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#1 Seven

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Posted 25 April 2016 - 10:31 AM

As I mentioned in another thread, I am going to get back into brewing after a hiatus. I used to brew on city water but I'm now on a well and am going to send off 2 samples to Ward Labs: one straight from the well (via an outside spigot) and one that's been run through a ph neutralizer, a softener and a particle filter (1 micron?). The treated water was also drawn while hot since I would prefer to start with 140 degree water than 50 degree water and my tankless water heater shouldn't be contributing any minerals.

 

Anywho, my initial thought was to go for the standard W-6 test but I read that having iron sampled may be a good idea if there is a lot present. The picture below shows the 2 samples. The untreated water turns our sinks and toilets orange pretty quickly so I assume that my iron is pretty high. Should I still go for the W-6 or one of the other tests that includes iron? Thanks!

 

P.S. - sorry for the crappy pic...

 

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#2 positiveContact

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Posted 25 April 2016 - 10:32 AM

oh damn!  I might not want to use that water on the left at all.  no science behind that - just a gut feeling.



#3 HVB

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Posted 25 April 2016 - 10:38 AM

oh damn!  I might not want to use that water on the left at all.  no science behind that - just a gut feeling.

My gut is with your gut :crazy:



#4 Seven

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Posted 25 April 2016 - 10:42 AM

LOL, it's been a while since I've had it but it never tasted bad to me. Maybe I'll try some tonight.

 

I have a few options on what water to use if this untreated one doesn't pass muster. I am able to bypass the neutralizer and/or the softener and have the water run through the particle filter...it should clear up some of the "orange" sediment. Pulling off 10 gallons or so per brewing session shouldn't jam up the filter too much but I wouldn't want to make a habit of it.



#5 gnef

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Posted 25 April 2016 - 09:18 PM

If you have an RO filter, you can use that, and then create your water profiles from scratch. That is what I had to do for a while when I was brewing at my parents house, and they are also on a well. From the well, the water was too hard, but after the softener wasn't good either. I was working in a bio research lab where the professor had an industrial RO system, and let me pull off as much as I wanted. Just buy the brewing salts you need from the homebrew shop (or online if your local doesn't have everything), and get a good .01 gram scale, and you should be good to go.



#6 Seven

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 06:43 AM

Thanks! No access to an RO filter unfortunately. A quick update...the water bottles have been sitting at my desk here at work since yesterday. Some sediment in the untreated water has settled to the bottom of the bottle but the water is still not perfectly clear. My sediment filter should get rid of the turbidity so maybe that's the better sample to have tested? Here are my choices:

  1. Straight from the well (bottle on the left in the pic above);
  2. Ph buffered, sediment filtered;
  3. Softened, sediment filtered;
  4. Ph buffered, softened, sediment filtered;
  5. Un-buffered, un-softened, sediment filtered;

Thoughts? Or am I making this more complicated than need be? I'd rather not have all of them tested but I think I can rule out 3 and 4 since the softened water will likely have too much sodium.



#7 neddles

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 07:10 AM

Does your local grocery have an RO machine? I am very rural where I am but the small town nearby has an RO dispenser at both the grocery and at Walmart. I just take my better bottles with me to the grocery and fill them up for like a $1.59/6 gallons.

 

ETA: both places also have a maintenance record on display so you can see that someone is checking the machine routinely.


Edited by neddles, 26 April 2016 - 07:15 AM.


#8 Seven

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 09:08 AM

I've never noticed one but I can honestly say that I've never looked either. I'll keep my eyes open next time.

Thanks!



#9 neddles

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 09:21 AM

I've never noticed one but I can honestly say that I've never looked either. I'll keep my eyes open next time.
Thanks!

Look for the stainless steel dispenser. Somewhere on the machine it will (hopefully) say "purified by Reverse Osmosis". If not on the machine it may say so on the bottles you can buy from them and fill.

#10 denny

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 10:14 AM

Does your local grocery have an RO machine? I am very rural where I am but the small town nearby has an RO dispenser at both the grocery and at Walmart. I just take my better bottles with me to the grocery and fill them up for like a $1.59/6 gallons.

 

ETA: both places also have a maintenance record on display so you can see that someone is checking the machine routinely.

 

IIRC, Martin has found a great variation in the water from grocery store RO machines.  It all depends on how they're maintained.


Edited by denny, 26 April 2016 - 10:16 AM.


#11 neddles

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 10:20 AM

IIRC, Martin has found a great variation in the water from grocery store RO machines.  It all depends on how they're maintained.

I can see how that would be the case. Ken ran into that IIRC, I have been tempted to get a cheap TDS meter and test it but honestly it performs as predicted by BrunWater so I don't bother.



#12 denny

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 10:40 AM

I can see how that would be the case. Ken ran into that IIRC, I have been tempted to get a cheap TDS meter and test it but honestly it performs as predicted by BrunWater so I don't bother.

 

Yeah, the consistency and knowing what to expect are what matter.  Still, I'm glad I don't have to rely on one.  Feels like too much of a crapshoot.  What if they don't get around to changing the filter?  What if they don't keep it clean?



#13 neddles

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 11:02 AM

Yeah, the consistency and knowing what to expect are what matter.  Still, I'm glad I don't have to rely on one.  Feels like too much of a crapshoot.  What if they don't get around to changing the filter?  What if they don't keep it clean?

The one I fill my bottles from has the maintenance record posted on the side of it. It is serviced once a month. I've been brewing with water from it for 3+ yrs and have yet to have issues.


Edited by neddles, 26 April 2016 - 11:02 AM.


#14 denny

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 12:32 PM

The one I fill my bottles from has the maintenance record posted on the side of it. It is serviced once a month. I've been brewing with water from it for 3+ yrs and have yet to have issues.

 

That's excellent!  I've heard so many bad stories that it's great to have a good example!



#15 gnef

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Posted 26 April 2016 - 11:01 PM

A cheap TDS meter would help greatly in giving a yes/no answer to the water each time. I believe our RO water that we use for drinking reduces the TDS down to around 3 or so, if I remember correctly.




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