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.
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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
Adopter –Standard 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.