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  #21  
Old 9th August 2013, 11:53 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Is Dundee water hard, Brock? It's all relative, I know, but my understanding is that all Scottish water is soft in comparative terms when compared to hard water areas in England.

You are certainly right about the price of distilled/de-ionised water in the U.K. It is expensive.

Mike
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  #22  
Old 10th August 2013, 06:20 AM
EdBray EdBray is offline
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I bought a very good distiller for £160, it does 4 litres at a time which takes about 5 hours if the water is straight from the cold tap,

We use it for drinking water too, nothing like it once it has been in the fridge for a while.
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  #23  
Old 10th August 2013, 08:14 AM
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Mike,

Don't know for sure re Dundee water. I got some scummy deposits and other drying marks and just assumed it was. Edinburgh water is considered hard, I think, and we're just up the coast so who knows.


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  #24  
Old 10th August 2013, 08:37 AM
EdBray EdBray is offline
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All natural water in Scotland, most of Wales and the Proper South West (Devon & Cornwall) is soft and usually slightly acidic. Changes to the water are usually made during the treatment process to make it potable (safe and wholesome).

Usually after the main treatment processes to remove organic material, bacteria, colour and turbidity, chemicals are added to protect the supply and infrastructure which can change both the taste and qualities of the water supplied.

Typically these are:

PH correction to take the water to an Alkaline State (Lime, Caustic Soda or Sodium Carbonate) around a PH of 8-9 (this is to protect the infrastructure from corrosion which would be aggravated by a slightly acidic water).

Phosphoric Acid is added to prevent corrosion of Lead Pipework from Plumbosolvency.

Fluoride is added in some areas to prevent tooth decay, this is usually as a directive from the local Health Authority.

There is always a small residual amount of disinfectant (Chlorine or Sodium Hypochlorite) left in the water after treatment to ensure that any bacteria that makes its way into the supply network does not cause a problem. This dissipates the further away from the dosing point you are drawing water from.

Distilling water removes all of these added chemicals.
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  #25  
Old 10th August 2013, 09:03 AM
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Thanks for that Ed. Almost looks like a Celtic Connection going on. What's the water like in the Improper South West? :-)


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  #26  
Old 10th August 2013, 10:11 AM
EdBray EdBray is offline
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The water as you move north or east from the SW gets increasingly Harder as the Hard Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks give way to softer Sedimentary rocks which the water can move through picking up minerals which then change the properties of the water.

The South West, much of Wales and Scotland all have large Granite rocks as bases and on these tend to sit moorland with peat bogs, these will make the water coloured and acidic and they are very sweet to drink before treatment changes their properties.
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  #27  
Old 10th August 2013, 11:50 AM
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I've just been reading that the water quality in Fife, just a few miles to the south, is supposed to be very hard. There's an area of the north-east where the quality is medium hard. Looks like Scotland is probably about 80% soft with pockets of hard to very hard. Still not sure if I'm in a pocket or not.


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  #28  
Old 10th August 2013, 03:52 PM
AlanJones AlanJones is offline
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A very good point raised by Brock about the local water in Fife.

When I went to school all those years ago, there were three distinct geographical regions in Scotland. Starting at the top of the map and traveling south they were: The Highlands, The Central Lowlands and finally The Southern Uplands.

As strange as it may seem, being English, most of closest friends and some relatives either come from or live in Scotland. In my youth I spent considerable time and traveling in north of the border.

Then the water in the Central Lowlands including Glasgow and Edinburgh was very hard indeed. As a rail enthusiast at the time, I was aware of the old London Midland Scottish Railway spending a fortune on water treatment to remove the scale forming salts from boiler water and this is well documented. The same will apply to drying marks but for developers in am not too sure, but I don't think it would make much difference.

One of the problems we have with this forum it that not everyone tells their location. It is therefor very difficult to judge if the information in the posts is of any value or something that is of no use to a problem.

I do feel very sorry for someone who is new to the hobby getting a straight answer. I will leave it by saying 'confusion reigns here'.
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