Battery Water; Distilled Drinking Water vs. Deionized Battery Water

[ErikFinn]

I just had to top off my Trojan T105 Plus batteries and run out of Deionized Battery Water so used Distilled Drinking Water.

Is it OK to use "Distilled Drinking Water" bought from a supermarket to top of the batteries?

Are there any differences between the two when it comes to topping off the batteries?

How would you rate these on a scale from 0 to 10 for the said purpose?

[sailorboy1]

DI and distilled water are both basically pure water

[rebel heart]

I'd be fine with distilled drinking water.

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by Don L

DI and distilled water are both basically pure water

--very basically--totally different chemistry effects on both batteries and humans.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

--very basically--totally different chemistry effects on both batteries and humans.

True but largely irrelevant. Neither will harm the batteries in the short term.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by ErikFinn

......
Is it OK to use "Distilled Drinking Water" bought from a supermarket to top of the batteries?

Are there any differences between the two when it comes to topping off the batteries?

.......

Who knows how the "Distilled Drinking Water" is made in your area.

We have bought "Distilled Water for Batteries" and when reading the fine print on the back of the label, it had the disclaimer "this water is not necessarily produced by distillation methods".

I reckon either will be fine for either purpose.

[FSMike]

Considering how my various batteries have been abused over the years they are ecstatic when I actually buy them some distilled water.

[rw58ph]

30+ years I been using Seattle area tap water. Battereis last on average 10 years as long as the water level is above the plates. I figure if I can drink the water that is pure enough for battereis.

[transmitterdan]

Distilled water isn't very descriptive. Batteries want demineralized water and distillation is one way to get it. Humans should not drink demineralized water. Batteries should.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by rw58ph

30+ years I been using Seattle area tap water. Battereis last on average 10 years as long as the water level is above the plates. I figure if I can drink the water that is pure enough for battereis.

After getting used to drinking Spectra watermaker water for several weeks, I tasted Seattle water out of my in law's kitchen faucet.
It tasted faintly like dirt.

[Zil]

Municipal water is the safest you can consume. Let the water run for a few seconds to clear the contaminates that come from your plumbing.

Steam distilled water is marketed for such uses as batteries and irons. DI water is cleaner than distilled but too expensive to use outside a laboratory.

Drinking water marketed as reverse osmosis is as good for batteries as distilled if no minerals have been added to enhance the taste.

Most municipal water is fine for batteries.

[svHyLyte]

I have been using "SuperMarket" Distilled Water in our batteries for 30+ years without ill effect. Our last set of Trojan T-105's lasted 7-1/2 years which is rather longer than some claim to be their normal life span, although I am rather more rigerous about maintenance than some which may partially account for their longevity. Obviously, the Distilled Water I've been using has been quite adaquate, he?

[transmitterdan]

Drinking water must have minerals else it is bad for people. Batteries want water with few if any minerals. At the grocery store you can buy distilled water that has no minerals added. This is good for batteries and it is not marked "drinking water". Distilled water marked "drinking water" has has had minerals added so it is compatible with our internal systems. This should not be used for batteries unless nothing else is available. Once minerals get into the battery they never leave and eventually they build up and cause problems. City water or well water is the worst for batteries (well except maybe pond scum is worse). Sea water is bad too but everyone knows that.

[Albro359]

If you have a proper balanced diet, drinking demineralised water won't do you any harm. You'd have to be drinking an awful lot of it to leach minerals out of your body.
Distilled water and demineralised (or de-ionised) water are basically the same....just water and both are fine for flooded batteries...domestic water is normally full of chlorine, fluoride and depending on where it comes from sodium, calcium, aluminium hydroxides, none of which are good for your batteries.
Distilled water is made by boiling water and condensing the steam which is produced back into water...only water.
Deionized water, also known as demineralized water / DM water (DI water, DIW or de-ionized water), is water that has had its mineral ions removed, such as cations like sodium, calcium, iron and copper, and anions such as chloride and sulphate. Deionization is a chemical process that uses specially manufactured ion-exchange resins which exchange hydrogen ion and hydroxide ion for dissolved minerals, which then recombine to form water. Because the majority of water impurities are dissolved salts, deionization produces a high purity water that is generally similar to distilled water, and this process is quick and without scale buildup. However, deionization does not significantly remove uncharged organic molecules, viruses or bacteria, except by incidental trapping in the resin. Specially made strong base anion resins can remove gram-negative bacteria.
So DI water is not necessarily "cleaner" than distilled water, but in terms of the mineral ions that are not present as far as batteries go, distilled water and DI water are equivalent.

[ErikFinn]

Thanks for all the replies bringing out the pros and cons.
I believe the conclusion to my question is it would be better to use Deionized battery water. Especially here in Malaysia as like Wotname said I can't be sure what the "Distilled Drinking Water" actually contains; it may or may not have minerals added to it and in general they don't list the contents too meticulously here. And minerals are not good for the battery.
Having said that I recall when visiting a chandlery in Rhode Island, USA, and asking for battery water they pointed me to the soft drink fridge and gave me gallon of "Distilled Water", and said that this is what is used. No mention about battery or drinking.
My batteries are now 7 years old and I should replace them anyway as I will add 4 more batteries, so must get all new.
These Trojan T105 Plusses are really thirsty for water with my 8 x 85W Solar panels so I'll have to keep a good stock of Deionized battery water aboard. It would be easier to have just "Distilled Drinking Water" but I suppose with the soon new batteries it will be better (read less risk) to use "Deionized Battery Water".