For several brews now I've been using the Salifert tests to work out my alkalinity. It always comes out as very soft water, around 30-35ppm CaCO3. However when I look at the water profile for my area on Welsh Water, I get told that the alkalinity is 180ppm CaCO3. I'm pretty sure I'm doing the test correctly. How can it be so different?
What to do when the Salifert alk test is vastly different to what my water company says?
- Thread starter Leard
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I was reading something recently, maybe on here, that the variation can widen the further you are from the source, I’m about 40 miles away from my source but if I ask for a water report, it comes from there. Why it varies, not really sure. Maybe something to do with minerals depositing out in the mains?
I think the water reports are annualised averages. If your water company utilises more than 1 water source it may be possible to get very different values at different times depending on the source?
Your water company will be able to advise.
Your water company will be able to advise.
Absolutely this.
I’ve seen quite a variation in values from salifert kits, but 35ppm to 180ppm would be too wide for even that.
I would trust the salifert kit.
Water authority reports are not meant for some thing such as our needs that need to be more precise for brewing liquor. They take readings from several locations several times over normally a 6 month to a year period. This is then collated into a report to please the industry watchdog so the water you use on your brewday may have little in common to what you are reading. Once a year I send a sample to Phoenix Analytical for testing. I then do a Salifert alkalinity test before EVERY brew and a calcium test every 3 or 4 brews. Providing there is no major shift in those 2 readings the other values will also be OK.
