Using dehumidifier water?

ttystikk said:
Then maybe there's something wrong with your unit.

I've had fine results. The best part is that distilled water has zero dissolved solids in so everything added is plant food.
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Did you gloss over where I said this was on several differant units?

It's been the case on all 3 i personally owned over the years, and at every friends garden I've visited. No less than 5 units.
 
growingforfun said:
Possibly, but I've noticed it for a long long time... talking years of near constant use one units, get new units, see the same thing. If it lasts until a new unit is bought and its seen in new units not just one unit, but in 5 diff units for the whole lifespan then....?

Just for me I wouldnt use it on flowering plants.
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What does the prefilter look like when you clean it? I’m just thinking it may be something in the air that is getting on the coil and draining with the water.
 
Merlin1147 said:
What does the prefilter look like when you clean it?
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Dusty.

Happens from new out of the box till done with em on any unit I've had or seen.


Again.. I feel fine to use it on veg but I see no point giving it to the flower room. As theres no bud in veg what's given in veg doesnt really goto the flower. So no harm. But why give a unknown in flower? Theres more in water than a ppm meter picks up as most of us know
 
growingforfun said:
Dusty.

Happens from new out of the box till done with em on any unit I've had or seen.


Again.. I feel fine to use it on veg but I see no point giving it to the flower room. As theres no bud in veg what's given in veg doesnt really goto the flower. So no harm. But why give a unknown in flower? Theres more in water than a ppm meter picks up as most of us know
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Roger that. And then of course there’s Flint, MI. Scenarios.
 
Merlin1147 said:
Excellent points here, except the first one. Technically speaking, All water has a ph. Even the purest sample of H2O will have random H+ and OH- ions which will balance out giving a ph of 7.
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Pure water has no ions.

Learn basic chemistry before coming here and acting like a know it all or you'll get people in trouble.

And don't try to pH water with a low EC or it will screw up your meter. The wet bulb meters used by the vast majority of growers here can't handle pure water. DEFINITELY never store your meter in low EC water.
 
growingforfun said:
Did you gloss over where I said this was on several differant units?

It's been the case on all 3 i personally owned over the years, and at every friends garden I've visited. No less than 5 units.
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That's odd because I've never seen it on any unit and I've seen dozens.
 
Distilled water reacts with air when co2 is introduced, dropping the ph because of the formation of carbonic acid. How doesn’t it have a ph? Distilled water is not pure because of this.
 
pthobson said:
Distilled water reacts with air when co2 is introduced, dropping the ph because of the formation of carbonic acid. How doesn’t it have a ph? Distilled water is not pure because of this.
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That's a process that takes time. In any case, the acidic strength will be vanishingly weak.

It's a noob mistake to over think this.
 
ttystikk said:
That's a process that takes time. In any case, the acidic strength will be vanishingly weak.

It's a noob mistake to over think this.
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I’m not overthinking it I’m just trying to comprehend it a little better. I am actually taking a survey of chemistry class right now and it’s really intriguing to read about what you’re saying. Heck it may even help me in the class. Would the introduction of co2 to the water not cause a gain of any valence electrons or loss in outer shells, thus altering the ph and charge? It would have to wouldn’t it? Continuing, I have never known any distilled water to be at a perfect 7(pure) (that I’ve tested) but then again the test may be inaccurate as you stated. I don’t test straight distilled but I have before out of curiosity. Really interesting
 
pthobson said:
I’m not overthinking it I’m just trying to comprehend it a little better. I am actually taking a survey of chemistry class right now and it’s really intriguing to read about what you’re saying. Heck it may even help me in the class. Would the introduction of co2 to the water not cause a gain of any valence electrons or loss in outer shells, thus altering the ph and charge? It would have to wouldn’t it? Continuing, I have never known any distilled water to be at a perfect 7(pure) (that I’ve tested) but then again the test may be inaccurate as you stated. I don’t test straight distilled but I have before out of curiosity. Really interesting
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Any chemical reaction has a given velocity. Explosives move very quickly lol CO2 into water will happen very slowly.

No one here is suggesting you sit on the distilled water for weeks at a time- use it ASAP.
 
ttystikk said:
Any chemical reaction has a given velocity. Explosives move very quickly lol CO2 into water will happen very slowly.

No one here is suggesting you sit on the distilled water for weeks at a time- use it ASAP.
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Ok yeah I see what you’re saying. It’s not gonna happen immediately. Makes sense. All chemical reactions reactions happen at different paces. Sorry had a long day and actually studying as we speak lol. You’ve opened my eyes a little for sure man. Thanks!
 
Started growing in the late 80's, Stopped to raise a family, Been at it again for the last 10 years, Started with Good tap water and G&H maxi bloom, 3 years ago I had a new 90+ furnace Installed with AC, This baby pumps out some Condensate water all year long that was simply going down the drain, So I tapped it, It's pumped into 2 New food grade plastic drums 50 ga each with an air-stone dropped in each to raise the oxygen level, I run It in DWC, in {2} 150 Quart marine coolers about 32 gals each, Freebies from a marina!!:clap: Broken hinges on the lids. I have had Zero problems, With yield, or taste, I switched over to MegaCrop and love it as well !! Myself and others feel it's even a smoother smoke. I can actually maintain my PH with water, Tap to raise ph, And Condensate to lower ph. I save big on my water bill. :weed:Cheers and Tight Buds!!!
 
ttystikk said:
Pure water has no ions.

Learn basic chemistry before coming here and acting like a know it all or you'll get people in trouble.

And don't try to pH water with a low EC or it will screw up your meter. The wet bulb meters used by the vast majority of growers here can't handle pure water. DEFINITELY never store your meter in low EC water.
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I’m not trying to be a know it all but when you make a statement like “Water has not pH” that WRONG!
In theory it may be possible to have a sample which is purely H2O molecules. In reality it does not exist as such. At least not on Earth. Any water sample will have H+ and OH- ions in it. And as such will have a pH by definition.
 
Merlin1147 said:
Ignorance is taking comments out of context. I was referring to growforfun’s comment about unknowns in water.
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Having read the comment and your response again, it sure seemed like you were taking about the water coming from a dehuey unit.

In any case, I'm not interested in a pissing contest, I'm just talking about the use of discharge from a dehumidifier.

There are a lot of misconceptions built up around various practices in indoor horticulture, and this is definitely one of those.
 
ounevinsmoke said:
I tried to run a small DWC in a 30 gallon tub with Dehumidifier water. For some reason when I added my nutes to that water and then tried to use my PH meter it went absolutely berserk. My TDS Meter was thrown off as well. Numbers just jumped all over the place and sometimes they would error. My plants developed dark brown spots on them after a few weeks. I was baffled so I asked around here in RIU. The most solid explanation someone gave me is that dehumidifiers generally use cheap coils and low quality condensers that contaminate the water so you are truly not receiving a pure version of water. It leaves metals or other contaminants in the water that react with the nute mix and cause issues. I don't know if any of that will happen to you and your water, but I could not use mine so I bought a rain barrel and attached it to my gutter. I usually bought the cheapest 70pint dehumidifiers from whatever Walmart was selling at the time. Good Luck, Happy growing!
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That's because there wasn't enough cal mag in the water to buffer it. If you would have added cal mag first you would have had perfect water to add your nutes to.
 
70's natureboy said:
That's because there wasn't enough cal mag in the water to buffer it. If you would have added cal mag first you would have had perfect water to add your nutes to.
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Cal mag = calcium nitrate + magnesium nitrate, both of which are nutrient double salts already included in most complete fertilizer mixes. Just add your nutes as usual, dilute to your preferred EC and pH last.
 
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