10 replies to this topic

[rodney]

ok this is just a theory so tell me what you all think. i was driving home and got to thinking of hard to make blue and purple stars. when useing a 25% ethenal to 75% water for dampening the star comp. for rolling,pumping and cutting. if we used disstilled water and ethenal would it be better. there wouldnt be all the minerals and chemicals like in tap water and sense the spectrum for blue and purple stars is so small wouldnt we want to use the pureist chemicals and water we could use so we dont upset the delicate balance. water from tap can have clorine, iron, and copper just to name a few. when in grade school we did experments with taking water and salt or sugar and putting it in the sun light or a room for evaporation and the water would evaporate and leave behind the salt or sugar we put in. so with that if we use tap water with iron or copper it could be left behind after the star drys/ water and alc. evaporate and when it does that it leaves behind any chemicals or minerals that were in the water. i know that tap water can be use with alot of star comps but this is just a thought i would like to hear what everyone thinks. you can also e-mail me at pyroguym80@msn.com my name is rodney and this is my first post so i would also like to say hi to everyone and i hope to meet some new people

thanks to everyone and i hope to hear back on this subject thanks again rodney pyroguym80@msn.com

[Mumbles]

I always use distilled water for wetting my comps, as well as preparing gum arabic solutions and stuff. It is mainly the calcium and sodium from the water softener I am worried about. Both have pretty strong spectras which could upset things like purple and blue, and to an extent green. The water without a doubt could cause contamination. I use straight tap water for wheat paste, diluting glue and stuff like that. Never for actually wetting comps. The water in the workshop is visibly brown sometimes from the tap water anyway.

[rodney]

thanks mumbles for the reply i wasnt quite sure but i did know if i was to make comps. i would use disstilled water for paste and stuff like that theres no use for disstilled water well im about to get into making shells and i need a few items bt once i get them ill start to make a shell. but i will use disstilled water in the comp.

[Creepin_pyro]

Interesting thread... I've heard of de-ionised water being called for in star comps, and have started using it for all my colour formulas because it 'can't do any harm'. Is there any advantage to using distilled over de-ionised? Please excuse my ignorance ; )

[pymp]

Both deionized and distilled waters lack impurities, but I believe that deionized water could still contain organic compounds (not being ions).
However, the calcium and sodium cations which Mumbles pointed out, and indeed any other ions, would not be present.

So, as far as I know, both are equally suitable

Edited by pymp, 29 January 2007 - 10:19 PM.

[Mumbles]

Deionized (DI) water is cheaper to produce and can be produced on site, and thus used in a lot of labs. Distilled removes both ions and some of the organics. More importantly for lab work, it removes disolved gases. As pymp has stated, both are acceptable. The purest water is double distilled from a deionized source. That is only neccesary for NMR, and UV-vis and things of that nature where any impurities in the water could actually skew the results.

I have no idea why I went into that, but oh well, you learned something. Either distilled or deionized water will be fine. I'm not sure if DI is commonly available in stores and such. We only have distilled here in the US.

[rodney]

mumbles thanks for the the wisdom it has help us and di i dont see it here in idaho us but disstilled water is cheap here 58 cents a gallon so its afordable.

[Creepin_pyro]

I'm not sure if DI is commonly available in stores and such. We only have distilled here in the US.

Deionised water can be found in most garages/automotive shops here in the UK. No idea what it's supposed to be used for though : )

[EnigmaticBiker]

Deionised water can be found in most garages/automotive shops here in the UK. No idea what it's supposed to be used for though : )

For topping up lead-acid batteries and steam irons (monstrously expensive ironing ).

Water purifying (not softening) filters do de-ionise and remove chlorine although the efficiency depends on the resins used.

Edited by EnigmaticBiker, 30 January 2007 - 02:46 PM.

[paul]

I really never thought of that because I think the amount of water used to bind mixtures isn´t that big that it might affect the flame colour...

Maybe I should´n t use tap water anymore. De-Ioniized water is cheap here. For red or yellow it seems no neccessary using deionized water, does it?!!

[Mumbles]

It probably wont cause a problem with yellow, or orange, or charcoal streamers, or reds in general. It may contain some base or acid that doesn't like any metals in said comp though. Unless you are exclusively making charcoal streamers, I'd say it's best to just get in the practice of using distilled or DI water. It will save you some heartache down the line when you accidentally wet your blue comp with "dirty" water, and in my eyes is just one extra level of safety that one can take. Knowing exactly what is in your comp cuts back on any potential accidents or unwanted reactions.