RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Was chatting to a mate who says that it is much better to use distilled water in a car's cooling system instead of ordinaly tap water, however he had no actual facts to back this up.

Is it true or not? The only real benefit I can see is less scale build up and will probably keep the header tank etc cleaner. I've got a good supply of it from work, so if it is better for the car, I will use it.

Cheers

Rich

7xrskb

iTrader: (1)

I use the water from our dehumidifier in mine. Not sure how much of a benefit it is though.

JamesH

iTrader: (21)

Water from a de humidifier is de-ionised

stevieturbo

100% pure water is best, whether distilled or de-ionised, basically the same thing.

Water from a dehumidifier is effectively distilled.

Of course you still need some form of corrosion inhibitor and anti-freeze.

Evans coolant is another option.

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Cheers guys, I may as well use it then!

PaulT

What about RO (reverse osmosis) water that's as pure as it gets ????

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

bit overkill IMO.

Think of the amount of water in a cooling system. Even in a hard water area the amount of crap that will come out the coolant with repeated heat cycling is minimal.

Its not like a kettle where there is a large flow through of fresh material daily. Its generally a sealed system irregularly changed.

stevieturbo

If you're struggling with coolant performance, every little helps. If it's readily available then there is little reason not to use it.

botters

iTrader: (2)

though technically beneficial it is still pointless and i doubt you would actually notice any difference whatsoever

bortaf

distilled water has less iron in it yes ? so whats the point if your pouring it into an iron engine ?
i use filterd rain water, have done for the last 10 odd years, with antifreeze obv lol

Psycho Warren

iTrader: (5)

think of the parts per million contaminants in tap water compared to distilled. I doubt the difference between pure distilled water and the filthiest tap water in britain would make any more than a fraction of a degrees celcius difference.

if youre really desperate for a better cooling fluid then use water wetter or one of those silly expensive chemical coolant systems.

stevieturbo

Any time Ive tried water wetter it has made no difference at all. Total waste of money.

Evans coolant is a good product though, just a little expensive.

saph4be

What about this waterless coolant?

foci

Yeah that was on this weeks wheeler dealers. £90 to fill a triumph TR3

stevieturbo

As I said, it is a little expensive, but it is a good product. Whether or not there is any benefit for you is another matter.

For a highly tuned turbocharged engine it is a very good thing to use. For a more mundane car, probably pointless.

slimwynn

i was going to post about this i'v never heard of this b4 wander if this would be ok in a erst

stevieturbo

It will work in any engine. But unless it's from a dry build, you'll be looking at a few hundred quid before it's up and running by the time you've cleaned the system and flushed before adding the actual coolant.

foci

Yeah it doesn't boil till 180 degrees

http://www.evanscoolants.co.uk/power...ance-cars.html

foci

Just looked on eBay £15.99 for prep fluid and £49 for coolant

stevieturbo

No idea where you're getting that price from

Prep fluid is £40 for 5 litres....so you'll need two of those.

And £65 for 5 litres of coolant, again you'll need two of these.