13 replies to this topic

[Dasher1275]

i live in quite a hard water area and was wondering if de-ironised water for irons and batterys would do for the rad as i suffer with lime scale in engine/rad any thoughts please???

[JohnGordon]

I Don't see a problem with using de-ironised water for you rad but it'll get a bit expensive

[Dasher1275]

59p a litre @ morrisons, think i only need 4ltr's and it might be worth it compared to them cost of a new rad every couple of years as mine gets scaled up you can see the bits getting stuck in the cores

[Sleepy Stu]

Actually IIRC you are supposed to use de-ionised water but who actually does?

Price seems good mate go for it but dont forget a higher concentration of antifreeze as we are moving into winter now!!

Edited by Stewart_GT, 08 October 2008 - 11:56 AM.

[Retro_10s]

Most antifreeze packages already contain Anti corrosion and limescale inhibitors anyway, are you buying cheap stuff?

I would recommend getting the Holts 2 part rad flush, and running this through your car before filling up with a good quality Antifreeze. The detergents in this 2 part treatment destroy, and help prevent build-up of most nasties that you'd usually find.

Ideally you should be flushing the System through Twice a year anyway regardless of what you chuck in there., I don't think I know anyone that still does this however...

If you want to fill up with something purer than tap water,.. Then you could always distill some water,.. This will get rid of almost all the solid contaminants..

[Shifty]

Actually IIRC you are supposed to use de-ionised water but who actually does?

Price seems good mate go for it but dont forget a higher concentration of antifreeze as we are moving into winter now!!

Carp!!

Anti freeze, can't have my Poo freezing up now can we!!

Thanks for the reminder!!

[Sleepy Stu]

Actually IIRC you are supposed to use de-ionised water but who actually does?

Price seems good mate go for it but dont forget a higher concentration of antifreeze as we are moving into winter now!!

Carp!!

Anti freeze, can't have my Poo freezing up now can we!!

Thanks for the reminder!!

Lol Shifty

If thats the case then just stop taking a s**t in the garden!

[dklawson]

De-ionized water? I would not think so. Perhaps distilled water.

De-ionized water has "nothing" in it and has a reputation of leaching the metal it's in contact with. Distilled water is "pure" but it won't extract metal ions from your engine and cooling system.

See:
http://www.finishing.com/138/06.shtml
For an explanation of how deionized water differs from distilled and why you would choose distilled.

[998dave]

if you've got a good kettle you could pre-boil the water and then when it goes through the filter it should clean it.
Or a Britta filter.

And yes - remember it should be 50% antifreeze too!

[Dasher1275]

thanks!!

[Sleepy Stu]

De-ionized water? I would not think so. Perhaps distilled water.

De-ionized water has "nothing" in it and has a reputation of leaching the metal it's in contact with. Distilled water is "pure" but it won't extract metal ions from your engine and cooling system.

See:
http://www.finishing.com/138/06.shtml
For an explanation of how deionized water differs from distilled and why you would choose distilled.

Damn it DK your absolulty right that was what I thought the whole topic was about but it just goes to so i must read what im writing more often as i tend to mean one thing but write another!

[sixwheeler]

Erm... Rainwater?

[ImagoX]

Erm... Rainwater?

I just use a 50/50 solution of distilled and antifreeze. Never had an issue.

PS - every drop of rainwater has at its core a tiny particle of dirt. That's why you see fine sediment in the bottom of a white cup set out to catch snow melt or rainwater. I know there's plenty of rust and other *rubbish* in the radiator water afyer its been recycled for a while in the car, but I figure why add to that?

Edited by ImagoX, 08 October 2008 - 08:38 PM.

[Staxxman]

I would recommend getting the Holts 2 part rad flush, and running this through your car before filling up with a good quality Antifreeze. The detergents in this 2 part treatment destroy, and help prevent build-up of most nasties that you'd usually find.

Ideally you should be flushing the System through Twice a year anyway regardless of what you chuck in there., I don't think I know anyone that still does this however...

Sorry to get off the original topic, but my rad has a sticker on it that says "DO NOT DRAIN". I live in hard water area too, so I also was wondering about de-ionized water, but obviously wanted to flush out what was in there first. Is that sticker just to stop novices like me buggering up the car?