Water shortage brewing.

[Duxuk]

I am collecting the water from my immersion chiller to water the garden. The volume of water is higher than I’d imagined.

 

[Duxuk]

Here’s the garden!

 

[Dutto]

There will be quite a large increase in water volume used during the current "heatwave" because:

1. The ambient temperature is much warmer.
2. The water temperature is much warmer.
3. The start and finish temperatures of the wort are the same.

That's a great looking garden! :thumb:

 

[GerritT]

As long as there's enough water coming out of the faucet, there's enough water.

 

[Duxuk]

I think I must have used at least 15 gallons of water to do the cooling. A hose pipe ban is looking inevitable so I'll just need to use my imagination to find another way. I find that no chill doesn't suit late hopped brews because the alpha acids continue to isomerise with the long exposure to heat.

 

[dan125]

Makes me wonder how many pints of water a commercial brewery use all told to make a pint of beer??
Maybe we're using less than they would?

 

[Headlands]

Many many years ago when I was working for a Brewery our target was to get below 10 barrels of water used per 1 barrel of beer produced. I would guess these days it's probably about 7 barrels of water.

 

[MyQul]

Can't imagine they invented it like they did BIAB but, because of the lack of water in Australian, no chill is very popular over there

 

[Simonh82]

Stirring or otherwise agitating the wort as it cools is a good way to speed up chilling with an immersion chiller. It keeps hot wort constantly in contact with the chiller and avoids a cool insulating layer of wort building up around the coils.

The other possibility if you have a temperature controlled fermentation chamber is to use that to do the last bit of cooling. The immersion chiller gets less effective as you get closer to the groundwater temp, so it might take 5 minutes to get from 99°C to 50°C but it will take 10 minutes to get from 30°C to 20°C. If you do the last bit in your fermentation chamber you will save a lot of water but will probably use quite a lot of electricity (which also uses a lot of water in the generation in most cases)

 

[Clint]

..I'm going to try lack of water in Australian...
Hey mate there's no blardy wora..
Don't you just love predictive text!

 

[Slid]

I think I must have used at least 15 gallons of water to do the cooling. A hose pipe ban is looking inevitable so I'll just need to use my imagination to find another way. I find that no chill doesn't suit late hopped brews because the alpha acids continue to isomerise with the long exposure to heat.

The problem in the NW at the moment is not that there is no water in the reservoirs, it is that demand is so high coming out of the Network that it is difficult to treat enough water to retain sufficient pressure throughout the Network to get water to all destinations.
Re-using the water from the chiller is a "top tip" for sure! Topping up a water butt with it is an obvious immediate destination.

 

[Clint]

England should build more reservoirs....we have plenty of water in Wales but it gets sent elsewhere.
Thinking about it ..that Loch Ness never seems empty....

 

[Duxuk]

The BBC reported a few days ago about our excessive water usage. He was stood by Rivington reservoir which was full to the brim. It was built to serve Liverpool, not the local area. I don't suppose it would be high enough to give Chorley any water pressure. I think they're probably softening us up for the hose pipe ban. Our water probably comes from the lake district and is very soft. The kettle never gets any scale building up. When I worked in Formby just north of Liverpool the water did scale the kettle so may have been better for brewing. Is there any way to find out for sure where your water comes from?

 

[hop-a-long]

How much water does it take to run a washing machine. If I had to choose between doing laundry and brewing....I know what my choice would be!

 

[GerritT]

Is there any way to find out for sure where your water comes from?

Ask the company that delivers you the bill.

It works that way here on the mainland, see attachment.

 

[Clint]

Mines from the Dee...

 

[GerritT]

Mines from the Dee...

Does this help? https://www.hdcymru.co.uk/my-services/water-quality/check-my-water-quality/

 

[stigman]

The reservoirs never me are low at the moment but they are dropping it all from helicopters to put out the massive fires on the moor behind my house.

 

[stigman]

A lot of the time there's to much in there and they have to dump it down the river seems a waste but quite spectacular to watch

 

[Slid]

The BBC reported a few days ago about our excessive water usage. He was stood by Rivington reservoir which was full to the brim. It was built to serve Liverpool, not the local area. I don't suppose it would be high enough to give Chorley any water pressure. I think they're probably softening us up for the hose pipe ban. Our water probably comes from the lake district and is very soft. The kettle never gets any scale building up. When I worked in Formby just north of Liverpool the water did scale the kettle so may have been better for brewing. Is there any way to find out for sure where your water comes from?

There is some linkage in the Network around the Chorley area, so it my come from multiple water treatment works and from a variety of sources, but the two main, obvious sources are from the Lakes or from run off from local hills. An indicative water analysis is available:

https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-and-support/your-water-supply/drinking-water-quality/

You just google United Utilities Water Analysis if my link does not work.