Posted By Michael on 09/10/2008 5:24 AM
Sorry guys,
I still think this is all just a big myth like the Yeti or Bigfoot.
I have been using de-ionised water since I joined the live steamers community in 1991 in more than 20 locomotives with no problems at all.
Quite frankly, the logic offered to explain the difference (in behaviour) between de-ionised and steam distilled sounds like nonsense to me. We all agree the manufacturing process is different - ion exchanging vs steaming and condensing. Whatever the process, it aims at getting purified water devoid of anything else than H2O, right?
Actually, I get a spec sheet with my water that precisely lists the mineral content etc, which is virtually zero. Had the water been processed by steam destillation I would have expected the same result.
Now, the logic to explain the "dangerous" nature of de-ionised water usually goes along the following lines: it is so pure that is wants to have something back, so it "eats" ions from copper and solder. This is no surprise -water is an excellent means to dissolve matter, even rocks as can be seen in nature every day. So, but where's the difference to steam distilled water? Since it's equally pure, it's equally "ion-hungry", hence equally dangerous (or not).
The process of dissolving metals is the same whether it's been manufactured one way or the other.
The process is so slow (or might even stop) that it has no detrimental effects. It's like saying - humans are aging from the day of their birth, yet they can live for 80 years or more....
Don't get me wrong - there have been cases where boilers ot fittings failed because of evil effects like de-zincification or the like, but to all my knowledge that can be traced back to elements that are still in the water like dissolved oxygen, minerals, etc. not to the process of how to remove these elements from the water.
Sorry, just my two cents...
Michael
I take it you haven't been chased through the north woods by Bigfoot? /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/whistling.gif
I won't deny that some cases of de-zincification were caused by oxygen and minerals, but I have read of cases where the damage was "decided" (by someone) to be caused by deionized water. My Mother's steam iron fell apart and she only used dionized water in it, AS WAS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER!!!! (How about that?!) /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/pinch.gif
Yes, you may have been using dionized water since 1991 and have no problems. It is my understanding that sometimes it can take 20, 30 or more years for deionized water to cause a problem. But, IF one were to have used only distilled water the boiler may be useful for an additional 20, 30 or more years.
I bet I will be dead, and the celebration of my leaving the scene long forgotten, before my engines would be damaged even if plain ol' municipal tap water was all that was ever used in them, but when my great-great-grandchild finds one of them packed away in a trunk someplace, it would be nice if it could be fired-up and work, rather than fired-up and dribble hot water all over the place. It may make the difference between: "WOW! These things are neat and still work!" and "Oh! Well, I guess this was just some junk somebody had."
