14 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

So far I have always bought gallons and gallons of spring water and deionized(?) water from the grocery store for all my beers. I use 3/4 spring and 1/4 deionized. Well I'm getting a little sick of paying for 16 gallons of water and hauling it around on brew day so I would like to get an on demand water filter that I can hook up to my hose. The water we get his high in chlorine and phosphates because of the geology and treatment. I will probably treat it for chloramines as well.So does anyone else do this, and you all point me in the right direction?Thanks!Cheers,Rich

[MtnBrewer]

An activated carbon filter will remove some of the chlorine but as far as I know it won't do anything for phosphates, or any other ion that is dissolved in the water for that matter.

[Big Nake]

See the filter on this page on the upper left? That's what I have. Fully portable, I connect it to an outside spigot and filter all of my brewing water the day before I brew. It's supposed to filter out chlorine and it definitely does. If I take a slug of tap water and then take a slug of this filtered water, the difference is obvious. It's also supposed to strip out chloramine (seems unlikely), organic flavor and particulate down to .5 micron. I use this water for all of my beers but if I make something lighter in color, I may use some percentage of distilled water in the mash to lower my 138ppm bicarbonate number. The slower you run the water through the filter, the better it works. The replacement filters are available at Home Depot and I think they say that you can run 500-800 gallons of water through these things before they need to be replaced. Cheers.

[gumballhead]

it can also be used as a Randall

[MyaCullen]

See the filter on this page on the upper left? That's what I have. Fully portable, I connect it to an outside spigot and filter all of my brewing water the day before I brew. It's supposed to filter out chlorine and it definitely does. If I take a slug of tap water and then take a slug of this filtered water, the difference is obvious. It's also supposed to strip out chloramine (seems unlikely), organic flavor and particulate down to .5 micron. I use this water for all of my beers but if I make something lighter in color, I may use some percentage of distilled water in the mash to lower my 138ppm bicarbonate number. The slower you run the water through the filter, the better it works. The replacement filters are available at Home Depot and I think they say that you can run 500-800 gallons of water through these things before they need to be replaced. Cheers.

Our water sounds similar Ken, I have the same filter and get filters from the local hardware store.

[MtnBrewer]

it can also be used as a Randall

Heeeyyyyy, maybe you could filter the brewing water through a Randall full of hops if you're brewing an IIPA.

[Stout_fan]

Carbon Block filters WILL NOT remove Chloramines.I'm told that ROs will.$180 at Costco IIRC.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I have some treatment that I can add that is supposed to remove chloramines. I figured I would make the water a day or two before brew day, I have the two keggles that I can fill so short term storage isn't a problem. That filter Ken showed looks like a winner.Cheers,Rich

[SchwanzBrewer]

Also, I would probably treat the water with Amquel. its non toxic and it removes chloramines in about 5 minutes.It might be better to get a garden hose attachment for my keggle, fill it up with water, from the hose, treat it with Amquel, and then drain it through the filter into my other keggle.Sound good?Cheers,Rich

[djinkc]

Also, I would probably treat the water with Amquel. its non toxic and it removes chloramines in about 5 minutes.It might be better to get a garden hose attachment for my keggle, fill it up with water, from the hose, treat it with Amquel, and then drain it through the filter into my other keggle.Sound good?Cheers,Rich

I use that same filter, couldn't find it cheaper anywhere. 1/2 of a campden tablet will treat about 10 gallons of water for chloramines. Cheap, fast and most HB stores will have it. I have no clue about the aquarium product.

Edited by dj in kc, 23 March 2010 - 01:06 PM.

[SchwanzBrewer]

I use that same filter, couldn't find it cheaper anywhere. 1/2 of a campden tablet will treat about 10 gallons of water for chloramines. Cheap, fast and most HB stores will have it. I have no clue about the aquarium product.

Ok, treat it with a campden tablet first. Rest of the process seem ok?Cheers,Rich

[djinkc]

Ok, treat it with a campden tablet first. Rest of the process seem ok?Cheers,Rich

I filter straight in to the HLT and throw in the campden. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do it your way. I'm too lazy though........

[harryfrog]

It might be better to get a garden hose attachment for my keggle

beware the garden hose. make sure you get an RV hose. I learned through the hard way on a 10 gallon batch and a 5 gallon batch that a standard hose is totally your enemy. Haven't had any problems using Ken's filter with my RV hose tho...

[beach]

If I take a slug of tap water and then take a slug of this filtered water, the difference is obvious. The slower you run the water through the filter, the better it works. The replacement filters are available at Home Depot and I think they say that you can run 500-800 gallons of water through these things before they need to be replaced. Cheers.

I use two carbon block filters plumbed in series (simply because I had 2 of them around & though, why not?) I run my city water though them very slowly and also add K-Meta for the chloromines. The difference in taste after filtration is amazing and on brew days I actually bottle 6 or 7 gallons of filtered water to use for cooking and drinking. The labels on the filters I use says they're good for 15,000 gallons so they should last for quite some time. Mine came from Lowe's. My filters on mounted right on my brew stand and the water goes right into the HLT also. I use PEX piping (made for potable water) with Shark Bite removable fittings. That way I can take it all apart when I have the water I need.Beach