Zeta Rod Blog

Another Satisfied Customer

We received the following unsolicited email from a residential customer in Scottsdale, AZ:

Dear Zeta,

I wanted to write to you and thank you for your wonderful product!  After using it for several months now, I noticed that my pipes were beginning to clear out.  I discovered this because the screens in my faucets started collecting debris and had to be cleaned out repeatedly for a short period of time.  I’ve also noticed that I’m not getting the hard water buildup in my showers like before.  The water here in Scottsdale is extremely hard, and I struggled with it for years.  Now, while I still get some white spotting, none of it sticks!  I’m able to clean the glass and faucets right off with no trouble at all.  Also, it’s nice to be saving the considerable amount of time and money I was spending for the lease and maintenance of my old salt water softener.    

I would highly recommend this product for anyone’s home.  Thank you Zeta!

Regards,

Heidi Bryant

Scottsdale, AZ

The internet has many web forums in which people ask for opinions on several topics. The Zeta Rod has been questioned in several of these forum. Usually negative opinions are given by "trade experts" who have not used, or tested a Zeta Rod. Their opinions are based on their "previous experiences". However, those who have used the Zeta Rod have positive comments about the technology, such as the following entry that was made in one of those forums:

• Posted by dtrimmer (My Page) on

  Tue, Jul 14, 09 at 20:27

I think a lot of the criticism of the Zeta Rod system on this forum has been a bit unfair. First, I have no association of any kind with Zeta Rod. I don't sell or install water conditioning equipment. I do have a degree in chemistry. First, Zeta Rod DOES NOT claim to remove calcium and other dissolved minerals from your water. In fact, they have been very clear that they DO NOT remove anything. Therefore, and chemical test of water that has been conditioned with a Zeta Rod system will have exactly the same chemical composition as the water prior to the test. If you collect some Zeta Rod conditioned water and let it dry, you will get a deposit -- again, exactly what Zeta Rod states. What Zeta Rod DOES claim to do is to keep minerals dissolved in the water, so that they do not precipitate on (coat for the non-chemists) pipes, dishes, sinks, etc. (at least prior to the water evaporating). Zeta Rod also claims that any scale present due to evaporation will be easier to remove than normal scale. I have been using a Zeta Rod system for almost two years and my experience is that both of Zeta Rod's claims are true. Here are the trade-offs between a Zeta Rod and a traditional water softener; at least as I see them: 1. A Zeta Rod system may have a higher installation cost, but a lower operating cost. 2. In municipalities where traditional water softeners are not allowed, the Zeta Rod is a LOT better than nothing. 3. A traditional water softener will remove metals from your water -- the Zeta Rod will not. However, the Zeta Rod does appear to prevent the metals from depositing on pipes and other surfaces (as long as the water is not allowed to evaporate). During the first few months of use, the Zeta Rod also appears to remove any existing scale that has built up on pipes. Based on my personal experience, the Zeta Rod appears to be MORE effective than a salt based water softener at preventing scale buildup on pipes. 4. While the Zeta Rod does not remove anything from the water, it also does not add anything to the water. A traditional water softener replaces metals (usually calcium and magnesium) with sodium and/or potassium, depending on the kind of salt used with the water softener. 5. A traditional water softener should prevent water spots. A Zeta Rod will not prevent water spots. 6. The Zeta Rod system is MUCH smaller than a salt based water softener. If I had to install a new system and salt based water softeners were legal in my area, it would be a pretty close call for me. I would probably opt for the Zeta Rod system because of lower operating costs, smaller size and not lower maintenance (don't have to mess with bags of salt). Cheers, Don

 

Zeta Corporation wishes all of its customers and clients a Prosperous New Year!

We look forward to the New Year that offers very promising opportunities in the residential, commercial and industrial markets both in the US and Internationally.

Business seems to be off to a good start this new year as the markets in Arizona and Nevada are showing good growth.

One of our residential customers sent us the following testimonial and asked us to post it on this site:

“For the interested parties:

I am writing in regards to the installation and performance of the Zeta-Rod water conditioner.  I installed the MFR-30 about a month ago and I can see the difference from my potable water supply with a Zeta-Rod compared to one without.  My dishes are coming out much cleaner with little or zero water spots.  That is even when I let them completely dry in the dishwasher.  Before the Zeta-Rod, I would pull the dishes out and dry them off with a rag to avoid water spots from covering my glasses and plates.  One of the other benefits that I have seen is the accumulation of water spots on the shower glass door.  It seams to take more showers for the calcium deposits to show on the glass compared to before.  An even greater benefit is that I can wipe the spots clean with a little soap and water with a rag instead of using a toothbrush and CLR.  It has only been a month, but I am very happy with the performance of the Zeta-Rod.  The unit does not take up any floor space, it was easy to install and I never have to worry about maintenance.

Randy, The Water Heater Man”

We wish you all have a prosperous New Year.

Zeta Corporation

Zeta Rod as an Alternative to a Water Softener, Part II

As discussed in our previous post removing hardness from water is done primarily to avoid some of the nuisances that hard water cause on the home owner. Salt based water softeners are facing more and more regulations, bans and opposition because of the discharge of the brine into municipal sewer systems and and an increased awareness from people on the need for green technologies that benefit the environment.

The Zeta Rod is an electronic deposit control system. It has been around for nearly 15 years in a wide range of industrial applications. The principle of operation of the Zeta Rod is explained in colloidal chemistry books and relates to the dispersion of colloidal particles in a solution. The Zeta Rod has a direct impact on the Zeta Potential of the particles in the water.

In quite simplified terms, the Zeta Rod creates a stable dispersion amongst particles in the water and prevents them from agglomerating and forming larger crystals, or from forming deposits on wet surfaces. So, the Zeta Rod does not change the chemistry of the water, we don't take the hardness out of the water, that is why it is not a "water softener". However, the Zeta Rod will prevent the mineral buildup on appliances, shower nozzles, faucet aerators, water heaters, etc that are associated with water hardness, and that is why it is a suitable alternative for a water softener.

The Zeta Rod also lowers the surface tension of the water. This reduction in surface tension is comparable to the effect that a water softener has when it comes to using soaps and detergents. So while the hardness in the water remains, Zeta treated water will have similar benefits as that of soft water.

Other benefits that the Zeta Rod offers include:

* Low maintenance: no replacing parts, regenerating of media, or disposal of brine down the sewer

* No environmental concerns with the use of the Zeta Rod.

* Water is safe for drinking and irrigation.

The Zeta Rod will work both with cold and hot water systems. It will work with water with hardness levels ranging from "soft" to "very hard". It will help prevent scale buildup in pools. Prevent scale formation on evaporative coolers (swamp coolers).

So when the question is asked on whether a Zeta Rod actually is a water softener, the answer is "No", but can it replace a water softener and still offer the same benefits, the answer is "most definitely yes".

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like some additional information on the Zeta Rod. You can also visit our Web Site for more information and to find a local distributor in your area.

Zeta Rod as an Alternative to a Water Softener, Part I

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive by home owners whether the Zeta Rod can replace a water softener? . The answer to this question is: "YES". However, many people assume that by that we mean that the Zeta Rod is a water softener. This is a common misconception, while the Zeta Rod is a viable alternative for a water softener, it is not a water softener.

There seem to be many people out there on the internet that are fast in criticizing the Zeta Rod, more from a lack of understanding of the technology than anything else. Through this blog we want to help people get a better understanding of the technology and the benefits it can offer.

This will be a two part post. In this first part we will discuss what is Water Hardness, why do people want to get rid of it, and how do salt based water softeners work. In the second part we will explain how the Zeta Rod works and how it differs from a water softener.

In order to understand what a water softener is, and how a Zeta Rod differentiates from one, we need to understand what Hard Water is. Water as supplied by municipal water systems, or wells, is not pure water, it has many dissolved minerals in it (pure water is not good for drinking). Calcium and Magnesium tend to be amongst the most common minerals found dissolved in water, and amongst the ones in higher concentrations. The amount of these minerals dissolved in the water are referred to as the Hardness of the water and it can be measured in parts per million (ppm), milligrams per liter (mg/l) or in grains per gallon (gpg). One ppm is equivalent to one mg/l, and one gpg equals 17.1 mg/l or ppm.

Water Hardness varies from zone to zone as it can be seen in the next picture that was borrowed from the USGS website.

The US Department of Interior and Water Quality Association classify water hardness as follows:

Classification	mg/l or ppm	grains/gal
Soft	0 - 17.1	0 - 1
Slightly hard	17.1 - 60	1 - 3.5
Moderately hard	60 - 120	3.5 - 7.0
Hard	120 - 180	7.0 - 10.5
Very Hard	180 & over	10.5 & over

Hard water in itself does not pose a health hazard, quite contrary, some agencies such as the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences) state that hard drinking water generally contributes a small amount toward total calcium and magnesium human dietary needs.

So why do people want to get rid of hardness?? The Wilkes University Center For Environmental Quality Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences department explain it perfectly. On their website they write:

"Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and dish washing to bathing and personal grooming. Clothes laundered in hard water may look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Dishes and glasses may be spotted when dry. Hard water may cause a film on glass shower doors, shower walls, bathtubs, sinks, faucets, etc. Hair washed in hard water may feel sticky and look dull. Water flow may be reduced by deposits in pipes.

Hard water also contributes to inefficient and costly operation of water-using appliances. Heated hard water forms a scale of calcium and magnesium minerals that can contribute to the inefficient operation or failure of water-using appliances. Pipes can become clogged with scale that reduces water flow and ultimately requires pipe replacement. "

One way to address these issues caused by the hardness in the water is to install a water softener in your house.

Water softeners have been around for quite a while and their principle of operation is quite simple. It consists of replacing the hardness ions in the water (Calcium -Ca- and Magnesium-Mg-) with a different ion, Sodium (Na). The way this is done is by passing the hard water that comes into the house through a bed of small plastic beads or through a chemical called zeolite. This resin bed is saturated with sodium ions that attach to the beads. Calcium and Magnesium have a stronger attraction to the zeolite, so as the hard water passes through it, they take the place of the sodium, and hence the hardness of the water is removed.

As the zeolite becomes saturated with calcium and magnesium, the water softener starts losing its efficiency and the hardness of the water that makes it into the house gets higher (this is why some places even with water softeners see the effects of hard water over time). At this point it is time to regenerate the resin. This is done by flushing it with brine, which is a solution of water with salt. As this concentrated brine goes through the media, it displaces the Ca & Mg and replenishes the media with Na.

Water softeners not only are far from being perfect, they have many inconveniences such as:

* They require frequent maintenance and regenerating of the media

* They are not environmentally friendly: More and more locations are setting strict regulations on the use of water softeners because of the brine discharge. California is banning the use of water softeners in some areas all together.

* Soft water is not good for irrigation, it will damage plants.

* People with high blood pressure problems should not drink soft water.

The Zeta Rod is a green technology  that offers an alternative to water softeners without the inconveniences associated with them. In the next post we will explore how the Zeta Rod works, what benefits will it offer to the home owner (or commercial/industrial customer) and how it differs from a water softener.