Hi, James. hmmmm... You present some very good information. Now that I think about it, I've "known" for some time that drinking a lot of distilled water will leach the minerals out of your body. I "learned" this somewhere years ago when I bought a distiller and starting drinking that exclusively. We started supplementing with colloidal minerals to compensate. And, if I remember right, the coils on the distiller are stainless. Have to check that out...
So, I agree with you, and, in the absence of additional info to the contrary, I would stay away from copper... Dale James Osbourne, Holmes wrote: > HI Dale, > > I do not have a cite handy regarding the leaching of copper by very pure > water. It is one of those things that I learned a long time ago. > > One has to be careful though, about thoughtlessly accepting anything that > "everyone knows is true", because a lot of the time everyone is wrong. > > My initial source was the installation details for a distilled water > distribution system for home use. It specifically forbid copper tubing. > > Having never done it, I do not know what volume of distilled water will > have to pass through copper tubing of a specific wall thickness before it > makes a hole. Based on my experience with electrolysis caused by a small > DC current passing through copper, ---a similar condition--- a pinhole > could open in a few months, possibly in less than a year. Even if > mechanical failure is not a serious problem, I would be concerned about the > amount of copper consumed. Copper is used a germicidal agent; it is quite > effective against fungi. > Germicides kill living cells. > > The water used in water distribution systems usually has relatively high > concentrations of dissolved solids when compared with distilled water, and > the dissolved substances---often calcium and magnesium carbonate---balances > the charges of the small amount of water which ionizes in distilled water. > > Perhaps one of the pro chemists on the list will comment on the details of > this process. > > You may be able to find a table in a chemical reference book such as > Langes's Handbook of Chemistry, or the CRC Handbook listing the solubility > of various elements. I think the action takes place because the > disassociated water is much more reactive ---lacking some small amount of > ionized dissolved substance in the water to balance H+ and -OH. > > Try calling a company which manufacturers small stills for domestic use. > One such is: Waterwise 1 (800) 874-9028. > > If you do dig up a solid reference, I would very much appreciate a copy of > it or a pointer to the source. > > James Osbourne, Holmes > > a...@trail.com > > -----Original Message----- > From: Dale Gillilan [SMTP:positivechanges.hypno...@gte.net] > Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 1999 7:22 PM > To: a...@trail.com; 'silver-list@eskimo.com' > Subject: Copper tubing for distillers > > How do they get away with using it as the standard for household > plumbing for both hot and cold water? > > Why do you say the tubing will develop holes? I've never seen that > happen. > > You may be right about the leaching of copper, but I would like to see > some references supporting that position. > > I agree with your comments about stainless. > > Dale > > >Do not use copper in a water distillation system so that it comes into > >contact with pure water vapor or liquid. The copper will go into > solution > >and in high concentrations is toxic. Also, so much copper is lost that > the > >system will soon develop holes. Water and steam will come out the > holes. > > > >Short term use, as sometimes necessary at sea, may not be harmful, but > one > >would have to do the math to make sure. > > > >Stainless steel tubing is a much better choice, preferably surgical > grade. > > > >James Osbourne, Holmes > > > >a...@trail.com -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: silver-list-requ...@eskimo.com -or- silver-digest-requ...@eskimo.com with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: silver-list@eskimo.com List maintainer: Mike Devour <mdev...@id.net>
