# How to use RO Water for AG brewing - recommendations



## HaveFun (8/5/18)

Hi,

I got myself this RO Water system:

http://vi.vipr.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBay...descgauge=1&cspheader=1&oneClk=1&secureDesc=0

According to the manual of the RO System i will adjust the minerals of my local water report..

E.G. if i have 21 ppm Calcium and the RO system will reduce this by 97.3% i will have 0.567ppm Calcuim left.

I adjust the figures in my EZ Water calculation sheet. 

How is everyone using RO water for brewing ?

For the mash and the sparge water ?

Today i checked the pH of the RO Water with a professional and calibrated pH meter 

https://www.eutechinst.com/pdt-para-ph-eutechph150.html

and i got a pH of 8.58 !!

This can not be right ?

Cheers
Stefan


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## fungrel (9/5/18)

My 6 stage is a bit all over the place too, generally between 8.5-9.5.

I just input the starting pH to whatever I measured and leave all other minerals at 0.


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## mabrungard (9/5/18)

The pH of RO water is meaningless to brewing. Don't worry about that parameter. What you do need to worry about is the total dissolved solids content of the RO water. Having less than around 25 ppm is a sign that the RO water is reasonably pure. A TDS meter is fairly inexpensive and worth having around.

Save your pH meter for checking the pH of cooled wort samples from the mash. Using a program like Bru'n Water will help get your mineral additions in the right range, along with the mash pH.


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## Bonenose (10/5/18)

Have a look at buffering capacity. In simple terms the cleaner the water the less resistance it will have to change in pH. So testing pH of RO water does not really give you any useful info as Martin says above.


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## HaveFun (10/5/18)

What pH so do I use for the Brun Water calculation ?
pH 7 ?
I don’t like ads too much acid to the mash
Thanks 
Stefan


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## markp (10/5/18)

HaveFun said:


> What pH so do I use for the Brun Water calculation ?
> pH 7 ?
> I don’t like ads too much acid to the mash
> Thanks
> Stefan


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## markp (10/5/18)

HaveFun said:


> What pH so do I use for the Brun Water calculation ?
> pH 7 ?
> I don’t like ads too much acid to the mash
> Thanks
> Stefan



Hey Stefan
Here’s some basic water additions that will get your RO water close to good for you to start with.


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## Bonenose (10/5/18)

Have never used RO for brewing but I would think that if you do your mineral additions first you should then be able to test pH and get a more meaningful result.


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## HaveFun (10/5/18)

Thanks


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