Is dehimidifier water suitable for batteries, irons etc?

[NealB]

I bought a dehumidifier yesterday.

Seems to work well - we left just one window open last night, and woke to find all the boats in the marina were aground.

To be serious, though, can the collected water be used to top up the battteries?

Thanks.

 

[VicS]

The text book answer is no.
Give it to SWMBO for her iron and buy a bottled of distilled/demineralised/deionised water for the battery.

Dont blame me though if it causes any problems with the ironing. I expect the instructions for the iron will say not to use it.

 

[NealB]

The text book answer is no.
Give it to SWMBO for her iron and buy a bottled of distilled/demineralised/deionised water for the battery.

Dont blame me though if it causes any problems with the ironing. I expect the instructions for the iron will say not to use it.

Thanks, Vic.......that's SWMBO's Christmas present sorted then.

 

[Heckler]

I bought a dehumidifier yesterday.

Seems to work well - we left just one window open last night, and woke to find all the boats in the marina were aground.

To be serious, though, can the collected water be used to top up the battteries?

Thanks.

Yes
In practical terms, basically it is distilled water. Theorists would say it contains CO2 ya di da di da etc but in practical terms its fine. Ive used tap water for years in Pwllheli, no probs, although the water is very soft there.
Stu

 

[neale]

My take on it:

Batteries need pure water, Irons need soft water.

I would say it will be fine for the iron, much better than tap water if you live in a hard water area, but probably not great for the battery.

 

[sarabande]

I'd be concerned about micro-organisms and particulates being trapped on the condenser coils, and then washed into the reservoir. Especially if you have a strong fan , or lots of air movement in the room or cabin.

Probably OK for a steam iron, but risky for the batts.

 

[Ruffles]

I'd be concerned about micro-organisms and particulates being trapped on the condenser coils, and then washed into the reservoir. Especially if you have a strong fan , or lots of air movement in the room or cabin.

Probably OK for a steam iron, but risky for the batts.

You do get specks of dust and the odd dead fly. I guess you could break out the tea strainer.

PS: I ran the dehumidifier in the car overnight last week. It's made a huge difference to the condensation on the windscreen in the mornings.

 

[Blue5]

PS: I ran the dehumidifier in the car overnight last week. It's made a huge difference to the condensation on the windscreen in the mornings.

You need to get a hobby...........................

 

[Heckler]

I'd be concerned about micro-organisms and particulates being trapped on the condenser coils, and then washed into the reservoir. Especially if you have a strong fan , or lots of air movement in the room or cabin.

Probably OK for a steam iron, but risky for the batts.

The battery warms up, it puffs out amounts of air and gas, it cools down, air and bits go back in.
Pedantry rules OK on the forum!
Stu

 

[Ruffles]

You need to get a hobby...........................

Well my hobby used to be scraping the ice off the inside as well as the outside of the windows at 6am. Now only the outside

 

[tobble]

given a litre of distiled water is pence, why risk it? If you're running a dehummer then I assume you're on mains so it's not like you're in the middle of the pacific.

 

[Trundlebug]

I've used recovered water from our condensing tumble drier in the boat batteries, and steam iron, for years. And that's only because my dehumidifier is broken..

As it is distilled water, as you correctly state, which is what used to be sold commercially until they discovered a cheap way of demineralising it, it's FINE for both batteries, steam irons and anything similar.

As long as it's clear with no bits in, which it always is, there really isn't a problem, and the same goes for water out of the dehumidifier. If in doubt, filter it using a coffee filter or similar to be sure.

Not sure about the dessicant types as I've never had one, and that may be a different case. The only time the water from my dehumidifier ever had bits in was when I'd had it in the garage and had been welding at the time, but then that's to be expected!

Feel free to waste money buying "special" water if you want to, but really, there are many more, and better things to spend it on when you own a boat!

By the way, I'm interested to know what kind of bugs can live in sulphuric acid!

 

[Thistle]

The strict answer may be "No" as VicS suggests but it's unlikely to have any significant effect on batteries or irons over the expected life of the product. I'd go ahead and use it.

 

[sarabande]

I'm going to collect the outflow from a domestic dehumidifier and run some conductivity and particulate content tests on it. Give me a month, and a decent grant

No, I'll do it pro bono

 

[KellysEye]

We've used water maker water (see note), dehumidier water, AC water and rain water in batteries with no ill effects. As somebody said if you think there is dirt in it run it through a coffee filter. Note: water maker water does have a tiny amount of salt in it so as an emergency top up it's fine but I wouldn't use it all the time.