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  #1  
Old 09-05-2013, 12:23 PM
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Water collected in a dehumidifier?

Is the water that accumulates inside a basement dehumidifier considered 'distilled' water?

I throw out about a gallon and half every night. I thought I might save it and use it to mix my coolant in.

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  #2  
Old 09-05-2013, 12:31 PM
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I know a bunch of people in some other countries use that and A/C condensate for coolant mixing purpose.
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  #3  
Old 09-05-2013, 12:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by benhogan View Post
Is the water that accumulates inside a basement dehumidifier considered 'distilled' water?

I throw out about a gallon and half every night. I thought I might save it and use it to mix my coolant in.
Distilled would be condensed from steam in one those cooling tubes like a still leaving contamination behind.

Dehumidifier would have in home air contamination like mold, mildew and so on I'd think.
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  #4  
Old 09-05-2013, 01:22 PM
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Dudesky is correct.

The water collected in a dehumidifier is not potable and is full of all kinds of crap.

Distilled water is unadulterated water. No minerals or other reactants.

If you want to use the water collected in a dehumidifier, it is fine for plants or if you wanted to add car shampoo it's okay for washing your car. But don't drink it unless you thoroughly treat it, and don't give it to pets, either.
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Old 09-05-2013, 01:40 PM
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Like calling beer farts distilled alcohol.
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  #6  
Old 09-05-2013, 01:49 PM
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I recently became very tired of dumping the bucket from our dehumidifier. Luckily, it's a unit that you can add a hose for draining in a sink. I hung a shelf from the beams above the sink, added the hose and a few brackets to hold it in place, and I no longer have to dump the danged thing. It was driving us insane, having to dump it up to 4 times a day, depending on the weather.
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Old 09-05-2013, 02:27 PM
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I think the water itself would be fine for the use intended ( coolant water) but probably needs to be filtered due to all the dirt collected on the coils and washed in.
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Old 09-05-2013, 04:19 PM
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A refrigerant-based dehumidifier works on exactly the same thermodynamic and chemical principals used in a still. The condensate extracted by the dehumidifier is composed of all the substances in the air whose condensation temperature at atmospheric pressure exceeds the surface temperature of the dehumidifier's cold side. Perhaps a chemist could correct me on this, but I'm guessing that the condensate will be almost 100% H2O, mixed in with all the crap that collects and grows on the moisture-laden cooling coil and in the condensate pan. I'm guessing that a dehumidifier is a good place to grow legionnaire's disease and similar fun things. I would not put it in the cooling system on my car.

Last edited by Honus; 09-05-2013 at 04:37 PM.
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Old 09-05-2013, 05:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rs899 View Post
I think the water itself would be fine for the use intended ( coolant water) but probably needs to be filtered due to all the dirt collected on the coils and washed in.
Well, except that a filter isn't going to get out the bacteria, minerals and other junk.

Now if you were to boil it and collect the condensate from a clean medium...


well, then you'd have distilled water.
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Old 09-05-2013, 05:38 PM
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What minerals? This isn't tap water. You're condensing it off the copper or aluminium surface of the dehumidifier's or a/c's evap coil. Basically, same surface as the inside of a car's radiator.

And I'm sure that running the water up to 200+F in a car cooling system plus the presence of a chemical soup of antifreeze will kill most germs that might be living in there. It will be fine -- you're not drinking the stuff.
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Old 09-05-2013, 07:14 PM
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I'd think it would be fine but might have dust in it.

I'd rather use it to iron clothes and water plants.

-J
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Old 09-05-2013, 09:24 PM
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I'm pretty sure it would be better than the tap water I have always used in my cars. I may have put distilled water in my old Ferrari though.
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  #13  
Old 09-05-2013, 10:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Honus View Post
A refrigerant-based dehumidifier works on exactly the same thermodynamic and chemical principals used in a still. The condensate extracted by the dehumidifier is composed of all the substances in the air whose condensation temperature at atmospheric pressure exceeds the surface temperature of the dehumidifier's cold side. Perhaps a chemist could correct me on this, but I'm guessing that the condensate will be almost 100% H2O, mixed in with all the crap that collects and grows on the moisture-laden cooling coil and in the condensate pan. I'm guessing that a dehumidifier is a good place to grow legionnaire's disease and similar fun things. I would not put it in the cooling system on my car.
Drink it, its better than viagara.
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  #14  
Old 09-05-2013, 10:36 PM
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Originally Posted by spdrun View Post
What minerals? This isn't tap water. You're condensing it off the copper or aluminium surface of the dehumidifier's or a/c's evap coil. Basically, same surface as the inside of a car's radiator.

And I'm sure that running the water up to 200+F in a car cooling system plus the presence of a chemical soup of antifreeze will kill most germs that might be living in there. It will be fine -- you're not drinking the stuff.

You overlook Flatuence and the possibility of poop particle ingestion.
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  #15  
Old 09-12-2013, 11:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jplinville View Post
I recently became very tired of dumping the bucket from our dehumidifier. Luckily, it's a unit that you can add a hose for draining in a sink. I hung a shelf from the beams above the sink, added the hose and a few brackets to hold it in place, and I no longer have to dump the danged thing. It was driving us insane, having to dump it up to 4 times a day, depending on the weather.
I did that with ours- built a box for the unit and screwed it to the beams.
The vibration of the unit on the beams drove me nuts so I screwed hooks to the beams, hooks to the box, and used some old 300CD rubber exhaust hangers. to connect the hooks.

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