetter" behavior and the uniform bonding improves the mixture.  The chemicals are utilized more effectively.  Briefly, the magnetic influence increases the fluid's affinity for the conditioner - reducing the conditioner's normal precipitation from the fluid and, as a result, the same conditioner works longer (less expense).

Q: We already have a salt softener.  Can magnetic fluid conditioning help?
A: Definitely.  When the surface tension is reduced, anything added to the magnetized fluid will dissolve and mix more readily.  In terms of a salt softener, the magnetized feed water actually increases the efficiency of the softener by increasing the net ion charge and thereby creating a better chemical reaction in the normal ion-exchange.  By increasing the efficiency, the system requires less salt to do the same job.  Some installations have reduced salt consumption by 50%.

Q: How can magnetized water help a Reverse Osmosis system?
A: As the R/O unit is really an ultrafiltration system, fluids high in mineral content will clog the filtration membrane with mineral crystals.  Since the magnetized fluid will prevent crystal formation, placing a conditioning system on the feed of the R/O unit will reduce membrane clogging and reduce downtime required to flush the clogged membrane.

Q: Can anything adversely affect a magnetized fluid?
A: Yes.  Usually a strong physical disturbance.  Since the molecules have been forced into a rigid configuration, any turbulence caused by a pump impeller, water meter or similar physical disturbance, will cause the magnetized fluid to lose some of its magnetically produced orientation and qualities (vibrational depolarization).  This is why we always install our systems (or boost with additional units) after such disturbances.  Similarly, magnetized fluids that lie dormant for a long period of time will eventually lose their induced orientation.

Q: Does heat affect a magnetized fluid?
A: Heat itself does not.  What affects a magnetized fluid is the process of heating.  Currents and physical movements such as water coming to a rolling boil can cause a disorientation to the desired magnetic effect.