It is considered "junk science" and a huge waste of money.

Here is a link that might be useful: magnetic 'scams'

I will have to go and look up the web site and research it a bit more. Very interesting though as these guys are from Europe and one is from Israel and they all stated that everyone uses MWC. They also told DH that Americans waste more energy then any other country, no new news there.

Thanks for the info!

I don't know what those guys are using at there home wherever on the planet it may be, but if it's the same thing that you linked then I hope your husband is in sales, 'cause he's got some of the biggest suckers in the world talking to him.

Hmmm. Let's see. 'Hardness' is caused from lime which is mostly calcium carbonate; neither of its components - calcium or carbonate are magnetic. Hardness scale develops when its solubility levels are greater than what is permitted at a given temperature, pH level, and various ion concentrations. This magnet gizmo cannot change any of those things. It may dissociate the calcium (+) and carbonate (-) ions apart from each other for a brief time as they pass by, but unless they selectively remove them they haven't done a thing.

If these did what they claim, an MRI would kill you: the magnetic waves would change the way all the vital elements of your body interact.

Maybe they have rusty_crumbly cast iron feeder pipes in their countries.

In bahama's I had crunchy gritty stuff underfoot coming out of shower heads. In south america you could see the sand ripples in the bathtub when you shower. Are some sands magnetic ?

Well I certainly appreciate everyones feedback. No, my husband is not in sales and I simply was wondering if anyone had used or heard of anyone using these. Since this was something new to both my husband and I, I thought I would post it on here since there are a lot of people with tremendous knowledge. We researched it more ourselves and are not pursuing. I do however think that you can give advice without being sarcastic and making other people feel, well stupid to put it plain and simple.

My sarcasm wasn't a dig on your husband, nor meant to make you feel stupid.

"...these guys are from Europe and one is from Israel and they all stated that everyone uses MWC. They also told DH that Americans waste more energy then any other country..."

Pretend for a minute that you didn't type that, nor know anything about your husband or his co-workers. Read that as if you're completely outside the situation as the rest of us are.

I doubt everyone in Europe and Israel uses what you linked. I'm more inclined to believe that your husbands coworkers are either:
A. Talking about a different product
B. Stupid
C. Playing a practical joke

My neighbor had all kinds of problems with crud build-up in his pipes from the hard water and somebody talked him into buying one of these things. We all figured it was snake-oil and thought he got taken, but darned if it didn't solve his problems - he never had issues again and swears by it. If I didn't already have a water softener, I'd be tempted to give it a whirl myself.

Oh, the site you linked to does have an official looking Department of Energy study about the technology...they seem to think it works. Maybe it's a bogus article...who knows!

Here is a link that might be useful: Dept of Energy Study

lkplatow, I note that the paper you referenced is from 1998. Do you think that they might have come to some real implementable findings in the past 9 years?

It looks like some legit paper, but it's awfully hazy, I think. I'd certainly like to make an $$$ decision based on more concrete information.

I don't know. The scams link you posted specifically mentions that paper and discredits it so who knows.

Like I said, I have no stake in this...I just was curious, since, like I said, my neighbor swore by his. He's the only person I ever knew that had one.

I have talked to two different people who have used a Magnetic Water Conditioner. They all swear by it. It does not chemically make the water softer but they swear the water 'feels' softer and it keeps their pipes clean.

We are going with a water softener though. I would have to learn more about it before investing any money in it. Our GC said he has heard bits and pieces on it, he said it seems to be familiar with people who are building green but he had no additional information on it. I found something on the department of energy but for some reason I could not open it.

So for now we are going with a water softener.

Thanks again!

If the method indicated in the DOE paper of "increasing collision" between charged ions worked, simple turbulence could be used to remove scale.

It is pure BS, and no actual data is given in the DOE paper that indicates ANT actual testing was performed.
People have been claiming copper bracelets have curative powers, and magnets also.
So far neither has been shown to be any more than wishful thinking.

Understand that we all have a psychological response to this situation: we spend a lot of money and the item we bought comes in for a lot of criticism from others. A new car that you find that very negative reviews on after you buy, plus you over paid for the thing (thinking of my brother and his Yugo 30+ years ago). Or you tell people about how wonderful something works, event tho you hide your own doubts and disappointments, because no one ever wants to say, "I sure blew it and wasted money".

So a lot of testimonials fall into this category of consumer, the person who justifies his mistakes. It's called "cognitive dissonance".

Interestingly, my neighbor who installed and swore by his magnetic water softener sold the house and moved about 2 years ago. Next time I see the new owner (he's a pretty smart contractor-type) I'll have to ask him if he still uses it and if so, if he has any problems with buildup. That should eliminate the "cognitive dissonance" issue, since he's not the one who bought and installed the thing.

The other part of the problem is that no one usually yanks out electric heating elements to check them until they no longer work, or cuts open a hot water gas tank to see how bad the inside looks.
Without a control case and a test case for comparison under the same circumstances you are just wasting time.

Well, as usual on this forum, I'm going to be the lame duck and be the one who disagrees with the other people who have, being jerks, so vehemently disparged this idea. I have one, and it works. So what do you want to know?

What does it do with the crud it removes ?

Have you compared the amount of scale in the water heater both before and after you installed the magnet?

How many mils of scale appeared om the heating element before and after?

Excuse us for wanting actual data on the device as opposed to 'it reduces scale' with no hard data.

Is this compared to your comment of 'It's pure BS' Brickeye, as that being 'hard data'?