Re: [Killietalk] Dehumidifier

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net>]

Dehumidifier water may not be such a great idea, Ron.

Ron Schulz wrote:
> Hi all, I just added a dehumidifier to my fish room to correct a high
> humidity problem. (approx. 80% RH before / approx. 55% RH after).  Is
> there a consensus as to whether I can use the condensate to make some
> softer water by diluting my well water with it? The well water runs
> about 140ppm hardness, 270uS conductivity, and pH about 6.9. The
> condensate (about 2 gal/day) measures 0ppm hardness, 40uS
> conductivity and pH 6.4. 

snip...

Water that acid can erode the copper tubing, if that's what the 
condenser coils contain. Check for copper and lead, at minimum, unless 
the tubing is aluminum.

I suspect worse problems come from the large amount of room air that 
passes over the coils and evaporant. Cooking oils, smoke of various 
kinds, formaldehyde from wall insulation, paint fumes, insecticides, 
cleaning compounds, furnace fumes, vehicle exhaust and pet effluent can 
end up in your water as a concentrate (that 40uS came from somewhere!). 
While normally pretty harmless, the agressive solvent properties of 
distilled water can make them all much, much stronger to your fish.

RO, DI, or bottled versions thereof from the store are just too cheap to 
make a risky source very attractive, IMHO. YMMV. You have to judge how 
pure your fishroom air really is, I guess.

Wright

--
Wright Huntley -- 760 872-3995 -- Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514





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