Yes. There's always some air in the network — the amount varies by region, time of day, and season.

The most common causes:

• Low pressure during peak-use hours (mornings, evenings, weekends).
• Outages or restrictions in dry areas or at higher elevations.
• Rationing during droughts, when utilities rotate supply between neighborhoods.
• Maintenance on aging infrastructure.
• Pumping events from substations into the main line.

Whenever any of these happen, air fills the pipes. When supply returns to normal, that trapped air gets pushed through your water meter — and the meter records it as if it were water, because mechanical meters can't tell the two apart.

Yes. Air shows up most often during low-pressure periods — and that happens daily, even in well-supplied areas, especially during business hours and weekends when overall demand is highest.

Because your water meter can't distinguish air from water. When air gets pushed through it, the meter can spin up to 20 times faster than it would for water alone.

And in regions where sewer fees are calculated as a percentage of water consumption, you end up paying for that same air twice: once as inflated water usage, and again as inflated sewer charges.

Most of the time, you can't — there's no easy way to monitor what's flowing into your tank or pipes day to day.

But there are clear warning signs:

• The water meter keeps spinning even after you've ruled out leaks.
• Water comes out of the tap in bursts (air pockets).
• You hear hissing from the tap but no water flows.
• The meter spins while the utility has officially cut supply.
• Your bill suddenly jumps with no leak and no change in usage.

Yes — they're well aware. They install air-release valves at strategic points across the network, primarily to prevent water-hammer damage to large mains. But these valves are too few and too far apart to remove air from the customer side of the system.

You'll rarely see this acknowledged publicly, for obvious reasons.

Install an Aquamax®. It blocks air from passing through your meter — so you only pay for the water you actually use.

The Aquamax® is an air-blocking valve installed on your private plumbing, just downstream of the water meter. It allows water to pass freely while sending trapped air back into the supply main — so air never reaches your meter, and never appears on your bill.

The Aquamax® keeps your private line under constant pressure, leaving no room for air to enter. When air arrives at the meter from the main, it hits resistance and — being far less dense than water — takes the path of least resistance back into the public network. It's basic physics.

A simple test you can do at home:

1. Take a garden hose with no holes.
2. Connect it to a tap that draws directly from the street supply.
3. Turn it on — the meter spins as water flows.
4. Now seal the open end of the hose completely. Even if the seal is several feet beyond the meter, the meter stops.

The Aquamax® does the same thing — except it stops air, not water.

By exploiting the difference in density and pressure. Water is significantly denser and exerts more pressure than air, which lets the Aquamax® open for water and stay closed for air.

A quick demonstration:

1. Take an empty bottle.
2. Submerge it fully in a bucket of water.
3. Watch the water push every bit of air out and fill the bottle completely.

That's exactly what the Aquamax® does inside your plumbing — it pushes air back out into the main where it came from.

It returns to the public main and follows the natural flow until it finds another exit point — typically a neighboring property without an air-blocking valve installed.

Anyone connected to a public water supply who consistently uses more than the minimum billed allowance — and who'd rather not pay for air. That includes homes, apartment buildings, businesses, and industrial facilities.

It depends on your region, but most customers see a clear and measurable reduction.

Typical results:

• 60% of customers save between 25% and 35% per month.
• 35% save between 35% and 65% per month.
• Only 5% see savings under 25%.

We can't guarantee a fixed percentage, because savings depend directly on how much air is in your local network — and that varies. What we can say is this: whenever there's air in the line, the Aquamax® works. You'll see it on the bill.

Because it pays for itself, often within a few months. From that point on, every billing cycle is pure savings — and that continues for the life of the unit (around 20 years).

Quick example: a $60 monthly water bill with 50% savings means $30 saved per month, $360 per year, and $3,600 over a decade.

What you get with the Aquamax®:

• Up to 50% off your water bill
• Satisfaction guarantee or your money back
• 5-year warranty
• Easy installation
• Legal on the customer side of the meter
• Zero maintenance
• Doesn't rust, doesn't contaminate water
• ~20-year lifespan
• Double savings in regions where sewer is billed off water usage
• You only pay for what you actually consume

After all, air is still free.

For most homes, the standard ¾" Aquamax® is the right choice. If your service line is ½", the ¾" model still installs cleanly with a standard reducer.

For commercial buildings, apartments, or industrial sites, use our pipe-sizing guide and send us your exact line diameter — we'll quote the correct model for your setup.

It's installed on the customer side of the water meter, following the included instructions. The process is straightforward — anyone with basic plumbing skills can do it. The manual is fully illustrated and self-explanatory.

If you'd rather not handle it yourself, any licensed plumber can install it in a few minutes. We recommend this in jurisdictions where local plumbing codes (UPC, IPC, AS/NZS 3500) require licensed work on potable water lines.

It varies. Most customers don't notice any change at all, because their fixtures are fed from a tank or pressure system that absorbs small variations.

It's worth knowing that part of the perceived "pressure" in your line actually comes from air. Once that air is removed, a slight reduction can occur — but in real-world use, it almost never affects performance.

No. The Aquamax® lets through anything small enough to have already passed the strainer that sits in front of every water meter. Larger particles are caught upstream and never reach the valve.

No. The Aquamax® is fully sealed and built from materials that are safe for potable water — PVC (the same material used in residential supply lines) or bronze (the same material used in water meters). It won't rust, won't leach contaminants, and meets the same potable-water material standards expected of any plumbing fixture (e.g. NSF/ANSI 61 in the US, WaterMark in Australia).

No. All internal components are made from stainless steel and food-grade polymers — the same materials used inside water meters. Each unit is tested against established plumbing standards for working pressure, burst pressure, head loss, and leak-tightness before shipping.

Approximately 20 years or more.

Five years against any manufacturing defect — full replacement, no questions asked.

Yes. In the US, Australia, and New Zealand — as in most jurisdictions — the water utility's authority ends at the meter. Everything downstream of the meter is the property owner's private plumbing.

Installing an Aquamax® on the customer side of the meter is no different from installing a water filter, a faucet, or a shut-off valve. It's a private fixture on a private line.

For full code compliance, we recommend installation by a licensed plumber familiar with your local rules (UPC or IPC in the US, AS/NZS 3500 in Australia and New Zealand).

No specific national approval exists for "air-blocking valves" of this kind, because they aren't measuring devices and don't fall under the categories that require certification (such as meters or backflow preventers).

What does matter is the materials used. The Aquamax® is built from PVC and bronze — both standard, certified potable-water plumbing materials. They meet the relevant material safety standards in each market we serve, including NSF/ANSI 61 (United States) and WaterMark / AS/NZS 4020 (Australia and New Zealand).

If your local plumbing inspector asks about installation, the right framing is: this is a private valve installed downstream of the meter, on the customer's plumbing — not a modification of the public supply.

Often, not much that's accurate. Utilities have a clear financial incentive to discourage devices like this — the more customers install one, the less revenue the utility collects.

Common claims you may hear, and the reality:

• "It's illegal." Not on the customer side of the meter. What's actually prohibited are devices installed before the meter, on the public line.
• "You'll be fined." Threats are usually verbal. Utilities have no jurisdiction over equipment installed on private plumbing.
• "We'll cut your service." Utilities can't disconnect a paying customer for installing a private plumbing fixture.
• "It contaminates the water." The Aquamax® is fully sealed, made of certified potable-water materials, and has no opening to the outside.
• "The amount of air is negligible." Real customer data shows reductions of 25–65% on water bills — not negligible.
• "It doesn't work." The mechanism is straightforward physics, validated in real-world testing across thousands of installations.

One important distinction: air eliminators (illegal) sit before the meter and have an opening to the atmosphere — that's why they can contaminate water and aren't permitted. Air blockers like the Aquamax® sit after the meter, are fully sealed, and use pressure differential to keep air out.

Why the misinformation? Math. In a region with 100,000 customers paying $60/month, a 20% average savings means $1.2M less revenue per month for the utility — $14M per year, $144M over a decade. That's the actual concern.

Yes — but rarely because of the Aquamax® itself. The most common reasons:

• Meter replacement. Worn meters tend to under-read. After a swap, the new meter reads more accurately — and without an air blocker, that includes any air in the line. Some customers have reported jumps of up to 400% after an unannounced meter replacement.
• Reading errors. Always compare the cubic meters (or gallons) shown on your latest bill against the previous two billing cycles, and against the actual reading on your meter.
• Leaks. Worth inspecting periodically: float valves, toilet tanks, faucets, irrigation lines.
• Rate increases. The price per unit can change without your usage changing.
• Higher actual consumption. Extra household members, pool maintenance, renovation work, seasonal use.