Recommend me an RO machine

[foxbat]

Up until now I've been brewing exclusively with Tesco Ashbeck because it has low alkalinity and low mineral content. It's a good base with which to build up a mineral profile for pale ales and lagers. One batch of Ashbeck for a brew costs £5.70 and I accept that as just what it costs to get the high quality that I look for.

However... I see that RO kits are available on Amazon for as little as £49.99 and was wondering if it was worth investing in one. So, for those that are already have an RO kit I have a few questions:

• What type of kit do you recommend for brewing purposes? I would need one that can be packed away with the brewing kit rather than being screwed to a wall.
• Do they reset all the numbers to zero, including alkalinity?
• Do they also remove chlorine? Obviously I do need to remove chlorine.
• How much waste water do they produce and can I save that water in our water butt for watering the garden, washing the car etc? (We are on a meter)
• What are the running costs if only used for brewing, say once a month?
• How long do they take to produce 30 litres and if I were to prepare the brewing water in the kettle the night before will it remain pH-stable overnight?

Any feedback and tips are gratefully received!

 

[strange-steve]

What type of kit do you recommend for brewing purposes? I would need one that can be packed away with the brewing kit rather than being screwed to a wall.

I don't know enough about them to recommend anything specific, but I have one similar to the one you've linked except it's a 4-stage, meaning it has a deionising resin filter. I put a valve on the input and ouput hoses to keep it full of water, and I keep it packed away in the cupboard when not in use.

Do they reset all the numbers to zero, including alkalinity?

Not zero but probably close enough to make no difference. Get a cheap TDS meter so you can see the percentage reduction overall. Mine has an output TDS in single figures even after a few years.

Do they also remove chlorine? Obviously I do need to remove chlorine.

Yes, the carbon filter will remove chlorine.

How much waste water do they produce and can I save that water in our water butt for watering the garden, washing the car etc? (We are on a meter)

An approximate rule of thumb is 3L of waste water per litre of filtered, but the waste can absolutely be used for cleaning, watering etc.

What are the running costs if only used for brewing, say once a month?

I'm not sure because I'm not on a meter, but if you're collecting 30L of RO then you'll be using about 120L total.

How long do they take to produce 30 litres and if I were to prepare the brewing water in the kettle the night before will it remain pH-stable overnight?

It depends on the pressure of your mains water, I think mine is pretty high and I get about 10L per hour. I prep my water the day before brewing

 

[foxbat]

I don't know enough about them to recommend anything specific, but I have one similar to the one you've linked except it's a 4-stage, meaning it has a deionising resin filter. I put a valve on the input and ouput hoses to keep it full of water, and I keep it packed away in the cupboard when not in use.

Not zero but probably close enough to make no difference. Get a cheap TDS meter so you can see the percentage reduction overall. Mine has an output TDS in single figures even after a few years.

Yes, the carbon filter will remove chlorine.

An approximate rule of thumb is 3L of waste water per litre of filtered, but the waste can absolutely be used for cleaning, watering etc.

I'm not sure because I'm not on a meter, but if you're collecting 30L of RO then you'll be using about 120L total.

It depends on the pressure of your mains water, I think mine is pretty high and I get about 10L per hour. I prep my water the day before brewing

Cheers Steve. How often do you have to buy replacement filters?

 

[strange-steve]

Cheers Steve. How often do you have to buy replacement filters?

It really depends how often you use it and how hard your water is, but I've had mine for a few years now and haven't replaced the filters yet. Again use the TDS meter to keep an eye on the output and change the filters when the reading starts to get higher. If you're only using once a month or so you'll probably get a few years out of the filters.

 

[foxbat]

I don't know enough about them to recommend anything specific, but I have one similar to the one you've linked except it's a 4-stage, meaning it has a deionising resin filter. I put a valve on the input and ouput hoses to keep it full of water, and I keep it packed away in the cupboard when not in use.

Not zero but probably close enough to make no difference. Get a cheap TDS meter so you can see the percentage reduction overall. Mine has an output TDS in single figures even after a few years.

Yes, the carbon filter will remove chlorine.

An approximate rule of thumb is 3L of waste water per litre of filtered, but the waste can absolutely be used for cleaning, watering etc.

I'm not sure because I'm not on a meter, but if you're collecting 30L of RO then you'll be using about 120L total.

It depends on the pressure of your mains water, I think mine is pretty high and I get about 10L per hour. I prep my water the day before brewing

Is this the one that you've got Steve?

https://www.vyair.com/compact-4-stage-reverse-osmosis-50-gallons-per-day-system.html
It looks like it's got all the stages needed for brewing water.

 

[strange-steve]

Yes that's very similar to mine. Sediment filter, GAC filter, RO membrane, and DI resin, perfect for the job

 

[Edison]

This is the unit I use:

https://www.waterfilterman.co.uk/fi...scus-fish-marine.html#/22-add_ons-standard_ro
Takes between 8-10 hours to get ~35l and it does waste some water in the process, so maybe not ideal if you’re on a water meter, but it’s pretty compact (~40x30x10cm).
I checked this filter with a calibrated Salifert kit the other week. After nearly 5 years and over 1200l and 30 brews it’s still outputting water at ~2.5ppm CaCO3. My tap water is 131ppm CaCO3.

 

[scomet]

All the above and;

Check who manufactures the RO filter membrane, many of the Chinese ones are crap! The best one to get is made in the USA by Dow-Filmtech and has a low waste water ratio +- 50%.

You can get quite compact units that store away neatly into their own box

If the salesman says “we design our units to give TDS of 10ppm” you know he’s selling you a $hit membrane… + Shop around!! + check you have enough water pressure.

 

[AleDr]

All the above and;

Check who manufactures the RO filter membrane, many of the Chinese ones are crap! The best one to get is made in the USA by Dow-Filmtech and has a low waste water ratio +- 50%.

You can get quite compact units that store away neatly into their own box

If the salesman says “we design our units to give TDS of 10ppm” you know he’s selling you a $hit membrane… + Shop around!! + check you have enough water pressure.

On the water pressure thing,I bought a unit before checking my mains pressure which turned out to be well below the minimum recommended in the instructions.T o my relief the unit works fine at a rate of around 5 litres per hour.I have never checked the waste ratio.Like the o.p. I was using Ashbeck and peeved because the water was costing me more than the grist.So after 7 brews I was in credit not counting the trips to tesco and the dustbin full of the empties.One of my best equipment investments.One last point...it took me a few brewdays before I twigged I could cut the R.O water with a good %age of tap and come out close to my target

 

[BeerCat]

I have had mine over 3 years used for drinking,cooking and beer and its gone from reading 10ppm to 20. Not bad at all considering how much use it has had and it has something that adds minersl back My tap water is 250ppm. Water still tastes great but i will change it at sometime.
Looking forward to hearing if you think there is any difference in your lagers. Your definitely gonna save some money as well.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I’ve just ordered an RO filter And intend to dilute my tap water with RO. I test my water for Alkalinity and Calcium but am relying on my suppliers water reports for Sulphate and Chloride values and appreciate they may not be accurate but, assuming they are and also assuming RO water is pure, if mixing 50% of my tap water and 50% RO, I can expect the finished water to have half of the previous ppm values for all minerals? Or is it not that simple?

 

[SamBrewster]

I was considering a RO but was not sure and even my resident chemical engineer couldn't help me decide...
I stumbled across these guys this morning: Spotless Water Home
They are not food grade but I will boil the hell out of it so it will be fine. I will use up my Lidl bottled water this week then go and refill the bottles at ~4p/l and try it next week (or clean the windows...).
Anyone come across this before?

 

[Justin Dean]

I get tds of 7 with my three stage one.

 

[Horners]

I was considering a RO but was not sure and even my resident chemical engineer couldn't help me decide...
I stumbled across these guys this morning: Spotless Water Home
They are not food grade but I will boil the hell out of it so it will be fine. I will use up my Lidl bottled water this week then go and refill the bottles at ~4p/l and try it next week (or clean the windows...).
Anyone come across this before?

I think I asked about this maybe 18 months ago and there were sufficient naysayers to put me off the idea....

 

[Justin Dean]

Do not be put off. It is a game changer for clean crisp flavours in your beer, You can a dial in any profile you want. The flush water goes in a water butt and that waters my garden. Positive views of my beers has gone up a lot since I did this

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

Do not be put off. It is a game changer for clean crisp flavours in your beer, You can a dial in any profile you want. The flush water goes in a water butt and that waters my garden. Positive views of my beers has gone up a lot since I did this

Ok, so, if my tap water contains 110ppm Sulphate, and I mix this 50/50 with RO, does that give me water with an approx 55ppm Sulphate?

 

[chrisb8]

@foxbat did you buy a RO unit in the end and if so how did you get on?

 

[chthon]

Ok, so, if my tap water contains 110ppm Sulphate, and I mix this 50/50 with RO, does that give me water with an approx 55ppm Sulphate?

Yes.

 

[user 18729]

Yes that's very similar to mine. Sediment filter, GAC filter, RO membrane, and DI resin, perfect for the job

I use this set up after Steve recommended it. Works really well, takes an afternoon to collect 40/50L but the TDS is still zero after several uses

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

@foxbat did you buy a RO unit in the end and if so how did you get on?

I was going to ask the same thing but it looks like he was still using Ashbeck last month. foxbat's brewdays

PS. Not stalking or nothing, honest