ActiveRecord changes string value

[eluser]Unknown[/eluser]
Hello,

I've recently started using CodeIgniter ( using version 2.1.3 ) and I'm still trying to get used to ActiveRecord.

And I'm hoping I can get a solution for the following issue I encountered:

For the following controller method:

Code:

public function test()
{
header( 'Content-type: text/plain' );
$this->db->db_debug = false;

$value = 'x  y'; // two spaces between x and y

$this->db->select( 'id' )
  ->from( 'table' )
  ->where( '(column=' . $this->db->escape( $value ) .
   ( empty( $value ) ? ' OR column IS NULL)' : ')' ), null, false )
  ->get();

echo $this->db->last_query();
}

and the query looks like this:

Code:

SELECT `id`
FROM (`table`)
WHERE (column='x y')

there is only one blank space between x and y, instead of two ( same thing with CI 2.1.4 )

Can someone suggest a solution with Activerecord or do I have to stop using it and build all my queries without it?

Thanks,
Dorian