RO Filters

[ChilledGecko]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated.

I terminated the supply pipe with a washing machine shut off connection, I ordered the RO kit with a garden tap connector.
Do they fit? Do they heck as like. Different threads!
It’ll go with a lot of effort but it then leaks.
So, me 0 - RO unit 1 at the moment.

Tomorrow I’ll have a ferret around my store of ‘useful bits’ to get it fixed.
Once I get it working I’ll look at fitting the ball **** (arrived today) and auto shut off valve

 

[ChilledGecko]

My pleasure @ChilledGecko - apologies if sounded like I was interfering :-)

You carry on ‘interfering’ engineer, I’m a great believer that knowledge is empowerment.
The diagram has clarified a lot for me - thanks

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

You could just buy the RO water you need from an aquarium store

Another option, depending on where you live, is to drive to Malvern (Worcestershire) and there is a free UV-filtered spring spout at the top of the town which freely dispenses water that is about as devoid of minerals as you can get - basically just rain water filtered down through the granite and sand layers.

 

[MackemBrew]

If you don't want to take the plunge straight away, you could just buy the RO water you need from an aquarium store. I only use RO water in lagers and buy 75 litres worth at a time for less than a tenner (I think it's about 13p per litre). I then tend to use Bru'n'Water to work out what I need according to the percentage RO I'm using. I probably make the RO between 40 and 60% of my brew so my 75 litres lasts a fair while. I do BIAB and only need about 35 to 40 litres of water per brew.

You could take say 25 litres to your lockup in one container and make up the balance with Brita filtered water in another container.

I do like this idea! Will need to try and find a local aquarium store. So you just dilute your normal tap water with the RO and then build up to your desired profile?

 

[MackemBrew]

Another option, depending on where you live, is to drive to Malvern (Worcestershire) and there is a free UV-filtered spring spout at the top of the town which freely dispenses water that is about as devoid of minerals as you can get - basically just rain water filtered down through the granite and sand layers.

Unfortunately I am in the North East but that sounds excellent!

 

[Spratt]

I do like this idea! Will need to try and find a local aquarium store. So you just dilute your normal tap water with the RO and then build up to your desired profile?

I do like this idea! Will need to try and find a local aquarium store. So you just dilute your normal tap water with the RO and then build up to your desired profile?

Yes, you could do an all RO water brew if you wanted and then add in all the chemicals that were required to get the profile that you wanted. I believe this is relatively popular in the States, though some say that it leaves the beer lacking a certain something.

I'm in a very hard water area with a lot of chalk and that's great for stouts and darker brews but difficult to work with for pale ales and pilsner type lagers in particular. Bru'n'Water lets you put in your figures for your water, (I got mine tested at Murphy & Son through Brew UK) or you can use the ones that your water company publish. Once your figures are in Bru'n'Water if you're having a job to get the right numbers with your additions - CRS, Calcium Chloride, Gypsum whatever, you can then put in a percentage figure of dilution with RO water and play around with that to make it easier to match your numbers with the profile recommended for that type of beer.

Whether it's all worth it, is another matter. I do it because I can and because I feel it makes sense to get as many things right with a brew as possible. But I couldn't put my hand on my heart and say yes, I'm sure I could taste the difference in a blind tasting!

 

[ChilledGecko]

Another alternative would be to talk to the local window cleaner, they seem to be moving to RO water pumped up a brush on a stick.
Our local window cleaner sells RO water to the local home brewers as a sideline.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Whether it's all worth it, is another matter. I do it because I can and because I feel it makes sense to get as many things right with a brew as possible. But I couldn't put my hand on my heart and say yes, I'm sure I could taste the difference in a blind tasting!

Wot 'e said :-)

 

[MackemBrew]

Bru'n'Water lets you put in your figures for your water, (I got mine tested at Murphy & Son through Brew UK) or you can use the ones that your water company publish.

Was the brewuk thing worth it? I was considering that on a previous order. I had asked for the local water report but it seems to be missing a fair amount of information

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

What water company are you with @MackemBrew ?

 

[MackemBrew]

What water company are you with @MackemBrew ?

Northumbrian Water/Wave Utilities.

I had a report from NW for my house which gave me a fair amount of info but the report that they have provided for the unit is missing a lot of information unfortunately

 

[Spratt]

Was the brewuk thing worth it? I was considering that on a previous order. I had asked for the local water report but it seems to be missing a fair amount of information

Was the brewuk thing worth it? I was considering that on a previous order. I had asked for the local water report but it seems to be missing a fair amount of information

Yes, I felt it was. Murphy sent back a report which was divided into 3 separate brewing categories: Bitters & Pale Ales; Stouts, Porters and Milds; Lagers and Pilsners. I tried to scan it but they've used watermarked paper and most of it is illegible.

There is a column on the left which gives Ions (Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Sulphite etc) then they have columns for each of their suggested treatments. So there will be a column for AMS, one for Calcium Chloride and so on. Then they have the Raw Liquor Column which is the analysis of your water sample and then their "Theoretical Wort Values Pre Fermentation" (which is what you will have if you follow their recommendation) and finally a couple of columns with higher and lower limits for suggested targets for that group of beers. Thus for Bitters and Pale Ales, they recommend AMS 26ml per 25 litres of liquor with DWB 13g per 25 litres of beer to be made. It is very simple and though not as advanced as Bru'N'Water pretty much ***** proof.

My Anglian Water figures for my supply sort of correspond with Murphy's, but AW have some pretty wild variations. AW present their analysis as Minimum, Average and Maximum. While their range for Mg and Ca is much the same for all 3 columns Chloride has quite a big range 24,34,46 (Murphy was 28) and their Sulphate one was completely at sea 23,89,173 (Murphy 25). I phoned AW to find out what was going on, and they explained that the Sulphate one was so confusing because by law they have to include the extremes. Very, very occasionally the water tower serving us is topped up with water from the Fens which apparently accounts for the 173 reading. He said for brewing purposes I could ignore it.

So, depending on your water company you might get a pretty accurate and useful set of figures for your supply, but you might not! I didn't (still don't) really understand all the finer points of water treatment, so I found the Murphy report just what I wanted at the time (2015) when I was still a complete novice at all grain brewing.

David

 

[MackemBrew]

Yes, I felt it was. Murphy sent back a report which was divided into 3 separate brewing categories: Bitters & Pale Ales; Stouts, Porters and Milds; Lagers and Pilsners. I tried to scan it but they've used watermarked paper and most of it is illegible.

There is a column on the left which gives Ions (Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Sulphite etc) then they have columns for each of their suggested treatments. So there will be a column for AMS, one for Calcium Chloride and so on. Then they have the Raw Liquor Column which is the analysis of your water sample and then their "Theoretical Wort Values Pre Fermentation" (which is what you will have if you follow their recommendation) and finally a couple of columns with higher and lower limits for suggested targets for that group of beers. Thus for Bitters and Pale Ales, they recommend AMS 26ml per 25 litres of liquor with DWB 13g per 25 litres of beer to be made. It is very simple and though not as advanced as Bru'N'Water pretty much ***** proof.

My Anglian Water figures for my supply sort of correspond with Murphy's, but AW have some pretty wild variations. AW present their analysis as Minimum, Average and Maximum. While their range for Mg and Ca is much the same for all 3 columns Chloride has quite a big range 24,34,46 (Murphy was 28) and their Sulphate one was completely at sea 23,89,173 (Murphy 25). I phoned AW to find out what was going on, and they explained that the Sulphate one was so confusing because by law they have to include the extremes. Very, very occasionally the water tower serving us is topped up with water from the Fens which apparently accounts for the 173 reading. He said for brewing purposes I could ignore it.

So, depending on your water company you might get a pretty accurate and useful set of figures for your supply, but you might not! I didn't (still don't) really understand all the finer points of water treatment, so I found the Murphy report just what I wanted at the time (2015) when I was still a complete novice at all grain brewing.

David

Thanks, think I'll give it a whirl. Be good to make sure it has nothing funky in there too haha

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Be good to make sure it has nothing funky in there too haha

Yes I was thinking that too -- you don't want to find there's industrial waste in those pipes...

 

[MackemBrew]

Yes I was thinking that too -- you don't want to find there's industrial waste in those pipes...

My thoughts exactly ...stick to bottled water for now!

 

[Mash Monster]

If you don't want to take the plunge straight away, you could just buy the RO water you need from an aquarium store. I only use RO water in lagers and buy 75 litres worth at a time for less than a tenner (I think it's about 13p per litre). I then tend to use Bru'n'Water to work out what I need according to the percentage RO I'm using. I probably make the RO between 40 and 60% of my brew so my 75 litres lasts a fair while. I do BIAB and only need about 35 to 40 litres of water per brew.

You could take say 25 litres to your lockup in one container and make up the balance with Brita filtered water in another container.

Hi
You say you buy 75L at a time how do you store it ? And how long do you keep it before you use it ?
Cheers MM

 

[the_quick]

Another place to buy RO water, check location near you: Spotless Water Locations

I have a marine aquarium, so use RO water mainly for that. I only use RO for German style lagers, for English styles I use tap water - sometimes 50:50 with RO for pale and hoppy beers.

RO filter do waste lots of water, it can be reduced by increasing pressure with a booster pump and second membrane. I have that and it helped a lot. I have 150GPD system and it produces 25L in about 45 minutes in the summer - temperature affect the speed as well.

 

[Spratt]

Hi
You say you buy 75L at a time how do you store it ? And how long do you keep it before you use it ?
Cheers MM

I keep it in 3 x 25 litre plastic (HDPE) containers in my shed. I've never really noticed how long I've kept it for but certainly as much as 6 months and probably longer.

 

[Thatscold]

Another place to buy RO water, check location near you: Spotless Water Locations

Just had a look on their website and it looked promising until I read:

Is the water drinkable?

The filling stations have not been approved or built to standards for human consumption.