I’ve been getting this question more often lately, and I thought I’d address it here, publicly. Both types of plates are a titanium base coated with platinum. A lesser quality plate is merely sprayed with platinum, and I won’t address those here. Let’s talk about the water ionizer electrode plates that are coated with platinum, not sprayed, because these are in the ionizer brands I carry.

The water ionizers I carry have both types of plates. The Aquifer, Affinity and Odyssey are made by Yi-Shan in Taiwan and all have large, solid titanium electrode plates coated with platinum. Yi-Shan has been making water ionizers for over 30 years, and due to the extreme durability of these “heavy duty” electrode plates, we are seeing life spans of 15-20 years with these machines, above the more usual 10-15 year life span.

Mesh electrode plates are rather new to the market, untested over time. A titanium plate is stamped to create the mesh, with dips and valleys then coated with platinum. The platinum layer is thinner, less durable and less expensive to make than solid electrode plates. Jupiter water ionizers, like the Orion and Delphi, use this type of electrode plates.

The two brands of water ionizers were tested against each other for quality of ionized water output using a machine from each company with five electrode plates. The pH and ORP tested the same, so in terms of water ionizing ability, there is basically no difference.

The difference lies in the durability and longevity, which a consumer cannot tell until time passes. Please remember there is much competition, therefore much hype in the water ionizer world these days as in “new technology” and “more electrode plates” being promoted vigorously. It’s like a certain famous garden rototiller – they used to be made super well, known for lasting years and years and years, but over time this company cut corners and switched to less-expensive, lower quality parts and now they wear out much faster necessitating costly repairs.

When comparing water ionizers, take into consideration the type of plates along with all the other features. Read more about shopping for a water ionizer.