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bstreep · 08-08-2013, 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinwater

Did anyone actually find a specification or a standard for battery water? These standards exist for antifreeze, for example, but I could find no definitive manufacturer information or anything that gave quantitative reality to damage caused by Ca, Mg, Cl etc.

Battery manufacturers recommend distilled or RO/DI water. Low (near 0) TDS.

I suspect that a test of Distilled vs Tap Water might yield the folllowing:

Average battery life with distilled: 5 years
Average battery life with tap water: 60 months

**Adelie** · 08-08-2013, 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by rw58ph

30+ years I been using Seattle area tap water. Battereis last on average 10 years as long as the water level is above the plates. I figure if I can drink the water that is pure enough for battereis.

That's fine in Seattle, it has the best tap water in the country. Elsewhere you need to be a lot more careful, the minerals in the water can kill a battery the second or third time you top it up.

Zil · 09-08-2013, 06:21

yes. when i said municipal water i meant in the USA. Rain water collected from a clean surface is as good as any purchased water for batteries. If you are adding water often, then you may be over charging the battery and whatever water you add is the lesser problem. Drinking distilled or DI water will not harm you because of lack of minerals.
I stand with bstreep.
The location of the best municipal drinking water in the country is arguable in a different thread.

CharlieJ · 09-08-2013, 06:50

When we were cruising full time, I would take my RO water with TDS of about 200 ppm and use that as feed stock for a second pass through the watermaker. I would reduce the watermaker's high pressure pump output pressure to about 80psi (if memory serves me) IAW the operating manual. The resulting water was <5ppm which was close to the resolution of my TDS tester. My 12 Trojan T105s thrived on this water.

ianrhodes · 16-09-2019, 18:33

why buy when you have it for free in your ice box ............... the ice melted is pure enough

CharlieJ · 16-09-2019, 18:41

Is Rhodes #35
Your post regarding using melted ice as a substitute for distilled water is wrong. If the feed to the ice maker or ice cube trays is 500ppm TDS, then the ice will have the same TDS. Freezing water does not change its solids concentration.

ianrhodes · 16-09-2019, 19:38

no talking about ice maker talking about ice formed from moisture in atmosphere on walls if freezer free distilled water

thinwater · 16-09-2019, 20:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

oh, about the same as DI and distilled water

Nope. RO from tap water is one thing. RO from seawater, from the common watermaker, does not pass battery water specs. Tap water generally fails. Curiously, AC condensate sometimes fails (but dehumidifier condensate passes--they are different).

Interesting to note that the engine coolant water spec is just as tight as the battery water spec. This is not well accepted, but it is true (I am on that ASTM committee).

The full detail is here:https://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/

**Dockhead** · 17-09-2019, 05:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinwater

Nope. RO from tap water is one thing. RO from seawater, from the common watermaker, does not pass battery water specs. Tap water generally fails. Curiously, AC condensate sometimes fails (but dehumidifier condensate passes--they are different).

Interesting to note that the engine coolant water spec is just as tight as the battery water spec. This is not well accepted, but it is true (I am on that ASTM committee).

The full detail is here:https://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/

How about collecting the water from a condensor dryer? I dump out many liters of this a week when I'm on land.

I bet that's pretty pure.

CharlieJ · 17-09-2019, 05:37

Ian Rhodes #37; Melted frost from the freezer box will certainly have fewer contaminants than potable water but, unless that frost melt is tested with a TDS meter or conductivity meter and found to meet the manufacture’s specs, it would not be advisable to use this in FLA batteries.
On a practical note, a moderate bank of FLA batteries can take more than a quart of water to top off. That would be a lot of frost melt!

transmitterdan · 17-09-2019, 05:57

I use a Zero Water model ZP-010 to take our tank water and turn it into 0 TDS water. Comes with a TDS meter. It uses an ion resin bed plus charcoal filter. I use it for batteries and also use it to remove minerals in the water for the coffee. One resin cartridge lasts about 6 months. The replacement "filter" cartridge is US $15. I extend the life by running water first through an old cartridge then through a good one. The good one lasts 3 times longer that way.