Using Central Airconditioner water for Batteries

[RCpilot]

Just wondering if anyone uses the water that drips from your central air conditioning unit to replace buying distilled water for batteries. In my thinking, it has been condensed from the air and should be fairly impurity free. Other than running it through a coffee filter to remove any particles, any comments on using it? In our summers in central Missouri, I can fill a 5 gallon bucket in a day or two. Seems like a waste not to use it for something...

Thanks, Kelly

[offgirdonhydro]

I would think that it would be full of dust.  A gallon of distilled water is only a buck or two.  Depending on your system usage and your trips to town I would keep a few gallons.

I think I have 10 gallons right now.  

[TomW]

OGH;

Yeah, last batch I bought from Wally World was a whopping 49 cents a gallon and I keep a few onhand too.

Then, again, there is that whole using what you have thing.

I hate the idea of ruining a grand plus worth of batteries to save a couple bucks over a year. I run a dozen T-105's and the most I used to refill in one pass was a bit over a gallon. Two bucks or something  a year for the bank topping off quarterly.

Having said that, I suspect filtered AC water is probably fine.

Cheers.

TomW

[thefinis]

If you are in an area or time where you are making lots of water and it has flushed the system real well maybe but you still run the risk of contamination from dirt metals or grease from the unit or from the house air. If you want water for batteries and don't want to buy it then collect rain water. Always try and let the rain wash off any dirt first then collect and settle or filter.

Finis

[Bruce S]

Kelly;

   Saw that you're in Central MO. I'm up in St. Louis:-? Nothing to Lose is in South MO.

The answer is yes you can. I got curious about using the water that get pumped out of the AC unit. I gathered up 1/2 Liter ( re-use of water bottle ). And put that water through the normal tests I do for my small hydroponics system, i.e. Ph, minerals, and all that.

The tests I did showed that the water pumped out based on the little holder my system has is Ph neutral and not enough minerals to even leave a stain on the SS pot I use to do a boil test.

I also have a small mirror lit microscope to look for little nasties. Nothing found that is bad for humans or animals.

I even had my father-in-law tkae a look and he said it's okay.

Not good water for hydroponics, not enough minerals to help the plants, but okay enough to use to water the dog. I merley ran a small copper tubing to her bowl and bent it up so the water would flow down but not be a puddle for misquitoes to use.

It also works for keeping the Roses watered too, I just don't keep a bucket around for it. The roses seem to like the cold water.

I tried using clear plastic tubing but the sun made it turn green :-(

Hope this helps

Bruce S

 

[RP]

Wow, I just realised I'm in the same town!  Boy, small world!

[ghurd]

Distilled water is 80 cents a gallon here.  We try to use it.  Well water goes in at times.

Still no idea why someone wants to live in there on purpose.

G-

[Bruce S]

RP,

   Where are you located? Here in the land of swimable air?

Bruce S

[Bruce S]

G-

If you can live here you can go anywhere and be confortable :-)

Bruce S

[RP]

Rolla MO, down 44 from St. Louis.  Probabaly about an hour and a half from you.

[Bruce S]

RP;

   Cool , got a nephew going to college there. He's in to learn outboard repair. He's been working on jetski motors on his own since sophmore in HS down on the lake and Mercury gave him a scholarship to go.

Y'all have getting way more rain than STL.

I had a professor from there teaching me about hydrogen until he went public :-( . He's the one that has the car that has hyrdogen power all over the sides. Uses metal oxides to load up the H2 and uses them as fuel.

Will have to plan a Midwest get together soon. I'm sure Nothin To Lose would come up from the boot heal too.

Thoughts?

Bruce S

[RCpilot]

Same Town, cool. Do you run any Solar? I am building a Solar system, just mounted my Satellite mount last night to mount 4 Homemade 100 watt Solar Panels. BZ Charge Control, Xantrex Prosine 2.0 inverter and a 750AH forklift battery.

[RCpilot]

Wow, sounds like you really did some serious testing. I wasn't interested in saving money and realize Distilled water is cheap, the main reason of my post and I should have said so was I was simply interested in doing something with the water since it seemed pretty clean. I get up to St. Louis once in a while, glad to know others are in my area trying to make a greener earth by using the Sun's energy. Thanks for the post, Actually right now I have a 5 gallon bucket under it and I water my dog with it too. He  really loves it and it's nice and cool for him.

Thanks, Kelly

[RP]

I think school is starting up this week here (all mine are done so I just notice the increase in foot traffic near the campus).

UMR does have a project going on involving hydrogen vehicles:

http://therolladailynews.com/articles/2007/08/22/education/edu01.txt

I think a get-together would be great.  Unfortunately I don't really have much to look at right now...  In the old days they had "barn raisings".  Next time someone's putting up a tower or somesuch maybe we 'locals' could come pitch in.

[RP]

No solar.  I have plans for a windmill and solar hot-water on some property north of town but that's still in the future.  If you ever need a hand give me a holler though...

Do you have a tracker system for the panels?

[Bruce S]

Not real serious like other do, just wanted to see if I could us it for my little hydroponics garden as well as making sure it would harm our dog. She too, like the nice cool stuff. I was sure it would be okay since in ensence, it is only moisture from the air that therefore clean.

I tried using it for a bird bath, the cats Loved the idea, but the birds didn't like the idea of the cats, so that was nixed quickly :-)

Y'all have fun more heat is on it's way!!

Bruce S

[DamonHD]

The thing that I would be cautious of in this sort of situation is Legionella (Legionnaires' disease) and similar bugs that like warm damp conditions with bits of dead skin floating around for nutrition!

http://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/index.htm

It's not a huge risk, but some incompetent local government in the UK or other usually ends up killing a few old people per year this way...

I'd at least want to make sure that the the water cannot harbour such bugs.

Rgds

Damon

[RCpilot]

Thanks for the offer, right now I have a neighbor boy that helps me with digging, etc. As for the Tracker, yes I have one of the $35 RedRock trackers and the motor that came with the satellite mount. I have read that they work real well. If you ever want to come over and take a look, I'm at Northwye down Tonyburg road. If you need the address email me, I sent you one this morning so you would have my address but it's also available on this site.