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Sustainable Water Softener

Akwamag: Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening.

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Sustainable Water Softener

Sustainable Water Softener

Sustainable Water Softener

Sustainable Water Softener

Sustainable Water Softener

Akwamag: Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening.

Akwamag: Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening.

Akwamag: Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening.

Akwamag: Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening.

Akwamag Team
Akwamag Team
Akwamag Team
Akwamag Team
1 Campaign |
San Jose, United States
$27,187 USD 85 backers
104% of $26,000 Fixed Goal Fixed Goal
Choose your Perk
featured

Standard Unit - Firm Believer

$599 USD
Est. Shipping
July 2014
9 out of 30 of claimed

VIP Supporter

$1 USD
Est. Shipping
May 2014
8 claimed

Honorary Supporter

$20 USD
Est. Shipping
May 2014
11 claimed

Sand&Chlorine Filtration Unit

$199 USD
Est. Shipping
June 2014
1 out of 20 of claimed

Compact Unit

$250 USD
Est. Shipping
May 2014
9 out of 20 of claimed

The Kindred Spirit

$3,000 USD
Est. Shipping
July 2014
2 out of 5 of claimed
sold out

Early Adopter - Standard Unit

$350 USD
Est. Shipping
May 2014
10 out of 10 of claimed
sold out

Standard Unit Special

$449 USD
Est. Shipping
July 2014
5 out of 5 of claimed
sold out

Standard Unit Special - Encore

$469 USD
Est. Shipping
July 2014
5 out of 5 of claimed
sold out

Standard Unit Special -Encore2

$499 USD
Est. Shipping
August 2014
5 out of 5 of claimed

Akwamag in the News: 

Link: Akwamag in Yahoo! Finance

Link: "Salty, hard water? Akwamag wants to soften things up" 

Link: "New Magnetic Water Softening Solution is Effective and Sustainable"


More Links on Akwamag in the news: Sacramento Business Journal -- Sacramento Bee -- Broadway World.com (BWW Geeks)    


Elevator Pitch - The Short Version

Eco-friendly, Affordable, Effective Water Softening

Akwamag is empowering consumers with better choices for a highly effective water softener that requires no salt change-outs and no maintenance.

We've seen the scale damage done


Today’s Homeowner Hard Water Challenge:

  • Hard water scale damages pipes and home appliances, and creates unsightly scale on fixtures, dishes and shower glass.
  • Current solutions require too much maintenance, are expensive and damage our already fragile clean-water sources with salt pollution.

How Akwamag Can Help:

  • No maintenance& easy installation
  • Inexpensive to own & operate (100% more affordable than the average water softener!)
  • Highly effective
  • Saves water & protects the environment—no salt needed

Why We’re Bringing Akwamag to Indiegogo:

We need your help to go into production to bring this award-winning product to market!

The Akwamag is backed by a strong team, including partners from NASA-Ames, San Jose State University and expert advisors.  With your support, we can establish ourselves and compete with current large manufacturers who produce ineffective, costly, polluting solutions. Help us give homeowners a better answer to hard water! #Nomorehardwater

  •                                                                                                                                       AKWAMAG INSTALLATION IS EASY! Akwamag Design Engineer, Rich Schmidt, shows you how to do the installation. Please check our media gallery for the installation video clip or click here to view.

                                                                                                                                                                    

    Let's Talk Detail - The Long Version:

    The Hard Water Challenge:

      • Homeowners dealing with hard water suffer from scale damage to pipes,endure the degradation of water heaters and other cope with mineral deposits on dishes, shower doors and plumbing fixtures.
      • Current water softeners are either expensive, minimally effective, or require regular salt replenishment.
      • Regular maintenance of salt-based softeners is costly and requires a huge amount of personal effort--lugging salt bags around, changing them out and using water to flush the excess brine.
      • Current salt-based solutions create a brine by-product that pollutes our water: local municipalities aren’t able to filter it out of at the waste water treatment plants.


    How Akwamag Can Help:

    The Akwamag uses High Intensity Multipass™ magnetic technology (patent pending) to:

      • Soften water at an unlimited capacity while requiring no maintenance
      • Protect the environment (and relieve your back muscles) by eliminating salt changes and brine dumping.
      • Yes, “High Intensity Multipass™ magnetic technology” is as cool as it sounds! And, it was developed by Tuyen Vo, a scientist and our founder.
      • It’s more affordable, effective, and eco-friendly than any water softener in the market.


    Glamor Shot of an Akwamag Waiting for Installation:

    We've seen the scale and damage done

    Hard water left untreated can cause scale build-up on plumbing fixtures, which requires extra effort and wasted water to clean off. Scale build-up can clog water pipes and shorten the life of your home appliances. This leads to added cost, maintenance, and is a major inconvenience. And it's everywhere.                                 


    Akwamag replaces salt softeners and improves the environment

    So, why does anyone still buy salt-resin water softeners?

    We’re not sure. They probably haven’t heard about Akwamag yet. If you’re using a salt-based water softener, you’re likely dealing with some of these issues:

      • It requires constant salt feeding which is a hassle.
      • It consumes salt and water, which both cost money.  According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, salt-softeners consume as much as 800 pounds of salts and 24,000 gallons of water a year. Read more about it, here! That water utilization is equivalent to 2-months use per year. And here! An additional 10-25% more water is wasted due to unnecessary rinsing.
      • It releases a brine solution into the sewer, creating environment problems.

    Unfortunately, other available softeners like reverse osmosis, activated carbon, nanocrystal-seeding, and strapped-on magnets are either very expensive or ineffective.  There has not been a breakthrough water softener design that is both inexpensive and effective in the last 30 years. It’s time to move this industry forward!

    Geek Out — The Science Behind Akwamag:

    Magnetic water softening has been widely studied by scientists. Applied effectively, it induces the crystallization of calcium and magnesium salts, and prevents them from scaling or fouling. It is game-changing because it softens water without the discharge of brine solution or salt, and has unlimited capacity.

    The Akwamag was developed from a deep understanding of magnetohydrodynamics (the interaction between magnets and moving water). Our proprietary High Intensity Multipass™ magnetic technology converts dissolved lime-scale into a structure that is easily and safely removed from your water fixtures.


    ____________________________________________________________________

    Go, Akwamag, go! Performance Details:

    Microscopic view (200X optical microscope images)

    The image on the left shows scaling effects, which are the results of untreated hard water. The image on the right shows water that has been treated by the Akwamag. This scale forms a different crystal structure that is easily broken down, and will not clog or damage your water fixtures.

    Macroscopic appearances

    The differences below are visible to the naked eye. There are no unsightly, difficult-to-clean stains on water fixtures when using the Akwamag.


    Who We’re Working With:
    Akwamag is partnered with NASA - Ames Research Center and San Jose State University, and is negotiating a partnership with WETSUS to take the technology even further, from home to industrial use and potentially to the space station to address fouling problems in water lines.                                                                                  

                                                                   

                                                                                                                                         As a result of AkwaMag’s technological breakthrough, it was chosen as a Semifinalist in the CleanTech Open 2013 Competition. Now, we need your help to make it a market success! Please help supporting our eco-friendly solution.           

    Team Akwamag  

    Akwamag was invented by Tuyen Vo, who has developed multiple products, some of which are award-winning and industry-standard. Its progress is under the guidance of advisers with excellent track records in science and business. Team Akwamag includes the following (our names link to our LinkedIn profiles):


    Tuyen Vo                            Rick Quan                  Rich Schmidt


    Dr. John Crockett            Chuck Erickson              Dr. Friedemann Freund


    Marc Gottschalk             Dick Jacquet                   Steve Payne


    Dr. Bradley Stone


    Your Contributions

    Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the Akwamag. If we’ve inspired you, please help us get the Akwamag to market.

    Bonus: Act fast--the "early birds" will receive our Akwamag Filtration system at no cost (a $300 value). All contributors will be listed on our website honoring each and every person who helps us reach our goal!

    1.   VIP Supporter ($1 donation): We really appreciate your support. Please help all of us save water: tell your friends about the Akwamag.

    2.   Honorary Supporter ($20 donation): We’ll send you note a personal thank you note from our founding team for your support.

    3.   Sand & Chlorine Filtration Unit ($199 donation): We’ll send you a thank you note from our founding team for your support, Akwamag  filtration system  reduces sediment and chlorine for the whole house while improving taste and odor. Bid farewell to chlorine!

    4.   Compact Unit ($250 donation): We’ll send you a thank you note from our founding team for your support, Akwamag compact system (good for a household of 2). You save 30% off MSRP, and $150 off current market price. Get ready for no more hard water! 5.   Early AdopterStandard Unit ($350 donation): We’ll send you a thank you note from our founding team for your support, and an Akwamag standard system and filtration system ($750 off MSRP, and $850 off current market price). We’re thrilled that you’ll be one of our early customers!

    6.   Standard Unit Firm Believer ($599 donation): We’ll send you a thank you note from our founding team for your support, Akwamag standard system (good for a family of 4). You save 30% off MSRP, and $250 off current market price. Be ready to say goodbye to water scale! Please add $100USD for shipping outside the US

    7.   Kindred Spirit ($3,000 donation): We’ll send you a thank you note from our founding team for your support, list your name on our website's platinum supporters, and donate an installation to the site of your choice such as a church, school or recreation center. We can’t thank you enough, but we’ll try. We’re so grateful for your support!

    Please note: Shipping cost is additional and provided at cost.  The Akwamag is designed for easy installation by DIY-ers. However, upon your request, we will search for a licensed plumber in your area and arrange a schedule between you (homeowner) and the plumber.


    System Costs and Specifications

    Akwamag PlusTM  Compact system: $350.00 MSRP.
    Designed for two people. Performs similar or better than the entry-level salt-resin softener GE GXSF30V, Whirlpool WHES30 models (which costs $400).

    Akwamag PlusTM  Standard system: $800 MSRP.
    Designed for a family of four. Performs similar or better than the salt-resin softener GE GXSH45V, Whirlpool WHES48 models (which cost $850).

    AkwaMag Filtration system: $300 

    Designed for the whole house. Reduces sediment and chlorine while improving taste and odor. It performs similar or better than a 2-stage filter Isopure ISO-WH2-20B, Perfect Water Technologies HMF2SdgC models (which cost $379).

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    Risks

    Prototype stage

    Akwamag is a prototype that has been tested successfully at a number of locations utilizing municipal water supply. However, we can not guarantee that the early products will work under all water conditions and will be error free and long-lived, though our intention is to build a long-lasting and reliable product with components that are robust. 

    Delivery time

    Our aim is to deliver all products ordered in this campaign in July 2014 with priority given to each donor in order of donation. 

    Warranty
    We warrant the product (parts and labor) for three (3) years of operation under normal operating conditions.  All claims will be reviewed and required authorization by Akwamag. Donor will be responsible for return expenses. Warranty claims will result in product repair or replacement at our expense including return delivery.

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