Distilled water

[old farmer]

Is it mandatory or advisable to use distilled water with new antifreeze, Go5 or standard green, or would tap water be fine? Our water isn't very hard being from a lake and not a well, but is chlorinated and fluoridated.
And is it ok to convert from the green stuff to Go3 if the engine is thoroughly flushed? Should it be chemically cleaned? If so, what with? It's an aluminum block and heads.
Thanks.

 

[Kestas]

Distilled water is adviseable, not mandatory. Pre-BITOG I used to always use tap water.

Thoroughly flushing before changeover is always a good idea. GO5 is tolerant of mixing with the green fluid, so a thorough flush isn't critical.

The system should be cleaned only if you have either of two conditions... scale buildup inside the system or oil contamination. Scale buildup requires a citric acid-based flush; oil contamination requires a detergent-based flush such as with Shout.

 

[onion]

I've used tap water for many years- hundreds of times in trucks and heavy equipment. So it's not mandatory... I've never seen any evidence that it CAUSES a problem... and nobody is going to send me down to the grocery store to load up on 6 jugs of distilled water when the labor rate is $86 an hour.

But for my own stuff- I use distilled water. It can't hurt- likely will help... it's cheap and readily available at the grocery store.

 

[sxg6]

Good read on this subject

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...part=3&vc=1

Even a post by stinky peterson, may he r.i.p.

 

[Squishy]

It might just be me, but when I click that link, the thread title shows up but none of the posts appear.

Can filtered water be used in place of distilled water? That is, can I just run water through my Brita and then into my radiator?

 

[Big Jim]

Doing so would not really make much of a difference. A Brita doesn't remove much other than chlorine, and the normal chlorine levels in drinking water are not an issue with cooling systems.

Then again, I'm one that always uses tap water in cooling systems. I have never had a problem with it. I can see where it could be a problem in areas with especially hard water though.

 

[Mike_dup1]

Quote:

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chlorine levels in drinking water are not an issue with cooling systems.

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It is best to use distilled water because it is pH neutral, contains no acids, dissolved salts or minerals and maximizes the coolant life.

 

[John K]

sxq6's link works for me...
I remember reading that Mercedes recommends (some years ago) not using distilled water because it is 'hungry' for oxygen and will make a corrosive solution, but I think that should be totally negated when you add antifreeze. I always used distilled water because where we live we have very hard water.
Somewhere I read that you shouldn't use straight antifreeze because of poor heat transfer, but you should also know that 100% antifreeze freezes around 8F, and the maximum freeze protection is 60% antifreeze, which is something like -65F. I always had to explain that to mechanics that couldn't get the antifreeze out of a drum when it was stored outside in really cold temperatures. Here is a link: web page

 

[mazduh30]

I use distilled water since it is Ph negative.

 

[Kestas]

pH negative???

 

[1sttruck]

GO5 runs maybe $10 a gallon at some stores, distilled water is often less than a $1 gallon, so whay worry about 'wasting' money on distilled water for a coolant change that will last possibly three years or more ?

 

[rszappa1]

always always alway.....use distilled water...

 

[Rob Taggs]

I was told by the saleman of our antifreeze at work that Deionized water is the best to use when mixing.

 

[rszappa1]

anything is better then tap water...

 

[Big Jim]

Old habits die hard. As long as tap water works for me I'm not likely to change. I know it helps to live in an area that has good tap water.

 

[GearGuy]

How about water from a 3 stage reverse osmosis filter system?
Through a carbon filter, to a reverse osmosis membrane, and through another carbon filter.
Using a pool test strip, Ph seems neutral. Hardness and chlorine is gone.

 

[ekpolk]

Quote:

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anything is better then tap water...

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Personally, I'd stay with distilled or deionized water, but whether tap water is all that bad will vary greatly depending upon the quality of that water. The water at my house would actually probably work fine. OTOH, I was in a hotel last week while traveling, and the water was so hard it could barely get the soap off my skin.

 

[Doc8404]

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the water was so hard it could barely get the soap off my skin.

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Uhhhh, since when do Marines use soap?

 

[another Todd]

distilled, distilled, distilled. Reverse osmosis however is better than tap.

 

[milehighassassin]

It really depends on where you live and what your water is like. If you live in an area that has really "HARD" water... lots of minerals in it then distilled water would be advised. If you life somewhere that has REALLY soft water, then it will not matter.
If you are in doubt, I would just use distilled. It is cheap enough why risk it. If you don't have any option but tap water then the answer is clear to me... I would #@$%! in my radiator before I ran it low or empty.