Water Question...

Thanks for that Dave, though the "trust me, I'm a scientist" bit had me a little worried :)
There's been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of de-ionized water on the 16mm e-group in the past. I can't remember what the conclusion was, but your comments here will be useful to pass on the next time it comes up. And I'm sure it will. It's a hardy perennial!
Best wishes,
Steve
 
ZingyOrange said:
I am a scientist and our laboratory uses 100s of litres of deionised water every day.
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Dave, as a retired NHS scientist, I too am familiar with the production of deionised water.
I have no axe to grind here, as I'm happy using our local tap water in my locos.
The original warnings about deionised water were that it tended to extract the zinc content from brass boilers.
Whether this is accurate or not I don't know, but since serious locos use copper boilers, it shouldn't be a problem.

I was once shown a Mamod brass boiler with a series of perforations on the underside, but it may have been from poor quality meths. (I always used AIMS from work - no longer have any Mamods).

I've not yet heard of anyone using deionised water long-term to definitively answer the question of damage.
I guess no-one wants to take the risk!

I recently "descaled" my Jane after 13 years of tap water, and the white vinegar came out with just a vague hint of bluishness.
 
Can ask what sort of scientist and completely off topic do you know anything about swimming pool water? (definitely dont use in locos!) I have a persistent low pH problem and white precipitate.

I suspect the dont use de-ionized water comes from variations in the quality of the water.
 
MRail said:
ZingyOrange said:
I am a scientist and our laboratory uses 100s of litres of deionised water every day.
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Dave, as a retired NHS scientist, I too am familiar with the production of deionised water.
I have no axe to grind here, as I'm happy using our local tap water in my locos.

Hi Rob, I also use tap water for my gas fired engines as I live in a soft water area. My oldest locomotive is a 20 year old Mamod SL1 and has very little scale deposition and its had a hard life!!. I should have made it clear that I was talking about copper boilers only and not brass. Brass dezinc is a whole other can of aligators!!:)

Regards
Dave
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Hi Cyclone, I'm a biomedical scientist. Unfortunatly don't know much about what goes into swimming pool water, sorry.

Regards
Dave
 
Good evening,
The reason we pay the equivalent of $6 a gallon for distilled water when it used to be for virtually nothing ,are our masters in europe and our corrupt government.
 
A dehumidifier has to be the way to go if you live in an area where the water has some lime content. You can also justify the expenditure on the grouds of helping to prevent mold & other problems associated with drying clothes indoors during inclement weather.
 
Can highly recommend a dehumidifier for keeping your garage dry. I have half of my converted to a room but because it unheated it gets damp.
Now I have a use for the waste product (water), thnk Im fairly happy that dessicant dehumidified water is free from calcium salts.

BTW if anyone wants some let me know and you can pick it up.
 
Just ordered a small 500ml dehumidifier to make water for my steamer :thumbup:
 
Richie said:
Just ordered a small 500ml dehumidifier to make water for my steamer :thumbup:
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You will soon have more water than you can ever use.:clap:
 
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