Phil Barnes says:
> What you read about distilled water is correct. But wait. By the addition
> of anti-freeze, which contains various anti-corrosion materials, you are
> OK.
I'd thought of this. But the book I'm referring to (_How to Maintain &
Enjoy Your Collector Car__ by Josh Malks; Motorbooks 1995) was referring to
Mercedes Benz research that *assumed* the distilled water was in a 50/50
mixture of antifreeze. So although your remark makes logical sense---and is
appreciated---it may not prevent the problem with the distilled water.
Assuming I want to be safe, it would seem that just draining and re-filling
the radiator would be satisfactory. I'm guessing that the block doesn't
need to be flushed again, since the water will cycle and mix together in the
system. What the radiator shops use (here in the Seattle area) is ordinary
tap water. It's good stuff. Tastes almost like bottled water! Anyway, if
I end up with a mixture of good tap water, distilled water, and 50%
antifreeze, seems to me that the distilled water can't "act alone". . . !
Or is something happening on a molecular level that would require a complete
new flush?! Gads! How do I always end up with these weird questions?!
--Phil Haldeman
haldeman@accessone.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Philip E. Barnes <peb3@cornell.edu>
To: Philip Haldeman <haldeman@accessone.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2000 11:18 AM
Subject: Re: Distilled Water is BAD??
> What you read about distilled water is correct. But wait. By the addition
> of anti-freeze, which contains various anti-corrosion materials, you are
> OK.
>
> Distilled, de-mineralized and de-ionized water are chemical reactions out
> of equilibrium and look for things to dissolve. If you were to use
straight
> pure water in the cooling system, you'd be asking for trouble from
> corrosion. The same goes for using straight tap water, which quite
> frequently has various light minerals (calcium and magnesium mostly)
> dissolved in it. These would plate out with the addition of heat and plug
> small water passages.
>
> Don't panic. You're OK.
>
> Phil Barnes (peb3@cornell.edu)
> Cortland, NY (nowhere near New York City)
> '71 TR6 CC61193L (23 year owner)
>
> War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left.
>
>
>
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