Can purified water damage pwers?

[Richard Ivy 14]

Hi all,

I use purified water to clean windows here in the UK.

There is an assumption here that pure water (000 TDS) can damage the internal workings of pressure washers.

Is this view shared in the US among pw users?

Thanks for your opinions.

Richard

[Larry B 55]

Is purified the same as deionized? There are a lot of people that use DI water to clean cars at car lots. Leaves a spot free rinse without towelling the cars off. If they are the same, then no as some of these guys have deionizing units on their trucks.

[squirtgun 122]

It may not damge the inner workings of the pump,but if you run a hotwater skid I believe that it can cause premature rusting in the coil.

[Richard Ivy 14]

Larry, yes, it is di water.

Scott, my pw is a cold unit.

[Jarrod 22]

Damage is just to coils in a hot water unit. Cold water, no problem.

[Richard Ivy 14]

Thanks Jarrod.

[Scott Stone 604]

Nope, you all are wrong.

DI water causes Hydrogen embrittlement in the pump. If you take a pump apart after having run DI water through it for a while, the brass will be red. This is because the DI water robs the head of metals because water wants those metals. It ends up making the brass parts really brittle. It wil often take a couple of years though, so I don't worry about it. It also attacks heater coils and will put pin holes in them, along with rust. This is bad, especially when you are washing cars because your pressure washer will spray out black water, which is filled with rust. when it drys you will have little brown spots all over the cars.

Scott Stone

[Jarrod 22]

Knock on wood - 5 years without a problem.

[Russ Johnson 141]

It also attacks heater coils and will put pin holes in them, along with rust. This is bad, especially when you are washing cars because your pressure washer will spray out black water, which is filled with rust. when it drys you will have little brown spots all over the cars.

Scott Stone

That's when a little scale comes in handy....insulates the iron pipe.

[Tronman 14]

Who purified it? A catholic preist, a baptist preacher, or a budist monk? Different secular purifications can cause rust in unclean pressure washers.

[restora 14]

I agree with Scott Stone. You may not notice the problem in the beginning but after few years you'll be seeing the problem and it may cost some dollars.

[Bears Pressure Washing_ 14]

I ran di water though my hot water system for several years and didn't have any trouble until the end when i had some metal fittings give way. I have sold that unit so i am not sure if there was any damage to the burner but i am sure it wears it out a little quicker.

[Jerry 24]

Daaammm Scott, you one smart cleaner ! ..

most techs never figure that one out !!

..You nailed the reason the metal is affected in the pumps,

but that also explains the problem in the heater coils..

the purified water cleans the rust off the inside of the coil, allowing the steel to rust faster than normal.

.. I rescued a chain of rental yards that had been "sold on" using Soft Water to feed their pressure washers,

and de-I for rinsing.. those heater coils were lasting only 2 to 3 years..

What really apalled me, was realizing that manufacturer was delivering schedule 40 coils in those machines too !

..What a scam !!

that happened in 1986

That incident made me REALLY try to stand-out as different from the "typical" supplier.

While I'm on the subject..

many "service centers" promote descaling the coil every year..

I promote "limited hard-water scale"..

If you clean the coil, it will rust faster.. I don't condone that as a method of marketing.

If you allow a limited amount of calcium to "coat" the inside of the coil, it keeps the water off the steel, and prolongs the life of the coil.

Of course, if there's too much, the coil is blocked, and you loose pressure.

You can monitor the scale, by occasionally looking inside the fitting on the outlet side of the coil..

If you see light scale, and NO rust, you're good.

if you see rust, do a descale, then circulate a cheep soap through the coil, to form a protective layer.

..and NEVER use purified water through your coil..

put a Quick coupler between the unloader and heater,

.. so you can pump out rinse water before the heater.

Better yet, use ball valves.