Well water instead of distilled water?

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My deep well water supply is loaded with filters and gadgets that I don't quite understand. I am assuming that it has at least a reverse osmosis system. I am working on identifying each part.

I already know that distilled water is cheap. I have been using it for years.

I just wanted to know if well water could ever contain as little of "x" as to be just as good as distilled water when mixing with coolant.

Just curious.

Thanks
 
Very unlikely. For a coolant you want either distilled or de mineralized water. Reverse osmosis will remove some minerals, but not all. When I was in Saudi Arabia our compound took the de salinated water from the tap and ran it through a reverse osmosis. That improved the water a lot, but it still had some salt in it.
 
My reverse osmosis system pretty much takes everything out. I know what Redbone is talking about and he is right but a good home system does a better job. I used my reverse osmosis well water for the flushes and used store bought distilled water to mix with the coolant. Could have probably used the reverse osmosis for everything.
 
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RO water is fine for cooling systems. Total dissolved solids will be near nil. As will most forms of contaminates, including metals and tannins.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
RO water is fine for cooling systems. Total dissolved solids will be near nil. As will most forms of contaminates, including metals and tannins.


For numbers
My tap water
Winter water (colder)
cold 280
hot 470

Summer water (tested last summer)
cold 350-420
hot 500-800

The RO water after emptying the tank is 6-10
RO water after being in tank for a few days usually around 26-30
 
your body needs minerals + some RO systems are said to replace them some how, distilled water is similar you need to replace the minerals for your health. remember reading olympic athletes drink only distilled water + they are tested for all minerals in their body + replaced as needed. very costly + prolly paid by out tax $$$$ like most governmental things
 
Originally Posted by redbone3
Very unlikely. For a coolant you want either distilled or de mineralized water. Reverse osmosis will remove some minerals, but not all. When I was in Saudi Arabia our compound took the de salinated water from the tap and ran it through a reverse osmosis. That improved the water a lot, but it still had some salt in it.

We have a cheap Reverse Osmosis systen @ work. It works well enough. Had it tested and we only have 3ppm of contaminants. The water going in has 200~ PPM.
 
Other possible problems with well water are the dissolved gases. Some wells in certain areas can have high levels of dissolved CO2 which will create an acidic low pH condition. As a teenager we had well water and i was mystified why all our cars and machinery developed leaky radiators after 2-3 years even though the used cars we acquired werent leaking when we bought them. When i got to chemistry class in college i checked our drinking water found it had a pH of 5.5. If you do use well water boiling it vigorously before using it will strip out the dissolved gases.
 
I boiled all the water at our compound that was used as potable water. Didn't trust the system, the people running the system, or the people responsible for the system.
 
Originally Posted by PiperOne
Or just buy pre-mixed coolant and forget about it.


Naw, that's more money. For some reason, premixed 50/50 coolant is just about $1 or $2 cheaper than full strength. So you're paying almost double for what's basically a half gallon of distilled water.
 
If you have a softener I wouldn't run well water. Nor if you live somewhere that tastes like lime (Youngstown OH impressed this on me, notably).
 
Originally Posted by dx92beater
My deep well water supply is loaded with filters and gadgets that I don't quite understand. I am assuming that it has at least a reverse osmosis system. I am working on identifying each part.


Probably:
1) An iron filter, followed by a
2) softener system, which feeds the
3) Reverse Osmosis system
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by PiperOne
Or just buy pre-mixed coolant and forget about it.


Naw, that's more money. For some reason, premixed 50/50 coolant is just about $1 or $2 cheaper than full strength. So you're paying almost double for what's basically a half gallon of distilled water.


EXACTLY!!! I don't understand how so many people don't "get" this concept
 
For drinking, Id go with the well water to get the minerals. For the couple of gallons max Id buy for cars every few years, distilled by the gallon is the way to go, IMO.
 
Originally Posted by JHZR2
For drinking, Id go with the well water to get the minerals. For the couple of gallons max Id buy for cars every few years, distilled by the gallon is the way to go, IMO.


Too easy. I'd even splurge and buy the 50/50 stuff.
 
Originally Posted by Leo99
Originally Posted by JHZR2
For drinking, Id go with the well water to get the minerals. For the couple of gallons max Id buy for cars every few years, distilled by the gallon is the way to go, IMO.


Too easy. I'd even splurge and buy the 50/50 stuff.



The stuff I use is about $20 for a gallon (Zerex G-05). They charge $18 for the premixed 50/50 stuff. I'd rather spend a $1 on distilled water and get two gallons for a total of $21 than spend $18 for one gallon. Or $10.50 vs $18. You'd rather pay an extra $7.50 because you can't be bothered to make your own mix? Plus when you make your own, you can go slightly stronger to get better freeze protection.
 
Ask yourself this. If you do all of your own coolant maintenance on your vehicle, how much do you think you actually spend on coolant fluids in it's lifetime, when compared to the cost of the vehicle itself? It's practically nil. So why shortcut it by not using distilled water, in order to save 2 bucks on a coolant change you do once every few years, or umpteen thousand miles?
 
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