[frame69]

If Im wrong correct me,its the only way I'll learn

I was thinking of water for batteries etc..and maybe water lamps.Thanks for the information,these bits of knowledge and others will be usefull on here.
cheers Frame.
PS I like your alternative to 'correct me'
regards

 

[John Webb]

Steam directed at a cold clean surface will condense back into water. So I floated a nice new kitchen roasting tray on cold water in my kitchen sink and directed steam from the boiler of a wall paper stripper into the tray. Result: about 1 litre of distilled water after an hour or so.

Regards,
John Webb

 

[LTSR]

De-frost your freezer and collect the water that'll be as pure as you can easily get. If you need a lot volunteer to do your neighbours!

For a regular supply get a small freezer and drill some holes top and bottom through the door to promote air circulation, if you were to remove the door entirely you would loose too much of the insulation.

Incidentally if water vapour is a problem when spray-painting then a coil of tubing placed inside the freezer will condense a large part of the water out. The intake would naturally need to be outside and the delivery end fed to the compressor; you would also need to provide a water trap before the compressor.

 

[imp]

QUOTE (John Webb @ 2 Dec 2009, 16:05) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Steam directed at a cold clean surface will condense back into water. So I floated a nice new kitchen roasting tray on cold water in my kitchen sink and directed steam from the boiler of a wall paper stripper into the tray. Result: about 1 litre of distilled water after an hour or so.

Regards,
John Webb

A most pertinent idea! Will it be necessary to obtain the proper credentials to continue preparing pure water this way? Is your abode likely to be visited by the "still" authorities? (facetiousness intended).

imp

 

[imp]

QUOTE (LTSR @ 2 Dec 2009, 18:12) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>De-frost your freezer and collect the water that'll be as pure as you can easily get. If you need a lot volunteer to do your neighbours!

For a regular supply get a small freezer and drill some holes top and bottom through the door to promote air circulation, if you were to remove the door entirely you would loose too much of the insulation.

Incidentally if water vapour is a problem when spray-painting then a coil of tubing placed inside the freezer will condense a large part of the water out. The intake would naturally need to be outside and the delivery end fed to the compressor; you would also need to provide a water trap before the compressor.

"Easily" is the key word, maybe. But a good idea, also! I suspect the ice formed within freezers consists of water formerly contained in the air surrounding the box, which enters when the door is opened, remains trapped, and it's water vapor "plates out" as ice within the cabinet. As such, it will contain minute amounts of foreign matter, I believe primarily dust particles, which are found clinging to vapor droplets in the air.

Or, I might just not know what I'm talking about! Recall reading though, that each raindrop contains dust.

imp

 

[DIW]

QUOTE (LTSR @ 3 Dec 2009, 00:12) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>De-frost your freezer and collect the water that'll be as pure as you can easily get. If you need a lot volunteer to do your neighbours!

For a regular supply get a small freezer and drill some holes top and bottom through the door to promote air circulation, if you were to remove the door entirely you would loose too much of the insulation.

Incidentally if water vapour is a problem when spray-painting then a coil of tubing placed inside the freezer will condense a large part of the water out. The intake would naturally need to be outside and the delivery end fed to the compressor; you would also need to provide a water trap before the compressor.

A dehumidifier operates in much the same way - water in the atmosphere condenses on a cooled plate, and runs off into the collection tray.

I am astounded that my dehumidifier manages to squeeze out around 2 litres of water every day - even on the day it wasn't raining.

The water collected by the dehumidifier is certainly nearer to being the distilled water required by the OP than is de-ionised water.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[dwb]

QUOTE I am astounded that my dehumidifier manages to squeeze out around 2 litres of water every day - even on the day it wasn't raining.

The water collected by the dehumidifier is certainly nearer to being the distilled water required by the OP than is de-ionised water.

What about water recovered from a condensing clothes dryer?

Just a thought...

David

 

[LTSR]

If you wanted 100% chemically pure water you'd need a source of pure hydrogen and oxygen, (I see a potential re-run of the Hindenburg disaster looming!).

Double distillation certainly produces water to a high degree of purity but as previously stated such stills require permission to operate and are liable to regular inspection.

Water from de-frosting or dehumidifiers is in all probability of greater purity than de-ionised water just as long as care is taken over cleanliness and to prevent the ingress of airborne contaminants.

The last source, for all practical purposes, including small boilers, may be considered pure enough.

Model engineers have been building 3½" and 5" gauge live steam locomotives for 100 years or more using clean rainwater and/or treated water with precious few nasty incidents of any sort. A 5" gauge boiler contains a lot of energy. It may be an exaggeration but was once told that a 5" gauge Britannia size boiler at pressure contained enough potential energy, if correctly directed, to put the boiler into orbit!

 

[Oz the Dog]

Hi everyone

I used to work in a biochemistry lab so had to struggle with the problem of water purity. A few points relating to some of the comments already made may be relevant.

De-ionised water by definition does not contain any metallic ions that might de deposited when boiled off. Problem is that it will contain organic matter that will be deposited.

Double (or triple) distilled water is better but needs to be collected in a chemically inert condenser and receptacle. Labs normally use glass for this purpose. Using metal receivers could allow small amounts of metal ions to dissolve in the DW. Distilled water is actually slightly acid because carbon dioxide from the air dissolves in it to form carbonic acid so again it needs to be stored in glass containers (preferably pyrex which is fairly inert). Using thawed defrost water is a reasonable idea but I think the best suggestion so far is to direct steam into a chilled receiver (the baking tray above) but replace the the tray with a clean pyrex dish. It would be best to allow some DW to accumulate to rinse the dish, throw the water away and collect some more for use. Store it in either an inert plastic container or a pyrex container - not ordinary soda glas as sodium salts will leach from the glass.

The best solution (no pun intended!) would be find someone who can get into a lab that uses reverse osmosis for water purification. This removes all ions and organic material. Problem is that an RO sysytem will cost >2K£ but the pure water costs pennies/litre.

Hope all this is of some help.

Keith

 

[John Webb]

Keith,
Thanks for the clarification. I should have said that the baking dish I used was a teflon-lined one and I did rinse it with the first 10 minutes worth of distilled water.

Regards,
John Webb

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi all,
re this thread whiich has raised loads of DODGY SOLUTIONS. Your live steam engines have very small Steam Lines (the Hornby Live Steam particularly so) so do NOT try to save a bit by using possibly dodgy water. You have spent a lot of money getting your pride and joy, do not spoil the ship for a bit of tar.

There are only 3 options that I would use, in fact LTSR's post has hit on 2 and there was another elswhere in the forum, but I would also use this one with caution. The types are as follows:

1 The water from a Fridge Cooling Mechanism (as covered by LTSR) DO NOT USE UNFROZEN ICE CUBES.
2 The water from a Dehumidifier if you have one, if not try to find someone who has. This is the method that I use, having bought one for my previous very damp house.
3 Finally well sifted rain water, I think that you could use a Water Filter for this. But buy one ONLY for this job, this method is my least preferred option.

Hope that this nails this down for you all, I have been into Live Steam since 1972 so feel that I am talking with some bredth of experience.
JonD

 

[daddyola]

Use the water that's used inside gaming computers, we get ours from here Computer Repair

 

[Graham Plowman]

I believe that the ownership of a still is illegal in the UK without a Customs and Excise (or whatever they call themselves today) Licence. I can recall that they even checked the distilled water still in my old school's chemistry lab once or twice a year.

I remember my chemistry telling us the same in the early to mid 1980's.

Would boiling a kettle and condensing the steam on a cold metal plate not do the job ?

 

[John Webb]

I remember my chemistry telling us the same in the early to mid 1980's.

Would boiling a kettle and condensing the steam on a cold metal plate not do the job ?

Main problem is keeping the plate cold as it absorbs the heat given up by the condensing steam. A better bet might be a 'Pyrex' or similar heat-resistant glass bowl filled with water (possibly iced?) and the steam condensed on the outside of the bowl. Or a large metal saucepan likewise filled with water?