RO system

[liamf89]

Does water treatment really make a noticeable difference.. Was thinking of getting a ro system to start with a blank canvas water profile but wondering is there really much of a difference to your Brews when doing water treatment and second question is a 3 stage ro system enough or do you want 4 or 5

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Does water treatment really make a noticeable difference.. Was thinking of getting a ro system to start with a blank canvas water profile but wondering is there really much of a difference to your Brews when doing water treatment and second question is a 3 stage ro system enough or do you want 4 or 5

A 3 stage RO system (with DI) will strip your water of most impurities.
Check out ROman.co.uk for best deals

 

[strange-steve]

I use a little portable 4 stage system which leaves the water about 7ppm tds. A 3 stage probably would be good enough though.

As for your question about making a difference, water treatment won't magically make a bad beer good, but it can definitely be an improvement. There are other factors which are probably more important (sanitation, good yeast management, temperature control etc) but it's definitely worth doing in my opinion.

 

[liamf89]

Yeah I have all them other boxes ticked and am loving my beers I'm making. But as Christmas is coming am thinking of some gift ideas and stuff to take my brews to next level was thinking ro system and mixed gas regulator going get myself mixed gas in the new year for my stouts

 

[AdeDunn]

I bought mine years ago from collins water products limited, who're a bit cheaper than RO-Man. It's a 5 stage drinking water system, with a storage tank, but I removed the 5th stage as it was just another carbon filter to have to replace. :lol: Made no difference to the taste of the water. I get my replacement filters off eBay usually, and recently upgraded the membrane and also flow restrictor to 150 gpd.

There's nothing portable about it though, it fills the cupboard under the kitchen sink, along with our HMA filter system.

 

[liamf89]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/122094639916 how does this one look okay do yas think

 

[strange-steve]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/122094639916 how does this one look okay do yas think

I have that exact same one.

 

[Norfolk79]

Just wondering how much waste water do these produce, say for getting 30l of brewing water out of them?


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[liamf89]

I have that exact same one.

What size system did you go with and connection type do you just start gathering the water the evening or morning before you plan to brew

 

[AdeDunn]

Just wondering how much waste water do these produce, say for getting 30l of brewing water out of them?


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A LOT, as in if you are on a water meter you may want to not get one and buy it from your local aquarium store. It's somewhere around the 7:1/8:1 region, a good flow restrictor helps though (it slows down the flow of water through the waste, increasing the efficiency of the membrane), if your water pressure is low then a pump on the inlet can help quite a bit as well by increasing the pressure across the membrane.

If your more concerned for environmental reasons though, you may just want to brew beer that suits your tap water.... :lol: Or find a use for the "waste" water rather than putting it down the drain, end of the day it's just a little bit harder than it was going in.

 

[BeerCat]

I thought my tap water tasted pretty good. Its 225ppm. When i compared it to my RO i could not believe the difference. Will never go back although it seems a bit weird throwing chemicals into pure water to make it taste crap again. Yes they do waste water but still works out cheaper than buying it and also great for brewing.

 

[AdeDunn]

I thought my tap water tasted pretty good. Its 225ppm. When i compared it to my RO i could not believe the difference. Will never go back although it seems a bit weird throwing chemicals into pure water to make it taste crap again. Yes they do waste water but still works out cheaper than buying it and also great for brewing.

Aye, once you've seen a 5 micron pre-filter after just 12 months you stop thinking of tap water as "clean"... Ours tastes foul anyway, smells nasty too!

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[strange-steve]

What size system did you go with and connection type do you just start gathering the water the evening or morning before you plan to brew

I'm not sure which one it is tbh, it was given to me by a mate but I think it's the 50GPD. I have the screw on tap connector which I connect to the outside tap via the kitchen window. It takes a few hours to collect the water so I usually do it the day before brewing.

 

[mabrungard]

The 'need' for RO water for brewing is largely dependent upon your tap water. If your tap water is too mineralized for the beer styles you prefer to brew, then getting RO is probably worth it. But this isn't an automatic need for all brewers. There are plenty of water sources that are lightly mineralized and suited for brewing with only minor treatment. Finding out what's in your tap water is the first step in learning if you need to make the switch.

 

[liamf89]

What water calculate do you use then for your ro water and what salts and additions do I need then to treat the water.. Thanks you seem to be the water man around here seen your post about water profiles and that

 

[GlentoranMark]

Before you go buying any filtration system, get a water report from your local supplier.

Here in Belfast the water has only 5-20ppm of impurities, Edinburgh is similar.

Remember also that the composition of the "impurities" give water it's flavour. The water here tastes OK but travelling the UK you can taste different area's.

Also there are simple DI filters that will do the trick which may be much cheaper than RO. You may go through more DI filters but if it's just for brewing then the expense will be negligible.

I thought my tap water tasted pretty good. Its 225ppm. When i compared it to my RO i could not believe the difference. Will never go back although it seems a bit weird throwing chemicals into pure water to make it taste crap again. Yes they do waste water but still works out cheaper than buying it and also great for brewing.

 

[meirion658]

Where's the best place to get water profiles from. I manly brew Begian beers and the odd IPA.

Thanks

 

[mabrungard]

What water calculate do you use then for your ro water and what salts and additions do I need then to treat the water.. Thanks you seem to be the water man around here seen your post about water profiles and that

I created Bru'n Water to guide me with brewing salt and acid additions. There is a free version available on-line. I suggest that you review the Water Knowledge page on the Bru'n Water website to help understand the why and how of brewing water treatment.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

GlentoranMark...are you sure those readings are correct....5-20 ppm are very low. Im not disputing it but those figures mean that there will be no Chloride/Chlorine....Floride/florine (sp) in your water and no detectable trace elements either.
Im only asking because I keep a marine reef aquarium and need to get my water to as near "O" as possible and a few reef keepers in NI have trouble with this.
Solihull (Servern Trent Water) before RO treatment 184ppm...after RO 6ppm after DI 4ppm

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Top Tip...Always keep your RO system turned on, just at a slight trickle. As soon as you turn it off the membrane will not do its job.
I reall ydont recommend turning it on and off...This will just damage the membrane and allow (dirty) water through. Always test with a quality TDS meter. TDS meters are available on line and are quite cheap.