Battery water, I found a new one

Gonkulor

Pure steam distilled water. The local store no longer has "Purified" or simple "Distilled" water

What is up with Pure steam distilled water? Just word hype? If I remember correctly we all want distilled vs. purified? Purified to me only means it has no germs.

BGW

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Gonkulor

Ya word hype! I found this after minor internet searching

Distilled water is also called steam-distilled water. Distilled water is water which has been heated to the boiling point so that impurities are separated from the water, which becomes vapor or steam at 212 degrees farenheit(100C.). Steam is then cooled and condensed back into pure liquid form. The impurities remain as residue in the steam kettle(to be periodically removed). This distillation system removes waterborne biological contaminants such as bacteria, parasites and viruses, organic and inorganic chemicals, heavy metals, volatile gasses, cysts, and other contaminants. Pure water contains no solids, minerals, or trace elements. It is clean, natural, and healthy. Steam distilled water is the standard by which all other waters are measured.

JohnnieB

Pure H2O (aka: Hydrogen Hydroxide or Dihydrogen Monoxide) is so corrosive it hardly ever exists outside a laboratory. However, the term "Pure Water" has been superseded with the term "Ultrapure Water" to describe the higher levels of purity, which in turn relegates the term "Pure Water" to the medium levels of water purity.

If I remember correctly, the resistivity of "Pure" water is from 1 megohm/cm up to 10 megohm/cm and "Ultra Pure" water is above 10 megohms/cm.
(The measurement is based on two electrodes 1cm in length and 1 cm pm width placed 1cm apart, so the volume of the sample being measured is 1CC or 1ml. Also, to avoid gas bubbles forming on the electrodes skewing the results, AC in the 1 to 3 kHz range is used to prevent electrolysis.)

Distilled water comes in many levels of purity depending on the materials used in the evaporator (Boiler) and condenser and storage vessels, and the condensation temperature used as well as the the atmosphere the steam and condensate are exposed to during distillation, collection and storage.

When triple distilling in glass, a max purity of about 18 Megohm/cm can be reached and similar levels can also be reached by the Deionization (DI) and the Reverse Osmosis (RO) processes.

Obtaining something closer to pure H2O requires ultrafiltration in addition to the Distillation and/or Deionization and/or Reverse Osmosis processes, but there are few applications that need water that pure.

I believe commercially available distilled water is defined as having an electrical conductivity of not more than 10 µS/cm (100 Kohm/cm) and total dissolved solids of less than 10 mg/liter (slightly over 10 PPM).

So the Distilled water in a plastic jug on the shelf of your local grocery store may only have about 1/10 the resistivity needed to be considered "Pure" water.
However, it is pure enough to use in cart batteries or to mix with other notable distilled products from Kentucky, Tennessee and Scotland.

pachanga90

Another source of distilled water is your Dehumidifier,since the moisture is drawn from the air thru the evaporator.Just collect the water from the reservoir.

yurtle

In theory you're correct, but "pure" water is extremely aggressive and will dissolve any metal it comes in contact with, so it may not be as pure as you'd like.

JohnnieB

Here is a list of allowable impurity levels for water used in Trojan batteries.

Note that only 5PPM of copper is allowed and if the evaporator in your dehumidifier is made of copper, I wouldn't use the water from it in my batteries.

If the evaporator is made from aluminum, it might be okay.

Personally, I'll continue using commercially produced distilled water in my batteries.
If fact, I use the same distilled water to mix up the baking soda solution I use to neutralize battery acid.

Attached Images

Max impurities in water for batteries.JPG (82.2 KB, 0 views)

Dave Box

And it certainly is not safe to put inside yourself,

Generally, dehumidifier water is considered a rather clean kind of greywater: not suitable for drinking, but acceptable for watering plants, though not garden vegetables.The health concerns are:

The water may contain trace metals from solder and other metallic parts, most significantly lead (which is quite dangerous), but also copper, aluminum, and zinc. The trace metals pose a danger if used on edible plants, as they can bioaccumulate; however, the water is usable for irrigation of non-edible plants.Various pathogens, including fungal spores, may accumulate in the water particularly due to its stagnancy; unlike in distilled water production, the water is not boiled, which would kill pathogens (including bacteria). As with distilled water, minerals are largely absent, hence it is somewhat flat-tasting.

Dave

simple man

Not a good idea! There is too much contamination just from dirt in the air. Also there will be residual minerals in this water. It is in contact with metal surfaces for a long time and they will leach into the water. Just get regular " distilled water " from your local Walmart or other stores you shop at.

kernal

Hey, are you really Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory? !!!!

Gonkulor

OMG That's funny right there!

I wouldn't have thunk this post would create such a response but I'm glad you chimed in JohnnieB. I always enjoy reading your thoughts.

Good stuff.

Shon