Distilled Water

[Skoff]

I have been recommended to try putting 10% distilled water in my Private Reserve Ebony Blue to make it flow a bit better in my Homo Sapiens. I'm willing to give it a go, but where do I get it from? Other than paying a fortune for it to be delivered, are there any likely sources in the UK?

 

I can get hold of de-ionised water easily as I use it for my car coolant top-ups, but that's not quite the same thing as distilled.

 

Thanks!

[smk]

One source is the frost in the freezer - it is water that has condensed from the atmosphere and is therefore distilled. You'll need to make sure whatever you scrape it with and the container are clean and you have an almost free source of distilled water.

 

S.

[The Good Captain]

I got a large bottle - 2.5 litres I think - from one of our local chemists in town. I'm sure it's distilled but I'll have to check the label later. It was only a couple of quid so hardly a financial problem!

[Skoff]

One source is the frost in the freezer - it is water that has condensed from the atmosphere and is therefore distilled. You'll need to make sure whatever you scrape it with and the container are clean and you have an almost free source of distilled water.

 

S.

Ingenious! Though I think our freezer is one of those frost-free ones, can't say I have ever noticed frost in there, but I will look.

 

 

I got a large bottle - 2.5 litres I think - from one of our local chemists in town. I'm sure it's distilled but I'll have to check the label later. It was only a couple of quid so hardly a financial problem!

 

Thanks for the advice I will give a a local chemist a go... I know Boots only do it to order...

[Sasha Royale]

Distilled water is recondensed water vapor. It is pure water, prefered

for use in (clothing) steam irons because it leaves no mineral deposits

in the iron. (nor in you Visconti)

 

It should be available at most larger stores.

 

Note: DISTILLED WATER is not the same as "purified water", or "spring water",

or "filtered water".

[MaikeruS]

Deionised water should act much the same as distilled water for the purposes of dilution. From what I can gather, the problem with using water would be mineral ions in hard (or harder) tap water possibly leaving residues or reacting. Deionised water should be suitable for diluting inks.

[dickydotcom]

If you have or know anyone with a dehumidifier, that pumps out a few litres a day.

Somewhere like Halfords with sell battery top up water. (or are they all sealed nowadays?)

Dick D

[Mags]

I pick up distilled water at the local pharmacy.....where they sell baby formulas they sell distilled water that should work.

[Skoff]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Interesting to read about de-ionised water being ok - I thought it was to do with total dissolved solids which de-ionisation doesn't remove, but I stand to be corrected.

 

I will give Halfords a go, but I suspect all they do is the de-ionised stuff (of which I have literally gallons of in the garage)

 

Local independent pharmacy is also a possibility - I went to Boots at lunch and they looked at me blankly when I asked - and when I explained why I needed it, they looked behind me to see where my carer was. So they are a dead loss.

 

I'm just being lazy really, as I'm sure I could rig something up with a kettle and some of my home-brew beer equipment.

[OakIris]

I hadn't thought that distilled water would be difficult to find, but I did a google search and it seems many folks in the UK and various forums, etc., have been looking for a source of distilled water as well. Is it considered a controlled substance for some reason in the UK? Here in the USA you can get it at almost any grocery store.....

 

If you are unable to find it at a local chemist - probably the easiest - and most expensive - way would be to order it on line and have it delivered - as you stated in your first post the delivery costs are what make it so expensive. Or, as you said, rig up your own still - here you go: How to make a still

 

Here is an article might interest you, since you were considering using deionized water: Deionized Vs. Distilled Water

 

Good luck with your hunt, Skoff. You know, in the end, it might just be easier to find and buy a different ink that you like as well as the PR Ebony Blue that will flow nicely in your pen without needing the use of hard-to-find additives...

 

Holly

Edited July 4, 2012 by OakIris

[Chrissy]

I think de-ionised water is fine.

[Skoff]

Thanks some sound advice there, and some helpful links.

[Roger W.]

Distilled water is quite common here in the states as so many of us have CPAP masks for sleep apnea and the machine uses distilled water. No sleep apnea in the UK? Only costs $1 a gallon.

 

Roger W.

[The Good Captain]

I've just checked the label and it is called 'Purified Water' costing the princely sum of £1.69 GBP for 2 litres. It seems to do the trick for me and my inks/pens.

[wallylynn]

how much do you need? Just boil some water and collect the steam from the pot lid. A cold can of soda pop should also condense quite a bit from the air, if you have a frost free freezer and cant use the earlier method.

 

Also, dilute small batches in a separate container. diluting the full bottle is irreversible.

[Ghost Plane]

Salman bagged the easiest method, so I'll go for my alternate. You won't have many of these in the UK, but down here in the tropics, I set a bottle underneath the runoff from my air conditioner

 

Boil water, hold cold object NOT likely to shatter over the top in the steam and catch the condensation. It's the principle behind stills and production of alcohol for those of us who descended from moonshiners. :embarrassed_smile:

[professionaldilettante]

Salman bagged the easiest method, so I'll go for my alternate. You won't have many of these in the UK, but down here in the tropics, I set a bottle underneath the runoff from my air conditioner

 

Boil water, hold cold object NOT likely to shatter over the top in the steam and catch the condensation. It's the principle behind stills and production of alcohol for those of us who descended from moonshiners. :embarrassed_smile:

So much work... I can get a bottle of distilled for a hair over a dollar. at my grocer.. I used gallons and gallons when I was growing my carnivorous plants.

[bwnewton]

We buy about 3 gallons of distilled water per week because that's what we run through our auto-drip coffee maker. We buy it in gallon jugs at the grocery store or at Walmart in the water section. It's clearly marked "Distilled Water." It's less than $1 per gallon. I use it for the final flushes of my pens.

 

Oh, we also use it in our iron to keep from getting deposit build-up.

[lapis]

For our needs as FP nuts, distilled water = deionized water = filtered water.

By "filtered" I mean the use of a pitcher containing a filter cartidge like that from the company 'Brita' purchasable anywhere. I use it everyday for green tea and see no problems with inks, either.

 

Mike

[aschup]

Shouldn't any decent-sized Sainsbury's have it?