Distilled drinking water for battery water?

**tanatej** · February 6th, 2011 02:45 AM

I often use low-maintenance batteries, and I often find myself running out of the distilled water being sold by car battery stores. I was wondering if I can use Wilkins/Absolut as a replacement since they're much more accessible and convenient...?

**andywesteast** · February 6th, 2011 04:30 AM

OK to use those for battery

**nvidi.turion** · February 6th, 2011 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by andywesteast

OK to use those for battery

how about sir for for our radiators? can we use those we can buy at establishments for dringking waters?... like wilkins...

**al shaheen** · February 6th, 2011 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by nvidi.turion

how about sir for for our radiators? can we use those we can buy at establishments for dringking waters?... like wilkins...

Ok naman ang absolute at wilkins, nasubukan ko na rin ito. Pero nung binanggit ko sa utol ko ang laman ng radiator ay absolute, pinapalitan nya pa rin ng coolant kasi mas effective daw kung may coolant. Siguro di pwede sa matagalan.

**Thumbdrive** · February 6th, 2011 11:38 AM

I also use distilled drinking water in my Battery.
For Radiators, Coolant and/or the recommended mixture/ratio.

**box_type** · February 6th, 2011 04:24 PM

i think its somewhere in the owner's manual that coolant is recommended for the radiator, now some people don't have access to coolants at the time they needed to put fluid into their radiators, they opt for the next best thing.... distilled water, when we say distilled it means free of minerals which are common in regular tap water, which in turn may damage the radiator and engine block in the long run due to corrosion because of its(water) mineral content, so better use mineral free (distilled) water when coolant is not available, imho

**naphrel** · February 9th, 2011 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by box_type

i think its somewhere in the owner's manual that coolant is recommended for the radiator, now some people don't have access to coolants at the time they needed to put fluid into their radiators, they opt for the next best thing.... distilled water, when we say distilled it means free of minerals which are common in regular tap water, which in turn may damage the radiator and engine block in the long run due to corrosion because of its(water) mineral content, so better use mineral free (distilled) water when coolant is not available, imho

Pre I just want to clear your idea. Im not saying that your idea is wrong, I just want to share this knowledge, mineral water / distilled water for radiator coolant is not good. why? because as what you say this free from any minerals that can be found in water. thus this kind of water will have a lower boiling point, plus it will react with the electricity running to your system ( Yes there is electricity conducting in every pipe and the body of your engine ) so in the long run it will result to electrolysis which can cause corrosion to any part of the radiator and engine. And it will be prone to sulfate which will create salt and will hardened and block the passage of radiator. Compare to Tap water which contains lots of minerals which can help cooling.

But if you used coolant it is much better if you use distilled water.
This information came from OAT Seminar conducted in singapore.
and it focuses in coolant.

**fourtheboys96** · February 9th, 2011 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by naphrel

Pre I just want to clear your idea. Im not saying that your idea is wrong, I just want to share this knowledge, mineral water / distilled water for radiator coolant is not good. why? because as what you say this free from any minerals that can be found in water. thus this kind of water will have a lower boiling point, plus it will react with the electricity running to your system ( Yes there is electricity conducting in every pipe and the body of your engine ) so in the long run it will result to electrolysis which can cause corrosion to any part of the radiator and engine. And it will be prone to sulfate which will create salt and will hardened and block the passage of radiator. Compare to Tap water which contains lots of minerals which can help cooling.

But if you used coolant it is much better if you use distilled water.
This information came from OAT Seminar conducted in singapore.
and it focuses in coolant.

i am not a chemist but:

yes, distilled water has lower boiling point than tap water.

no, distilled water does not conduct electricity as much as water with minerals.

another thing, water (more so distilled water) is a universal solvent. it can dilute a lot of liquid / dissolve lots of minerals without any kind of chemical reaction. so i am not sure it will create salt inside the radiator.

on the other hand, if you use tap water, the mineral content tends to get concentrated over time as water slowly evaporates out the cooling system. at high concentrations, these minerals will crystalize and will clog your radiator.

can any chemist / chemical engineers confirm this?

**andywesteast** · February 9th, 2011 05:41 PM

Hard Water deposits when using Tap Water. Distilled water does not do this.

**claRkEnt** · February 9th, 2011 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by fourtheboys96

i am not a chemist but:

yes, distilled water has lower boiling point than tap water.

no, distilled water does not conduct electricity as much as water with minerals.

another thing, water (more so distilled water) is a universal solvent. it can dilute a lot of liquid / dissolve lots of minerals without any kind of chemical reaction. so i am not sure it will create salt inside the radiator.

on the other hand, if you use tap water, the mineral content tends to get concentrated over time as water slowly evaporates out the cooling system. at high concentrations, these minerals will crystalize and will clog your radiator.

can any chemist / chemical engineers confirm this?

this is correct.