Just had my water tested from Ward Labs and I’m planning on picking up a carbon filter. What exactly does the carbon filter take out of the water? I’m assuming chlorine and any inorganic compounds. Still leaving on the vital minerals needed for All-Grain brewing? I have a RO system and softner in my house and can’t use the water for All-Grain brewing. Any feedback is appreciated…
My city tap water is great but it does have Cl, so that is basically the only thing I’m trying to get rid of with my carbon filter.
Chlorine is the main thing that the carbon filter is designed to remove, as well as some sediment.
I have a Brita filter that does a pretty good job of removing everything but the hardness. I have a well and before we got our softener, our water would turn orange/yellow if you poured directly from the tap and let it sit on the counter a few minutes from the iron. The filter took the iron out and you had clear water with no hint of iron. I haven’t brewed with it yet because I’m trying to figure out a way to get water past the softener without turning it off (hate to have nasty water in the pipes)
I do have a spigot outside that does not go through the softener. Maybe I’ll go get a bucket of that and run it through the filter sometime. See what it does for brewing.
All of my brewing water is ran through a RO filter. I then add back salts/acid to get the water profile I want. That being said. I have well water that fluctuates considerably.
:cheers:
James
If just removing chlorine, another effective option is to crush and stir in one campden tablet per up to 20 gallons of tap water (one tablet in somewhat less water won’t hurt anything), and let it sit for a few minutes, which chemically removes the chlorine without negative impacts to your brewing process or final beer. I generally first dissolve the crushed tablet in 1/4 cup hot water before adding to the HLT.
My understanding is that this also works to remove chloramine.
the carbon filter will take all the chlorine, sediment(Iron, other dirts), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However carbon filters are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds. Another important tip when using carbon water filters is to filter the water slowly, with the tap turned half on, rather than on full blast. This allows more time for the water to contact the filter media, allowing for greater filtration and more efficient removal of contaminates. When using an activated carbon water filter, the most important thing to remember is to replace the filter following manufacturer’s recommendations. Carbon filter cartridges eventually wear out and become less effective at removing contaminates after a period of a few weeks or months.
Read more: What Do Carbon Water Filters Remove? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5095826_carbo … z1cxX2qxmw
Why not? Should be easy enough to build the RO water to the desired profile you want.
Why not? Should be easy enough to build the RO water to the desired profile you want.[/quote]
who ever installed the R/O system should have left at least one water line with hard water. It is usually the cold water line for the kitchen sink. that way you can use non-softened water for drinking water. Also it is a big waste to use R/O water to water the lawn, so outside lines are typically hard. check it out by following the pipeline. It’s easy enough to tap into one of these lines or fill from that spiquet.
I know this because I worked for culligen for five years installing systems.
thanks for the info…I’m going to use my RO water and build my beers with brewing salts. Does anybody know if there is a guide or reference to go by for the different style beers? I have the BeerSmith program, but it only gives the type of water for the country or region, not the style of beer.
search for Bru’n Water, it’s an Excel file that should have everything you need. I just started doing the RO + additions.
Thanks BD…I’ll check it out!
