"demineralized/deionized/distilled" water

[CERO]

Whats the difference between "demineralized/deionized/distilled" water(concerning water cooling). I know that distilled water is the most recommend, but what about dimineralized and deionized water?

[MomijiTMO]

They are different processes.

Dionised water will have no charged particles, therefore is free of metals. However any organic matter will remain. Demineralised water is often obtained via dionisation.

Distilled water is free for any metals and organic matter and is ideal for wc since there is a lower chance of it containing algae.

[doomed]

from wikipedia

Distilled water has virtually all of its impurities removed through distillation. Distillation involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean cup, leaving nearly all of the solid contaminants behind

Deionized water which is also known as demineralized water (DI water or de-ionized water) is water that has had its minerals removed, such as cations from sodium, calcium, iron, copper and anions such as chloride and bromideDeionization is a physical process which uses specially-manufactured ion exchange resins which bind to and filter out the mineral salts from water ... However, deionization does not significantly remove uncharged organic molecules, viruses or bacteria, except through "accidental" trapping by the resin.

distilled water is boiled = little to no impurities
deionized water is kinda of filtered which leaves impurities

distilled>deionized

[CERO]

So basicly if am right demineralized = deionized water basicly. Can demineralized water used for instance flushing the RAD or waterblock, since they cost here 3 times cheaper then distilled water, (or it is still bad for this purpose since it will ionized in my loop , pulling ions from my waterblock etc) Then I would use distilled water for the actual loop.

[CERO]

They are different processes.

Dionised water will have no charged particles, therefore is free of metals. However any organic matter will remain. Demineralised water is often obtained via dionisation.

Distilled water is free for any metals and organic matter and is ideal for wc since there is a lower chance of it containing algae.

the thing is demi water cost 3 times cheaper then distilled, can I use demi water ( boil it) to flush my PA120.3 for first time use, or also in this case distilled is recommended? And using the distilled water for the actual loop.

[MomijiTMO]

I flush all of my blocks with deionised water because I left them out to dry for a week. Then I flushed them with distilled water before leak testing because it is much cheaper. At the end of the day, you are going to use some form of an algaecide so you don't need to worry about organic matter.

[CERO]

I flush all of my blocks with deionised water because I left them out to dry for a week. Then I flushed them with distilled water before leak testing because it is much cheaper. At the end of the day, you are going to use some form of an algaecide so you don't need to worry about organic matter.

well that short time u flush your RAD for first time use with demi water could it actually being bad since it may ionized your RAD, do u really leave them that long out for drying? But u should flush it with distilled always as the last step?

[John Planet]

At the end of the day, you are going to use some form of an algaecide so you don't need to worry about organic matter.

Algaecide is good, but unless you're very careful what you use it can break down quickly, hence lose its protective qualities. I'm trying a dual approach right now. My coolant maintains a pH that's hostile to growth, plus half of my tubing is Tygon silver for good measure. It's to early to tell, though. I'm also thinking about running a UV sterilizer in my next refit and plain distilled.

[Serpentarius]

Algaecide is good, but unless you're very careful what you use it can break down quickly, hence lose its protective qualities. I'm trying a dual approach right now. My coolant maintains a pH that's hostile to growth, plus half of my tubing is Tygon silver for good measure. It's to early to tell, though. I'm also thinking about running a UV sterilizer in my next refit and plain distilled.

i suggest you BECAREFUL of algaecide ... coz it's acidic, and it'll cause corossion .. normally if you use destilled water .. it's fine all the way ... coz copper is poisonous on algae and bacteria (that's why they use copper to kill weed and clean ponds)

[John Planet]

i suggest you BECAREFUL of algaecide ... coz it's acidic, and it'll cause corossion .. normally if you use destilled water .. it's fine all the way ... coz copper is poisonous on algae and bacteria (that's why they use copper to kill weed and clean ponds)

I've never used algaecide, mostly because I prefer exotic ways of doing things. Lots of other people do, though. Aren't there formulations that work in water cooling loops? Also, even though cooper does act as you say, it eventually develops a coating that walls it off. I'd never run with nothing at all, because life WILL find a way if at all possible.

[Webby]

Ok now I hate to ruin everyone's party here but in the lab where I work we class deionised water as far purer than distilled, reverse osmosis membranes (used to remove ions) have a cut off that will effectively remove all charged particles so think a single sodium ion that is pretty small and significantly smaller than any organic contaminant you are going to find, obviously as soon as you open the bottle you will contaminate it but thats life! Distilled water is boiled but small water droplets containing impurities are entrained with the water vapour which means that the final product while purer than the original water is by no means pure.

In relation to deionised water there are many different membranes and methods so some water will be purer than others but on the whole it should be far better than distilled water.

[Jimmer411]

I use tap water.


Algea/gunk/corrosion what?


Its seriously not all its cooked up to be. Especially if your planning on adding antifreeze (Pentosin G11/G12, Prestone etc) or any other additive. So unless you live in mexico or some parts of socal....tap water is just fine.

[Xilikon]

LOL......

It's a double-edged argument because not all areas has good tap water. Some water is hard and will cause buildup in the loop. You can use tap water for cleaning and rinsing the loop but use de******** water for final rinse and loop use.

[CrazyJoe]

I get my water from work ... where we use the Resin process to make "a few million" gallons of De-mineralized water.
After that, the Demin' water is put through a filtration process to De-ionize it as well.

Demin'd and De-ionized water to about .07 ppm with a Conductivity of 0.

However, contaminants will find a way in and Life will find a way to grow, and I don't want the water eating away at my copper blocks, so I put in a few drops of Petras PT-Nuke biocide. It's Copper sulfate based ... so it kills the bugs and also treats the demin'd water so that it already has the copper ions entrained.
No block loss and a biocide all in one ... gotta love it.

[doomed]

Ok now I hate to ruin everyone's party here but in the lab where I work we class deionised water as far purer than distilled, reverse osmosis membranes (used to remove ions) have a cut off that will effectively remove all charged particles so think a single sodium ion that is pretty small and significantly smaller than...

biochemist and laboratory use water is purified by mixing different types of purifications because each one removes something that the other type doesn't, like carbon filtration, ultraviolet oxidation, double distillation ect.

so unless your going to use laboratory water on the water cooling loop you want to get the water that gets rid of most contaminants, and not just ions and salts

[IanY]

Isn't all this going a bit too far?

I use distilled water only because I managed to locate 20 gallons of that stuff for about 75 cents a gallon.

Otherwise, I would use supermarket drinking water, or if that is not available, just tap water.

We're not talking about lab science here.. just computer cooling.

[jonny_ftm]

Isn't all this going a bit too far?

I use distilled water only because I managed to locate 20 gallons of that stuff for about 75 cents a gallon.

Otherwise, I would use supermarket drinking water, or if that is not available, just tap water.

We're not talking about lab science here.. just computer cooling.

Many people mislabel deminaralized water as "distelled". At that price, it won't be distilled, it is deminaralized or such other types of water obtained by osmosis/filtering.

I also agree to the purity of water stated above. Distilled water contains organic and salts that are transported by vapor. It is quiet a pure water. Distilled, is less pure

[RVWinkle]

My experience is that Distilled water is usually around $1.00 per gallon in the US at any common grocery store. I could only imagine that it's the same everywhere else. At that price you aren't really breaking the bank so why not use it if it's safer on average.

Even better than deionized or distilled water is Reverse Osmosis water. From my understanding, RO is the best and most complete purification process therefore the best water you can buy for WC. My local grocery store (Ukrops) sells the stuff for 39 cents per gallon. It's pretty much the best for anything, drinking, car, and water cooling.

[jonny_ftm]

My experience is that Distilled water is usually around $1.00 per gallon in the US at any common grocery store. I could only imagine that it's the same everywhere else. At that price you aren't really breaking the bank so why not use it if it's safer on average.

Even better than deionized or distilled water is Reverse Osmosis water. From my understanding, RO is the best and most complete purification process therefore the best water you can buy for WC. My local grocery store (Ukrops) sells the stuff for 39 cents per gallon. It's pretty much the best for anything, drinking, car, and water cooling.

As I said above, in the US laws, they stamp what they like, no real "laws" to protect consumer, or at least less severe than in Europe. At that price, it is not distilled

[Justintoxicated]

Distilled water contains organic and salts that are transported by vapor. It is quiet a pure water. Distilled, is less pure

huh?

[TedShred]

I was surprised to read that some guys are ok with tap water. Not that I know one way or another but, just FYI, here's a breakdown of my town's H2O quality parameters to show all the stuff that can be in there.


edit: personally, I would never use Calgary tap water. For one thing, there's a ton of residue when that stuff evaporates (probably mostly calcium - Calgary's H2O has loads of it), and I wouldn't want that stuff running through my PC. Not to mention whatever greeblies are inhabiting the pipes in my building. I don't even drink it without running it through a Brita.

[IanY]

I think you guys are makingw ay too much of this.

CyberDruid, the uber mod god extraordinaire, uses Dasani bottled water, and its good enough for him.

[doomed]

Distilled water contains organic and salts that are transported by vapor. It is quiet a pure water. Distilled, is less pure

huh?

i totally agree, wth are u talking about

and this is XS we're suppose to take everything be on extreme lol i wouldn't be surpriced if someone used double distilled water for their loop

[John Planet]

I think you guys are makingw ay too much of this.

CyberDruid, the uber mod god extraordinaire, uses Dasani bottled water, and its good enough for him.

Yeah, I get that you feel that way. You and "CyberDruid" can toss whatever you want in your loops and it doesn't make me one bit of difference.

[IanY]

Yeah, I get that you feel that way. You and "CyberDruid" can toss whatever you want in your loops and it doesn't make me one bit of difference.

Same exact sentiments here, my good man.