distilled water

[Skim]

i know we have to add distilled water to the gs battery... my question is.. is water that's boiled and set out for 24 hrs considered distilled?

is the distilled water i have to put in like the ones at university labs or hospital?

[Gleanerizer]

Distilled water is, basically, the purest water that is practical to produce relatively inexpensively.  It's made from the collected condensation of water vapor, and results in very clean water with a bare minimum of impurities.  While boiling does a good job of eliminating nasty illness-causing bugs in drinking water, it does not eliminate trace metals and salts that can eff up the electrolytes in your battery.  (Distilled water is so pure it almost never occurs in nature and tastes kind of funny, though it's safe to drink.)  Get distilled water from a sealed container, you can get it cheap at your local grocery.  Use distilled water to fill your battery--always.

[callmelenny]

i know we have to add distilled water to the gs battery... my question is.. is water that's boiled and set out for 24 hrs considered distilled?

is the distilled water i have to put in like the ones at university labs or hospital?

Water that has been boiled is actually more concentrated with minerals than the original water, so that won't help you.

You can usually get distilled water at the grocery store, read the label carefully. Things labeled "spring water" usually have a high mineral content. Look for something that mentions purification by steam distillation or reverse osmosis.
Scientists often rely on deionized distilled water that meets an even higher standard of "purity" but would be overkill for a battery. But if you can get it free at work then I bet it would work

[raylarrabee]

ditto.  Distilled water is also available at CVS or similar drug stores.  It's like $1.50 for a gallon of it.

[Skim]

great! thanks for the info guys!  fast replies too!  

[weaselnoze]

u can also boil water and 'catch' the vapors, then drip them into a beaker. even then it still has minerals in it, but is considered distilled.  unless im completely wrong..

[Kerry]

Never one to pass up the chance to use my photos, allow me to send you to the [I assume battery failure, so...] thread.  Kinda funny, if I do say so myself.  

[dgyver]

u can also boil water and 'catch' the vapors, then drip them into a beaker. even then it still has minerals in it, but is considered distilled.  unless im completely wrong..

You are correct. Unless you happen to have a still handy, better off just buying some.

[callmelenny]

u can also boil water and 'catch' the vapors, then drip them into a beaker. even then it still has minerals in it, but is considered distilled.  unless im completely wrong..

You are describing distillation.

Often times the condensate is collected and boiled again, thus water described as double distilled, triple distilled, etc.

[nathanael]

Say someone filled up their battery with tap water because they were in a rush and forgot to get distilled water, what kind of damage could this do, in theory.  Did I just take a ton of life out of my battery, ummmm, I mean in theory would I have killed my battery?  :lol:

[mp183]

One time should not be a big deal.  In NYC it's all rain water, very low mineral content.
While we are on the subject, knowing how "thrifty" GS owners are.  I'm surprised that someone has not come out with a way that we can buy a communal gallon of water and just share it.  It would be too expensive to ship so we would have to ride it to the next guy.  Sorta like a pony express.

[weaselnoze]

u know that is a very good idea!  hehe. one that note, there should be like 4 valve kits gion around and they should stay in their designated section of the country.  it seems it will be a very long time before i can get my hands on it  

[vfrocket]

I'm pretty sure that in batteries you are supposed to use DeIonized water..

[weaselnoze]

distilled.  it says so in the manual if i remember correctly..

[Skim]

Thanks guys, i bought a jug full of distilled water, filled it up, and charged battery... it starts perfect now!

The contact-lens container idea worked great.  Now I have to find out what I'm going to do with the rest of the water.  If anyone in GTA needs distilled water, let me know.

[callmelenny]

Thanks guys, i bought a jug full of distilled water, filled it up, and charged battery... it starts perfect now!
Now I have to find out what I'm going to do with the rest of the water.  If anyone in GTA needs distilled water, let me know.

The people that make home distilleries have these suggestions:

http://www.steamdistiller.com/distillerfaq.htm

[weaselnoze]

use the remainder in your clothes iron.  that is if it has a  sprayer.  if u use regular tap water eventually, depending on how much minerals are in ur water, the sprayer will clog up with crusty stuff

[Kerry]

use the remainder in your clothes iron.

That's funny!  For me it's the other way around.  I "steal" distilled water from the gallon my wife bought to use in the iron....