[Amps] Water Types

[Robert B. Bonner]

Guys...

OK I have a little experience here and time to pipe up.

This exact post went to the other reflector last week (almost same topic
came up we were discussing Water cooled Dummy loads instead of tubes I'm not
going to edit it but just copy it)

I've just seen several terms used and I want to set the definitions straight
right away.  There's several ways to "clean" water and they are not the
same.  The end result of the process will give you slightly different
results and a considerably different product. They are not the same though
the terms are similar.

I will list them in order of cleanliness from worst to highest.

Plus there are two different ANTI-FREEZES generally in use.  Propylene
Glycol and Ethylene Glycol.  I will briefly cover those in the end.

First is: D.O. water is Direct Osmosis water.  A funky term used as sales
garp for a carbon block filter.  Let's confuse the straights and sell them
something that sounds better than R.O.  R.O. systems include a couple D.O.
layers.  D.O. takes a bunch of crap out of your water.  Brita filters and
the camping jobs, work great and can take almost MUDDY skanky water and make
it sort of safe to drink.

Second is: R.O. water or Reverse Osmosis.  It's a cleansing method for
filtering all sorts of contaminants from water.  What my Culligan drinking
water system is.  The local bottling plant uses a huge R.O. system, what a
city water system WISHES they were.  

A system that could flow from any pipe and provide 11GPM would cost $100,000
estimate.  However a contained system would best utilize a bunch of R.O.
water.  It has virtually NO particulate content, no additional chemicals.
Great stuff to drink.  Usually needs to be a 3 part total cleansing process
to protect an R.O. filter from blockage.  Course grain filter, Carbon block
filter and then the R.O. filter.

The next item we discussed is distilled water.  Distilled water is a very
difficult process.  The water is distilled via boiling exactly at 100
Degrees C.  The vapor is then condensated in another clean vessel giving you
pure water.  Since contaminants (other chemicals) will boil at different
temperatures than 100 Degrees C they are separated off, sediments will not
vaporize. Depending on how good the separators are will give you great
water.  There's no problem with drinking any of these types of water.  It
would be great in a closed system to use distilled water (much more
expensive than R.O.)

BTW, they cautioned against using D.I. water: DeIonized water is water
purified by using an ION stripping procedure.  Electrically it pulls
everything out of the water leaving nothing but PURE WATER.  Well except for
H30 and OH.  Yikes Some of you have heard of H3O right?  German Heavy water
experiments (its radio active) and OH is Light water. Water in its pure form
is H2O.

It has been commented here that what cut the grand canyon?  Water?  Well
I'll tell you.  D.I. water is the most Corrosive in a solvent sense of any
of the waters.  It grabs everything and eats it away under flow.  Its almost
something to be afraid of.  It is best moved through glass.  DI water is
used in laboratories where NO particulates or contaminants can be in it.

Its great coolant but the metals and the internal resistor stuff would EAT
AWAY.  Clean rust poof gone.  I used to own an automation company and we
used to sell and apply large control valves rated for D.I. water use.  That
was back in the late 80's so I can't remember every detail of D.I. stuff.

Basically Water is the most corrosive stuff known to man.  Its flow eats
away at everything.  The more PURE THE WATER the more corrosive it is.  Now
I'm not saying CORRODING but corrosive or eroding as in removing rock from
things and insides of pipes.  The dirtier the water the more benign it
becomes as far as its characteristics.

Ethylene Glycol:  PRESTONE.  Its manufactured from Alcohol first created
back in the late 1800's.  Car antifreeze.  Gummy stuff.  You don't want to
boil it makes a mess.  Would wreck electronics.  Wrecks car engines too but
who cares.  Also sweet tasting that's why pets drink it like crazy and die.
Poisonous in (too) large a quantities.

Propylene Glycol: Made from Propylene Oxide. It is food grade antifreeze.
Used in electronics P.G. /Water cooling Systems.  It tastes VERY SWEET, used
as sweetener in a lot of medicines.  The airline industry uses it on our
airplanes as winter deicing fluid.  Its in Sex Lubes, its in those sprays
you spray on your throat for sore throats.  It's used everywhere.  You'll
get sick if you drink a bunch of it but it won't kill you.  Drink enough and
you'd crap yourself to death maybe.  Doesn't eat paint, is a bit
environmentally friendly...  is the stuff you Antifreeze your RV with.  Its
very clear in its natural form, they add coloring to it in stores to make it
more salable. I used to let it drip off the wing and hit my tongue while
preflighting.  Like popping pure sugar in your mouth. Messes your hair some.

Mineral oil: Transformer oil, baby oil..  Distilled from petroleum
production.  Great as a lube for all sorts of stuff.  Great to drink keeps
bowels cranken.  Used in my dummy load won't freeze.

Only a friend of mine would be building a 50 KW water cooled dummy load...

Have at it. 

Robert B. Bonner Ph.D.