Rain water

I am collecting rain water from my roof run off. Will this water be as good or better for radiator water mixed with coolant? I usually buy distilled water. Not a money saving idea, but a time issue. seams when I need distilled water it usually means a special trip to town, then waiting in line in front of a person with 50 coupons. Stan

Ive never used anything but tap water the liners I pulled out of my 4020 they had very little green scale not bad for 40 years of tap water and even the occasional ditch water

Rain water will be fine since it was basically distilled to make a cloud anyway (minus any air pollution!).

Our faucet water has tons of minerals and salt in it. Even one bowl full evaporated on the wood stove leaves a crust.

I would be leery of using rain water off the roof.

The water would have been pure and soft as it fell, but once it hit the roof it would pick up all kinds of contaminates.

Tap water would be a better choice than roof water. I've used it far more than distilled water and my life hasn't crashed because of it yet! LOL

Unless you filter the rain water, Id go with tap water. Rain may be pure until it washes the dirt, bird droppings, shingle sand, bugs and other stuff down to the barrel.

I never heard of using other than tap water for mixing in antifreeze till on here. Always used faucet water from the well.

I actually collect the water from my de-humidifier during winter months. I let the water drain out of the drain hose the remainder of the year.

I have used dehumidifier water in battery.
I have all AGM batteries so no need for water

(quoted from post at 23:03:28 03/03/21) I am collecting rain water from my roof run off. Will this water be as good or better for radiator water mixed with coolant? I usually buy distilled water. Not a money saving idea, but a time issue. seams when I need distilled water it usually means a special trip to town, then waiting in line in front of a person with 50 coupons. Stan

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think the greatest concern with the type of water you use in your cooling system revolves around aluminum components.

(quoted from post at 20:03:28 03/03/21) I am collecting rain water from my roof run off. Will this water be as good or better for radiator water mixed with coolant? I usually buy distilled water. Not a money saving idea, but a time issue. seams when I need distilled water it usually means a special trip to town, then waiting in line in front of a person with 50 coupons. Stan

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It goes without saying that you would remove the visible contaminants, LOL. So yes, it is distilled so why not?

(quoted from post at 10:33:55 03/04/21)

(quoted from post at 20:03:28 03/03/21) I am collecting rain water from my roof run off. Will this water be as good or better for radiator water mixed with coolant? I usually buy distilled water. Not a money saving idea, but a time issue. seams when I need distilled water it usually means a special trip to town, then waiting in line in front of a person with 50 coupons. Stan

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It goes without saying that you would remove the visible contaminants, LOL. So yes, it is distilled so why not?

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Exactly. If you live in a hard water area, the rainwater will be worlds ahead of tap water. But obviously you strain out the grit, poop and dirt!

You probably go to the grocery store once a week. Why not just keep 4/5 gallons of distilled water on a shelf and replace as used? You don't even have to worry about it freezing like a lot of us. I view it as supplies, the same as oil or antifreeze.

If you strain it through a coffee filter it will be better that tap water, but not as good as distilled. I know when it first starts raining the rain water is really dirty here in AZ.

(quoted from post at 09:28:29 03/04/21) If you strain it through a coffee filter it will be better that tap water, but not as good as distilled. I know when it first starts raining the rain water is really dirty here in AZ.

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Russ, please elaborate. What are you saying is in the rain water (which is distilled), that would not filter out through a low tech straining?

Maybe the rain water should be tested for acidity and contaminants. I have to add sulfur to my nitrogen fertilizer now because there is less sulfur in the atmosphere to be washed out by the rain and deposited on the fields.

Been using rain water caught off my roof in the concrete cistern since the house was built a century ago. Its the best water for radiators. Clean and no minerals. I use if for washing , laundry, etc. You can't beat it. The ground water here is hard as iron and loaded with minerals. I won't even try to tell you how old my water heater in the basement is because nobody would believe me. With hard water those heaters don't last long. Mine has had nothing but rain water through it since before some of you were likely born.

Yes, it's distilled, but what about all the dust it picks up on the way down, and all the bird $hit it picks up on the roof. If it's down
wind from a coal fired power plant it's somewhat acidic. For a buck a gallon for distilled water I'm not taking a chance!

Can't answer your question but distilling water and essential oils is a legal reason in most states and with the fed to own a still without a license. And of course we all know you wouldn't use that still to sneak out a few jars of shine to use for cleaning nnalert germs unless you live in Missouri where you can.

So fill in the blanks about Missouri

I had always used tap water also, but a couple years ago I started using dehumidifier water. In the summer my dehumidifier pulls out over a gallon of water a day. I fill a bunch of old anti-freeze jugs and keep a supply on hand out in the shop.
I also use it in batteries.

Here you go Rich. Been watching the moonshiners show. Giggled about stills and shine the other day I started reading stuff from a company that sells stills. Some people think you need a fed license to even have a still but not correct. You can legally have one for water and essentials oils, etc. but you can't make shine. State laws are all over the place on stills but it said MO was an exception which allowed the use of stills for shine for personal use up to 200 gallons. Take a tough person to go through 200 gallons of shine a year.

"Not only is it legal to own a still in the state of Missouri, it is legal to produce up to 200 gallons per year per household of moonshine for personal use and not for sale. This also means basic usage of a still for distilling water, vinegar, essential oils is also legal."

Title XX Alcoholic Beverages

Chapter 311 Liquor Control Law

311.020. The term intoxicating liquor as used in this chapter shall mean and include alcohol for beverage purposes, alcoholic, spirituous, vinous, fermented, malt, or other liquors, or combination of liquors, a part of which is spirituous, vinous, or fermented, and all preparations or mixtures for beverage purposes, containing in excess of one-half of one percent by volume. All beverages having an alcoholic content of less than one-half of one percent by volume shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter, but subject to inspection as provided by sections 196.365 to 196.445*.

311.055. 1. No person at least twenty-one years of age shall be required to obtain a license to manufacture intoxicating liquor, as defined in section 311.020, for personal or family use. The aggregate amount of intoxicating liquor manufactured per household shall not exceed two hundred gallons per calendar year if there are two or more persons over the age of twenty-one years in such household, or one hundred gallons per calendar year if there is only one person over the age of twenty-one years in such household. Any intoxicating liquor manufactured under this section may not be offered for sale.

Guess I should add that it would still be a federal issue but they haven't pushed it just like the states that have legalized marijuana which still violates the federal schedule but they aren't going after them either. Don't know how many revenooers you have running around the Ozarks.