StillSmart

I was in the local 99p shop today and i see they have 5ltr platic containers of deionised water,i was wondering if this will be ok to use for cutting back spirit as this would save the time stilling it myself and at that price it would be worth stocking up on a few while they have them,anyone got any idea ?

optic

Hi Optic

Not sure about using for cutting your spirit as De-ionised is not the same as distilled it will still contain impurities. It\'s normally used for topping up Lead Acid bateries as a cheaper solution than distilled water.
Opus

Hi I just run water through the carbon filter after the spirit as gone through.

No it's not!
Deionised water is pure - that's why it's used in batteries. Distilled water is used because it's cheap, DI resin is expensive.

Distillation leaves far more TDS (total dissolved solids) which is a collective number of contaminents in water.

The best would be to buy your own DI resin pod or RO machine, simply so you have control over the final product.

I use RO-DI which makes water as pure as it can be. The DI soaks up what gets past the RO membrane.

Not convinced on the DI purity as I found it still contains some nitrates in the past.

Like Umpa I use RO Water. In the long term it\'s a worthwhile investment as I use in the kitchen as well as my aquariums. With the DI Kegs of resin that one of my workshops used they were labeled not for drinking.
Opus

Hi Opus 27

The label on the container makes no mention as to being ok for drinking i was presuming that it would be ok?,its just that making your own distilled water is a bit long winded.
optic

I\'ve been giving this water thing some thought and I suppose at the end of the day it\'s like all elements of this hobby, it\'s trial and error to find what suits you as long as it isn\'t injurious to your health. Personaly I have no scientific credentials to authenticate the purity of any given type of water and my comments/opinions are from my experiences. As for the DI water used in one of my workshops as it was supplied for industrial use the suppliers were probably covering their arse. However I had a de-ionising system installed on my domestic water supply to try to reduce nitrate levels for aquatic use. Mains water was coming in at 25ppm nitrate after installing a de-ionising filter it stil came out at 20ppm nitate. Nitrate was the only desolved solid I was checking for so I can\'t comment on other components. As a result I did a fair amount of research on alternatives. The two that came out on top for purity were \"Distillation\" and \"Reverse Osmosis\". Distilation in any reasonable quantity in a domestic location was impractical if not impossible so I invested in a good RO system. I have continuos in-line monitoring which tells me my mains at this present time is coming in at 280ppm TDS. and output is fluctuating betwen 1 and 2 ppm TDS. Another point worth mentioning is that mine is a 4 stage system and the final stage is in fact a deioniser so my logic says if de-ionising was an eficient purification why have I got the previous 3 stages.

Anyway I hope I\'m not rambling to far off subject and that you find something of use in these comments but as I said they are just my opinion.
Regards Opus

The thing about DI is that once it becomes saturated it stops working you should think of it as a sponge, It can become saturated with NO3 and still filter out other compounds and eliments, thats why its installed AFTER a RO unit (to maximise its life). Its simply there to 'polish' the water. It would soon become saturated if it were placed before the RO and thus become useless very soon. This is the reason distilation and RO 'came out on top' as you say.
Oh the other 2 are to protect the RO membrane !

Nice to see a little clarity (pardon the pun) about this.
I\'m still mulling over whether to get a small scale RO filter kit. Just enough to produce my wash, wines, meads and to let down distillate to 40% for flavouring......

I\'d say go for it, you need to plumb it in. Mine was a 50 Gallon a day unit which I upgraded to a 100 gallon unit by changing the rejection valve and fitting a different membrane. I only use it for diluting the raw spitit, my mash and washes are done with normal tap water now. The time to fill 25l even with a 100GPD unit takes to long.
Now I know some will be thinking 100 gallons a day is a huge amount, but its US gallons and over a 24hr period - you only get a dribble.

I\'ll echo what Umpa say\'s. I also use mine in the kettle and coffee machine. Kettles probably 3 years old and still shinny bright inside i.e no scale.
Opus