Distilled water?

gwumpkus

Well-Known Member
i figured Battery Water (the kind sold at gas stations etc) are distilled water...which makes them suitable for radiator applications?..

going to flush radiator with spare Newater (again!!)..hahh...

anyone used any "radiator flush" before? some compound meant to like "clean up" the insides... saw a couple of brands like Holt,s etc...not sure if should hazard one of these too..:)..experiences anyone?..

thanx!

cheers!

michael
 
Re: Distilled water?

I suggest that you don't even think of using bettery water to flush your radiator....although we know that battery needs distill water...those battery water are not distilled water !! Its still acidic. If can try it with litmus paper.

You can go to workshop that des flushing of the radiator. I use one fella call Auto Dynamac at Ubi...he has the machine to flush the radiator. You can also buy those radiator flush to flsuh out those gunk from your radiator too.

Remember to topup with good quality coolant !!
 
Re: Distilled water?

May I ask how do you know when your raidiator needs a flush?
Can we use coolant from elsewhere other than BMW coolant?
 
Re: Distilled water?

Guys, I got a good suggestion, use the the distilled water from Watsons. The water is really pure and does not contain any acids. How to i know? My mum dropped a steam iron that used the distilled water for almost 3 yrs and split the thing. There was no scales and corrosion inside. I second ghostrider cos i have tested battery water and some of them are acidic to bring up the electrolyte level to a slightly lower pH value.

Generally I use any coolant from a reputable brand but if your car is under warranty then the colour of the coolant is a sure give away. The original BMW coolant is the pinkish type that is common among german manufacturers. The greenish or blueish coolant are also suitable for aluminium crankcases so if warranty is not a problem, you can go ahead.

Cheers
 
Re: Distilled water?

thanx ghostie!..actually i wasnt going to flush with the battery "distilled" water...i was just going to flush the thing with regular water from grden hose, after adding in a bottle of flushing agent and running the car for 10mins...

its the NEW COOLANT part that i was thinking of using the "distilled" battery water !! i suspected it might be impure, cos there were some with indications of Manganese (Mn) content in it...hence i thought i'd pick the brains of u wise chaps here..:)

coolant? i've already gottent eh BMW ones...looks like we're in agreement WORLDWIDE about this being THE coolant to use...hehheh..so i've gotten meself two bottles of it..enough to top up my radiator..which runs about 6.5l in a 1:1 mix...

question is..where does one get distilled water from in quantity?...any one pls?...

other than that..pls dun tell me u chaps just add garden hose water....!!!!

hahhah/

thanx for any advice...

this weekend's going to be "servicing" weekend for me..:).. anyone wanna joing in??..:)..hahhah.. floor jacks et al on standby!!!

hahha

cheers!!

michael


Ghostrider said:
I suggest that you don't even think of using bettery water to flush your radiator....although we know that battery needs distill water...those battery water are not distilled water !! Its still acidic. If can try it with litmus paper.

You can go to workshop that des flushing of the radiator. I use one fella call Auto Dynamac at Ubi...he has the machine to flush the radiator. You can also buy those radiator flush to flsuh out those gunk from your radiator too.

Remember to topup with good quality coolant !!
 
Re: Distilled water?

bro,

watsons sells distilled water??.. i've actually got a stock of newater..its pure, except for .5mg of Sodium in it...any thoughts?..:)...will goi check out watsons tomorrow..:)..heheh..thanx for suggesting!

cheers!

yendor said:
Guys, I got a good suggestion, use the the distilled water from Watsons. The water is really pure and does not contain any acids. How to i know? My mum dropped a steam iron that used the distilled water for almost 3 yrs and split the thing. There was no scales and corrosion inside. I second ghostrider cos i have tested battery water and some of them are acidic to bring up the electrolyte level to a slightly lower pH value.

Generally I use any coolant from a reputable brand but if your car is under warranty then the colour of the coolant is a sure give away. The original BMW coolant is the pinkish type that is common among german manufacturers. The greenish or blueish coolant are also suitable for aluminium crankcases so if warranty is not a problem, you can go ahead.

Cheers
 
Re: Distilled water?

when the water looks cruddy...looks like its got sediments...looks like shit...or when u dunno when it was last done..or when u feel like it..:)..all pretty good rasons to flush it...:)

come on..coolant's only $8.50 a bottle...

:)

how much does a corroded/damaged radiator/engine cost?..:)..'nuff said..:p



megaclaw said:
May I ask how do you know when your raidiator needs a flush?
Can we use coolant from elsewhere other than BMW coolant?
 
Re: Distilled water?

NTUC Pure water - $0.65 per 1.5lt, there's another brand: $0.85
Pharmacy: H20 - $0.75

I drained my E320, and filled with the 65cts stuff. 8lt.

Will pour in Wetter water tomorrow. if it reduce temp. I will post findings.
 
Re: Distilled water?

i finally used the 85c / 1.5 Ltr type! flushed out all the crap that was there...3 x over..!!..hahh..paranoid me...anyway... seems ok... but also seem to have discovered leak in the resrvoir..suspect the rubber gasket at the bottom where the reservoir sits into the radiator housing... hopefuly i can fix that...

latest: belts all changed yesterday in an hour flat...(rushing to finish before the rains poured down on me!)..
 
Re: Distilled water?

Hullo, pardon my kapoh but I work in a company doing water treatment for cooling systems. Distilled water = quite pure water and by nature, it is both slightly acidic and corrosive. The first batch of NeWater is quite the same and after much feedback, the current batch is pH treated to be slightly above neutral to counter the corrosive effect.

Flushing with distilled water will generally pull out quite a bit of shits and sludge from your systems largely due to its purity and acidic nature. But I would not recommend its use and definitely not to be kept circulating in your cooling system.

Coolant are nothing but Glycol added liquid and likewise, will create an acidic nature. The BMW coolant are probably treated with an inhibitor to make is non-corrosive. Other coolant can be used if they are treated likewise, else expect corrosion. Alternatively, treat it with a dab of Nitrite if you can get a hold of it.

Hope this information is useful.
 
Re: Distilled water?

hi jaws,

thanx for the headsup!..definitely good info that will benefit all!...does that mean that even the drinking water that contains "0%" of major elements are also a no-no?..

hmm...then whats does EVERYONE use for their radiator? for that matter even the workshops??..ok..blame my lack of faith in the workshops here...but i somewhat suspect that not everyone's ordering radiator-specific pure water to put in their customers cars... most seem not to give a shit what goes in, cos u cant see it anyway!!!..:)..

hahh

..that said, if u do know a source for radaiator-specific pure water, think that would be great too..:)..

thanx a lot mate!

cheers!

michael

jawzsg said:
Hullo, pardon my kapoh but I work in a company doing water treatment for cooling systems. Distilled water = quite pure water and by nature, it is both slightly acidic and corrosive. The first batch of NeWater is quite the same and after much feedback, the current batch is pH treated to be slightly above neutral to counter the corrosive effect.

Flushing with distilled water will generally pull out quite a bit of shits and sludge from your systems largely due to its purity and acidic nature. But I would not recommend its use and definitely not to be kept circulating in your cooling system.

Coolant are nothing but Glycol added liquid and likewise, will create an acidic nature. The BMW coolant are probably treated with an inhibitor to make is non-corrosive. Other coolant can be used if they are treated likewise, else expect corrosion. Alternatively, treat it with a dab of Nitrite if you can get a hold of it.

Hope this information is useful.
 
Re: Distilled water?

Gwumpkus, I just top mine with BMW coolant till almost full and top up with tap water to make up the remaining volume. Our tap water from P.U.B. is pretty good in that they are actually mineral added to make it's property stable. Else, all P.U.B. pipes that are metal will need very frequent replacement. The only problem I see is that it is also treated with "Chlorine" (for sanitizing purpose) and you will have to expect approx. 10 - 28 ppm of chloride residue. A small dab of inhibitor such as nitrite or phosphonate will take care of its corrosive effect.

My radiator was changed closed to 2 years now and hardly do I need any top up which tells me there is probably no leak. I don't know if BMW have flushing liquid but I will be using an alkaline cleaner if I were to flush. Oh, my company had those and I only need a small sample... lucky me.

Jawzsg
 

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