B-STOCK

When I change my coolant I buy mineral free or distilled water to mix the coolant. Since I bought my lift I have a LOT of friends that would like me to assist them in changing their coolant. Is the water that accumulates in my dehumidifiers mineral free and good for mixing coolant? I had a little water in my basement after the flooding in RI and have been disposing this water from my dehumidifier via the drain. I figured I could save the guys a few bucks and trips to outlets in trying to buy mineral free or distilled water. For some reason it is very hard to find in my parts. Thanks, Mike

timd38

I would just buy premix coolant and not worry about it.

tjwong

Get the premix stuff or distilled water, at Wally World here its only 60 cents a gallon, it isn't worth the trouble to use anything else.

B-STOCK

I will check wally world but last time I checked they said they didn't carry it. Like I said it's not easy to find around here unless you buy distilled water for infants and it's like $4.50 a gallon.
No one has answered my question yet.

timd38

Here is an answer, use it to save a little money, but I would use premix in my car.

bob guzzy

Premix, twice as much or almost the same money for half the product, good thinking.

timd38

$9.99 vs $11.99. A radiator is, say $400.00, sounds like cheap insurance.

haljensen

If you want to pay for somebody adding tap water to antifreeze, calling it pre-mix and then pay for shipping tap water/anitifreeze to the store then by all means be that dumb.

No need for a Corvette Tax when buyers are that lazy.

timid38; You don't think $2.00 for 1/2 gallon of water is expensive?

B-STOCK

I knew when I bought my lift there would be a lot of guys that wanted their coolant changed. I talked to guys at cruise nights and very few of them have ever even changed their coolant. I was very surprised that these guys change oil, run premium gasoline and bought the most expensive care products would not change their coolant. Last fall when I drained and flushed the systems on my GTO, C5 & C6, I bought many cases of GM Dexcool that was on sale. I offered all my friends a free flush and change in the spring. I am not a cheap bastard but the price of the pre mix was the same as the full strength. That means your paying twice as much for the actual coolant. I couldn’t do it. Like the OP said you pay to have 2 quarts of water to be transported etc. What a waste. I remember the days when you bought windshield wiper fluid in 6oz cans that treated a gallon of water. Wish I could do that now. Made sense to me.

timd38

I another position I had with my company I sold parts to the car companies and a few years ago, Honda was selling engines to GM for the Saturn Vue. GM was having big problems with the engines and they found out that it was the water that was added to the coolant, so ever since then I buy premix.

OK, so I pay a little more every three or four years for coolant. To offset the cost, I just won't supersize my next Big Mac meal at McDonalds.

B-STOCK

I would rather use water I know the source of than the water used in the premix. It wouldnt surprise me it they used tap water.

B-STOCK

This is what I got from Google.
Dehumidifiers draw water vapor out of the air and collect the water in a basin. Dehumidifiers make the air feel cooler by reducing humidity. They also inhibit mold growth in basements and other damp locations. Simply dumping the water down the drain is a waste, particularly since the water is free from minerals--it's distilled as the dehumidifier draws the water out of the air. Though the water is non-potable (due to bacteria growth that can occur as the water sits in the collection tank), there are other handy uses for the water.

haljensen

Had to repost this, my math was kind of fuzzy on the first post.

Autozone Dex Cool full strength $13.99
Autozone Dex Cool 50%/50% $11.99

Just to make it easy for the math assume 16 Quarts capacity;

Full drain and refill with full strength;
2 gallons Dex Cool = $27.98
2 gallons distilled H2O= $2.00 (even cheaper? Use tap water!)
Total change =$29.98

Full drain and refill with 50%/50% Premix;
4 gallons pre mix = $47.96
Total change = $47.96

$17.98 overcharge to use the premix.

B-STOCK

And don't call us cheap. Everytime someone has a good deal on Mobil 1 it's posted and thankfully so. There is a big difference between spending $$$ and throwing it away.