Can You Add Purified Water to Coolant?
2 Answers
You can add purified water to antifreeze. The main components of antifreeze are ethylene glycol and water, where the water refers to purified or distilled water, not mineral water. This is because mineral water contains minerals, which are impurities compared to purified or distilled water and cannot evaporate. Below is some relevant information: Introduction: The full name of antifreeze should be antifreeze coolant, meaning it is a coolant with antifreeze properties. Antifreeze prevents the coolant from freezing and expanding in cold winter conditions, which could otherwise crack the radiator and damage the engine cylinder head. Function: The engine and its cooling system are made of metals, including copper, iron, aluminum, steel, and solder. These metals, when in contact with water at high temperatures for extended periods, can corrode and rust. Antifreeze not only prevents corrosion in the engine cooling system but also has anti-corrosion and rust-removal properties.
As an ordinary person who has been driving for over a decade, I'd like to say that you can occasionally use purified water as an emergency coolant top-up. For example, during long trips when the coolant level is low and I can't find proper coolant, I'll make do with it. Purified water is better than tap water because it doesn't contain impurities that could immediately corrode the pipes. However, long-term use is absolutely not acceptable because coolant is specially formulated with a 50% water and 50% ethylene glycol mixture that provides freeze protection, boil-over resistance, and contains anti-rust additives. Using pure water will make the cooling system more diluted - it might freeze and crack the radiator in winter, and the engine could easily overheat and boil in summer. I still remember one time when I took the easy way out and used purified water for a whole month, which resulted in a water pump failure costing me several hundred dollars in repairs. Now I always keep a bottle of proper coolant in my car. My advice is to only use small amounts of purified water in emergencies, then immediately go to a repair shop to check the concentration to prevent potential problems - just to be safe.