Different Explanations Why Battery Water Should Be Free From Ions

By Author: Jo Alelsto
Total Articles: 405
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Did you know that you simply cannot use any kind of water to your batteries? This article explains why battery water must be deionized and why plain water is not appropriate.

There is too much demand for water and many industries are looking for good sources of it. Now, not every kind of water is good for all purposes. Specific purposes need specific kinds of water too, and as you may have read somewhere, water never comes pure and always has dissolved matter at some varying concentrations. This issue has been a perennial concern, the need for safe water is never ending and the effect of pollution to the quality of water is perpetual. This incontrovertible truth is what many countries have been addressing to, and efforts to produce and supply potable water to citizens are the vital considerations.

Water coming out of our taps has been sterilized to some degree to make it appropriate for general home use and, of course, for human consumption. The danger of water that has not gone through filtration and purification is that it contains unsafe levels of bacteria and parasitic microorganisms that cause various ...
... infections and parasitic infestations. Consequently, varying levels of dissolved solids in the water make it less effective in cleaning and rinsing of clothes and kitchen wares. However, industrial use of water demands stricter and more thorough process in its purification. Now, it is not enough to kill bacteria and to filter sediments. The concentration of minerals and ions in the liquid is of primary concern to companies and industries.

The ionic content of water is an important consideration in laboratories, pharmaceuticals, and, as you may have heard from the carwash and automotive shops, batteries. Indeed, the applications are vast and there is not one company that does not use water. Only different types and different qualities of such are used for particular applications. Hence, while you may be happy with your chlorinated water at home, car battery manufacturers will never recommend such tap water to use in your car batteries. You might be asking why this is so.

If you bring your tap water or the so called plain water for chemical testing, you would find out it contains some levels of chloride, magnesium, calcium and sodium ions. Where do these ions come from? Naturally, water in its natural source would contain lots of these. They come from the soil, the rocks, and from other various sources. Water dissolves substances and converts them into ions, too. Now, these ions, together with other impurities (organic substances and particulates) remain dispersed in water until thorough purification is done. Reverse osmosis and activated carbon filtration remove organic solutes and macromolecules. Ions usually remain in the liquid and may only be removed through distillation and deionization.

You might have heard that the presence of ions affects the chemical nature of water, making it less efficient when cleaning laboratory glasswares, affecting results in chemical analyses and tests, and reducing performance of car batteries. The ionic balance in liquid batteries is essential, since it is in this electrolyte balance that the battery works with efficiency. Once this chemical composition is disturbed or tipped, as when you pour in mineral or plain water, the performance of the battery and its lifespan are adversely affected.

Why is there a need to add water into the battery? Well, car batteries contain a mixture of sulfuric acid and nearly two-thirds water. Water acts as a solvent medium where sulfuric acid can dissociate into cations and anions. An electric charge is produced with the lead plates. Now, during all this chemical reaction process, heat is generated and this heat causes water in the mixture to evaporate. A low fluid level means that there is a need to add pure, distilled water. Tap water is out of the question.
Jo is an author and publisher for 'The-Water-Company.com' (http://www.the-water-company.com), an established UK based high quality water supplier for over thirty years, supplying products like deionized water and demineralized water to a wide variety of customers in UK, Europe and all over the world. If you have a high quality battery water requirement then check out The-Water-Company.com.