Water Ionizer Review – NEW 2014 Enagic Kangen 8

About Water Ionizer Review – NEW 2014 Enagic Kangen 8

Enagic has just released it’s first new water ionizer in years, the Enagic Leveluk Kangen 8, billed as Enagic’s most powerful Kangen Water ionizer. At first glance, the Kangen 8 appears to be a significant step forward in technology for Enagic, but is it? Alkaline Water Ionizer Reviews couldn’t wait to find out. Was this the Kangen machine we’re been waiting for?

The Kangen 8 still relies on a transformer power supply, and at 230 Watts, it appears to have 5 less watts than the original Leveluk SD-501. The pH levels claimed by Enagic for the k8 appear to be the exact same (up to a pH of 9.5 without chemical additives) as the original Leveluk  SD-501. The Kangen 8 does have an automatic filter reset, a feature we like, but overall this machine appears to be short on improvements. One thing that is definitely different about the new Kangen 8 versus the Leveluk SD-501 is price. The k8 costs a full $1,000 more than the SD-501.

Plug and Play with the new Kangen 8

Enagic claims that the new Kangen 8 is “plug and play” because it has no more switches. That’s true, the k8 has a sleek new exterior with none of the clunky controls that made the SD-501 look so awkward. It also has a multi-voltage setting which allows it to be used on any country’s power supply. This is a nice feature, but it’s a few years late. Other water ionizer manufacturers have offered multi-voltage settings for years.

So what do you get with the Kangen 8 for $4,980?

For $1,000 more than the purchase price of the old  SD-501, you get one more plate (8 vs. 7) and 5 less watts of power. Enagic has also finally made it to the 21rst century by providing a color LCD screen. The big change with this machine is the automated controls, otherwise, this new machine is basically the same as the original SD-501.

The Kangen 8 still uses Enagic’s single internal filter, and it still can’t filter heavy metals or salt in your water. The single filter used in Enagic machines uses calcium sulfate, which could be a problem for people with sensitivities to sulfates. The warranty on the Kangen 8 is 5 years, parts and labor, which is absurd. You can buy more powerful water ionizers for over $1,000 less than the Kangen 8, which come with full lifetime warranties.

Water Ionizer Review – The Kangen 8 compared to the LIFE M-13

The Kangen 8 is Enagic’s new top of the line water ionizer. So how does it compare to other top-of-the line water ionizers? To give you an idea, we’ve compared it to the LIFE Ionizers M-13. Both of these machines have a high flow rate, and both are the top-of-the line models for their respective companies, but that’s where the similarities end:

	LIFE Ionizer M-13	Enagic Kangen 8
Price	$3,497	$4,980
Plates	13	8
Power	Up to 800 Watts	Up to 230 Watts
pH	Over 12 pH	9.5 pH without chemicals
Filtration	Prefilter + 2 internal	Single filter
Warranty	Lifetime parts and labor	5 Years parts and labor
Convertible to under counter use?	Yes	No

 

Price: The M13 costs $1,483 less than the Kangen 8, and it includes a custom-configured prefilter system. To get a prefilter system with the Kangen 8 it costs $150 extra. Clearly the LIFE Ionizer wins hands down in the price category.
Plates: The LIFE M-13 comes with 5 more plates than the Kangen 8, and you can enhance their performance even more by choosing the MESH option. Enagic doesn’t have a MESH option, so you’re stuck with flat plates.
Power: The M-13 has over three times as much power as the Kangen 8. The lack of power in Kangen machines has always been a shortcoming of Enagic systems that they try to make up for by using chemical additives.
Alkaline Water Ionizer Reviews recommends that you never use chemicals in a water ionizer that makes drinking water!
pH: Enagic can’t seem to make an ionizer that reaches over a pH of 9.5 without chemicals. This is another serious shortcoming of Enagic ionizers – every other major brand water ionizer is able to reach over a pH of 9.5 without the use of chemicals.
Filtration: Enagic continues to be the last major manufacturer that provides only a single internal filter for their machines. Enagic’s filter won’t protect you from salts or metals in your water, a shortcoming that is inexcusable at the asking price of $4,980
Warranty: Kangen is still only warrantying their machines for only 5 years, something we find to be absolutely ridiculous. All other major brands offer lifetime warranties on their top-of-the line units, all of which cost less than the Kangen 8.
Convertible: The LIFE Ionizers M-13 can be used on the countertop, like the Kangen 8, or with the addition of LIFE’s faucet kit, you can put your LIFE M-13 under the counter. You can’t do that with the Kangen 8, it is countertop use only. You’re stuck with it on your countertop whether you like it or not.

Bottom Line: Enagic Kangen 8 isn’t worth $4,980

When we saw the new Kangen 8’s sleek appearance, and read Enagic’s “plug-n-play” claims, we were excited. Had Enagic finally upgraded it’s machines to catch up with other water ionizers? The answer is no. For $1,000 more than their old SD-501, Enagic gives you a few extra bells and whistles, but nothing of substance. If you’re looking for the absolute best top-of-the line water ionizer, we recommend giving the LIFE M-13 a try.

Need help comparing water ionizers? Give us a call at 800-920-3792 we’ll compare any ionizers you’re looking at against each other with you, right over the phone.