Radiator Water...

in article snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, @ {mother} @@101fc.net at @ {mother} @@101fc.net wrote on 5/8/03 2:39 pm:

it should be pritty pure as it has been evaporated and recondenced but it would also depend on whether it picks up anny contaminants from the outlet side of the aircon.

As for being better in the radiator I don't know I use tap water in the hope that the limescale wil block any little leaks that happen.

Oh no... There's just been a long and horribly dull argument on uk.rec.photo.misc about whether air con condensate was good enough for film processing.

I think the general consensus was that it would be better than top water, but it could contain a fair amount of crap still (dust etc) as it is not collected in a clean container.

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

I wonder how it differs from de-ionised water? I'm pretty sure I remember Roger, the editor of the 101 club mag, mentioning that he uses the output of his standard dehumidifier for his rad. I'm going to guess that the aircon would produce much the same.

Collection is an interesting issue, as at present it's just a pipe, dangling on the outside of the wall under the big fan box thing.

I'm only interested as I'd like to keep the new engine and newly recored rad as clean as a new kettle - and judging by the running temp, it's acting like a new kettle too :-)

Martyn

Oh no, it's happening again... Deja vu!

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

At Uni we recieved regular inspections for our distilled water setup, but that have been with the fact that it was:- a) A University b) A University with food technology students who had the option to do modules in brewing c) A University with food technology students who had the option to do modules in brewing, and had pilot plant sized equipment c) A University with food technology students who had the option to do modules in brewing, and had pilot plant sized equipment, and were extremely keen in experimentation d) A University with food technology students who had the option to do modules in brewing, and had pilot plant sized equipment, and were extremely keen in experimentation and had agriculture students who were willing to try the results

I was a food tech student who took the modules in brewing, experimented and tried the results, especially as we made our own still from a demi john, some copper brake pipe and ice cold milk bottles.... Homebrew wheat and also potato wine, further distilled produced a night that no one really remembers.

I'm still keen on homebrewing too, and am currently malting some wheat to take me through the rest of the year as I've started the last barrel of homebrew beer. Last lot made 7.2% according to the calculations.....

-- Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman and Webmaster

3.5V8 100" Hybrid Suzuki SJ410 (Girlfirend) Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next Pug 106 (offroaded once!!)

Be thankful for that pipe, and that you dont have to empty yours every day, like I do at the place im currently working at! ('site manager' says we cant have a pipe though the wall as theres no gutter for it to drain into).

Whoever designed the air condioner thingy decided to put a drain hole about an inch off the floor so you have to use a stupid little tray. Takes about 4 trayfulls to empty it.

Its also so hot in there at the moment that it fills up overnight, and cuts off before you get there in the morning, making the room into a greenhouse by 9am.

I'm sure that being warm to the touch also helps the servers operate at peak efficiency, and with less chance of breaking..

sounds a bit like our place. "You cant run the clean in place (CIP) system because we run over our consent level for pH every time, and run the risk of a £20k fine each time" And then, you get "We must CIP every 24 hours" ....

If we CIP we get a fine, if we dont, we kill the everyone in the UK who buys fresh soup in a carton ready to heat........

-- Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman and Webmaster

3.5V8 100" Hybrid Suzuki SJ410 (Girlfirend) Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next Pug 106 (offroaded once!!)

especially if made by a company whose name is the also the name of an area of central london.....

-- Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman and Webmaster

3.5V8 100" Hybrid Suzuki SJ410 (Girlfirend) Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next Pug 106 (offroaded once!!)

Bruce saves ours for radiator top ups, and also in the steam iron.

While it would seem a good idea to use the purer water from the outlet of a dehumidifier, there are points that should be noted.

Firstly, any form of hard water will not cause a build up of lime scale if that water is not being renewed on a regular basis. On the first heating of hard water over 60 deg.C, the minerals will precipitate out of the water and form a coating as we are all aware, but this coating will not increase unless more unheated water is added.

The use of softened water from a water softener will contain few minerals as measured with a 'Total Dissolved Solids' (TDS) meter, but will contain small traces of sodium (salts) which will attack any aluminium material, this can be seen if anyone uses softened water in a kettle that has an aluminium base element - there will be no lime scale but the element will start to erode.

Dehumidifier water is second only to reverse osmosis and deionisation water treatment systems, having a very low count of dissolved solids but will contain dust particles in suspension, and the possibility of Legionella contamination, although this is only a problem if the water is inhaled as a fine spray or aerosol.

The big problem with pure water is that it can be more corrosive than tap water, this is the reason that pure water is always kept in plastic or non corrosive containers, and allowing it to come into contact with bare metal will cause a reaction with aluminium and the solders used in radiator cores, leading to pin holing.

Personally I just use tap water and a decent antifreeze, or a proper radiator fluid that contains no water at all, both of these will form a protective coating on internal surfaces to prevent corrosion.

One last point, pure water is electrically less conductive and also has less tendency to convect heat so you will get slightly poorer cooling.

Hope this is of interest.

John

On or around Wed, 06 Aug 2003 09:32:39 +0100, Mother enlightened us thusly:

ISTR water is quite good. I suspect that pure glycol is less good.

you could stop it boiling by using a mixture of something with a high boiling point (like salt) and water, but I suspect that salt water wouldn't be good for the engine.

I don't think salt make a big difference to boiling point (without mega concentration). Not as much as the pressurisation of the cooling system anyway.

Have you changed the water pump yet Martyn?

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

Nope - this is my final 'thing to change that hasn't otherwise been changed'. If that doesn't do it, I'll prise open the temp guage and bend the needle to the left. That'll cure it.

Or tippex the C and replace it with an F. Except then it will run too cold.

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

My Dad was a food technologist and he always made beer and wine. He also made a still whilst at university. My Mum still has the drawing he did of it in its plan stage. He used some wine that my Grandma had made.

Not had home brew since before my Dad died. He always used to make it from scratch. He made one about 6 months before he died, and was quite pleased with the results. It was my job to put him a bottle in the fridge for when he came home from work. My reward was a taste or three or four.

I've made myself feel all sad now, thinking about it.