# Water - Is It Ok To Use Hot Water Tap?



## Gout

I currently use the garden hose to fill my HLT with cold water then wait while it heats to strike temps, however the last brew i forgot to fill my HLT for a sparge - so i used hot water from the hot watr tap into the HLT to hit its temps. The brew worked out fine.

I am thinking if its ok, i will install a hot water tap next to the brewery (pipe runs past it) and fill the brewery with hot water and then just need to warm it slightly to mash in temps etc saving me time - and i assume the hotwater tank is more efficent than my HLT kettle element etc

Does anyone see any issues with this?
does anyone do this?

Is there any effect on the salts of the water? i thought the hot water tank might have anodes and the like that i am worried may effect the mash?

I though it would be a nice upgrade to go with the natural gas outlet to help save time and money


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## Adamt

Depends on your hot water system... some systems leach a lot of things into your water that you don't want to be drinknig, let alone put into your beer.

Natural gas fired is probably OK?


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## gwozniak

I use hot tap water whenever I can to speed things up. Never noticed any problems with it but not sure about if hot water is beeter at picking up crap from the pipes.


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## Bribie G

I invariably use hot water from the Solahart on the roof. Still alive and several medal wins later I continue to do so. And Bribie water isn't anything to write home about. Aren't Rheem type electric systems lined with a sort of glass? Sounds just like a giant electric kettle.


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## beerDingo

I've been wondering this as well. 90% I just use cold water, but when in a rush I'll 50/50 hot/cold. Haven't noticed any difference yet, but I've still got a lot of palate development to learn I think.

Usually when you get a glass of water from a hot tap, it is all cloudy (is there anything wrong with this?). But as Adamt says, it probably depends on your hot water system.


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## Gout

well looking into this further i note we have a AquaMax Gas 5star rated Stainless Steel cylinder.

so it would surly be more efficent than my HLT and being gas and stainless i hope its safe to drink.

Re: cloudy water - i will place a cup of hot water and cold water and note the differences including taste when they are both cool.


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## Adamt

beerDingo said:


> Usually when you get a glass of water from a hot tap, it is all cloudy (is there anything wrong with this?).



That's a magical cocktail of gases called "air"


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## Rodolphe01

I think the cloudy appearance, which goes quickly, is just dossolved oxygen coming out of solution becasue of the high temperature. I think some hot water systems might have zinc for cathodic corrosion protection, not sure what that means for brewing/consumption though.


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## beerDingo

Adamt said:


> That's a magical cocktail of gases called "air"



LOL, I figured it was something like that, as yes, it does dissipate. Spose, I don't really drink tea/coffee, so never really deal with much hot water (in a cup). But the water out of my HLT doesn't seem as cloudy as what comes out of the hot water system. Don't know the brand, but it's a relatively new (but probably cheapo, knowing the landlord), metal looking thing, with natural gas. Will do some investigating, as yes, this would save a bit of time, and money on gas.

Edit: 4* seems to be the local water guru, maybe I should bring him a sample to analyse h34r:


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## Fourstar

beerDingo said:


> Edit: 4* seems to be the local water guru, maybe I should bring him a sample to analyse h34r:



Ha, im as useless as tits on a bull! I'd say it would be safe to use and i doubt it would be leeching anything detrimental. I remember seeing someone who used the boiler form their old hot water system as a HLT or kettle. Assuming its stainless its probably good to go.


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## Gout

taste wise they seem the same at the same temp (room) the cold water glass has tiny bubbles on the glass however the hot doesnot (assume this was all the bubbles when i poured it while hot)

would a ph test tell us much? i am waiting to calibrate my PH meter at i havnt used it for ages, however assuming the hot water lost O2 the PH would be different anyway - i am not a science guy so have no idea how it works from here on


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## beerDingo

Gout said:


> however assuming the hot water lost O2 the PH would be different anyway - i am not a science guy so have no idea how it works from here on



I would assume that if that's the only difference, then it would be balanced out once we heat it to correct temperature anyway. I've heard that some people biol water the day before (but don't know how may people actually do this), so that would in effect do the same thing (wouldn't it).


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## WarmBeer

Saves a hell of a lot of time and gas getting water to strike temperature. My tap hot water comes out at 55 deg.

I think the old adage of "don't drink hot tap water" comes from past times with copper boilers and crappy galvanised pipes.


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## Gout

beer dingo - after the boil - into mash yeah i agree

I was meaning in the glasses now - i was thinking if there was extra metals in the hot water from the tank it may change the PH ..... then i thought further and concluded i have no F'in idea what i am doing 

so i will wait if anyone strongly recommends not to do this, otherwise i will keep trying to brew with hot water

warmbeer, i had never know not to drink the hot water... guess i never even thought about drinking from the hot water tap until brewing


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## Synthetase

Be careful of some older hot water systems, they do leach heavy metals into the water. Additionally, many older tanks are lined on the inside with an enamel coating that begins to crack with age due to the constant expansion-contraction of the tank as it heats and cools. This allows leeching of some toxic compounds. My rule is: if you don't know, play it safe.

As for energy efficiency, it depends. A gas hot water system loses a lot of heat from the flame straight to the air around the tank, whereas an electric element is immersed and all energy liberated is directly heating the water. So I guess it depends on the relative price of electricity versus natural gas per Joule and how much loss to the air/additional plumbing you're willing to entertain . If you are worried about your environmental footprint, then gas is better since Melbourne's electricity mostly comes from brown coal.


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## bradsbrew

Synthetase said:


> Be careful of some older hot water systems, they do leach heavy metals into the water. Additionally, many older tanks are lined on the inside with an enamel coating that begins to crack with age due to the constant expansion-contraction of the tank as it heats and cools. This allows leeching of some toxic compounds. My rule is: if you don't know, play it safe.
> 
> As for energy efficiency, it depends. A gas hot water system loses a lot of heat from the flame straight to the air around the tank, whereas an electric element is immersed and all energy liberated is directly heating the water. So I guess it depends on the relative price of electricity versus natural gas per Joule and how much loss to the air/additional plumbing you're willing to entertain . If you are worried about your environmental footprint, then gas is better since Melbourne's electricity mostly comes from brown coal.



What age are you looking at for being too old. I have a Saxon electric HWS. I do not use it for brewing as yet but i would consider it if I could save both time and energy. Also would 5.2 ph buffer help out any ph issues caused from the HWS.

cheers Brad


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## Gout

My HWS is say 10 years old, and stainless. I think its ok but to be honest i dont really know as i dont work with them or water quality for that matter.


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## blackbock

Stainless steel tank = no sacrificial anode = less chance of metal contamination in your brew. I do it, but then my hot water is solar heated as well - at this time of year there is plenty of hot water in my tank, too much if anything.

If I had an old glass lined tank with anode I would definitely think twice about using that water to make beer.


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## Darren

You must also consider the age of the house you live in. Hot water from your spanking brand new sola heater has to pass/sit in copper pipes if your house is older (and if your house is really old you will have iron pipes).

I would love one of those new temp. controlled instant hot water systems for the sparge (or a dedicated sola system for direct sparging but probably useless in Adelaide winter when I tend to brew).

cheers

Darren


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## blackbock

True Darren, but even with older pipes if your water is fairly soft there won't be too much crud accumulated there, and if you discard the first litre or so the chance of contamination is not that great.


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## Synthetase

bradsbrew said:


> What age are you looking at for being too old. I have a Saxon electric HWS. I do not use it for brewing as yet but i would consider it if I could save both time and energy. Also would 5.2 ph buffer help out any ph issues caused from the HWS.
> 
> cheers Brad



I can't answer the age question, it depends on what it's made of and how it works (the older they are the more likely they are to be unfriendly for consumption purposes). I doubt the concentration of trace metals would contribute significantly to pH, they would be obviated by the much higher amounts of other salts in your water supply. A pH 5.2 buffer ought to keep that under control. I use it because I really can't be bothered playing around with a range of different salts (although I'm sure I will eventually).


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## beerDingo

Darren said:


> You must also consider the age of the house you live in. Hot water from your spanking brand new sola heater has to pass/sit in copper pipes if your house is older (and if your house is really old you will have iron pipes).



But in this case, it wouldn't really matter if you were using water from the hot or cold tap??? As they would both have the same issue, unless the higher temps makes a difference in the pipes.


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## manticle

I use hot water often.

Neither copper nor iron are heavy metals so if they're not in toxic amounts then I doubt a small amount of either in the weater will do much harm. Copper is only toxic in very large amounts - I guess iron is similar as in small amounts it's an essential mineral.

Please note: I am not claiming to be Mr Science man so if there's evidence to the contrary I'll switch over to the cold tap.


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## Synthetase

I sense some more chemistry reading coming on (it's what I really like about discussions such as this) 

The term "heavy metal" is, from a scientific point of view, nonsensical; It has no strict definition. However, copper is defined as a heavy metal (or toxic metal) for the purposes of regulating industry and acceptable levels in the environment. As for toxicity levels for metals, it often depends on their state in the environment. For example, fully oxidised iron (Fe3+) isn't really an issue because it is insoluble, but sufficiently high levels of Fe2+ can lead to iron toxicity - "sufficiently high" being the operative phrase here. How much depends on many factors, including the subject in question (human, dog, etc. [lead is far more toxic to developing children than it is to adults]) and the aforementioned state (affects reactions and ability to absorb metals).

The copper in your pipes is generally covered by relatively inert copper oxide, so it doesn't really pose a threat, but if I were to feed you copper sulphate, you would become rather sick (CuSO4 makes a great fungicide). Incidentally, Cu is also an essential mineral for humans.

As for iron, I know that in wine making, contact between the must and iron is a big no-no as it leads to the formation of various iron-based compounds that add fault flavours to the finished wine. In the case of beer, I have no idea (hence some of the extra reading I need to do!).


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## beersom

Darren said:


> You must also consider the age of the house you live in. Hot water from your spanking brand new sola heater has to pass/sit in copper pipes if your house is older (and if your house is really old you will have iron pipes).
> 
> Darren




Galvanised iron pipes were used for cold water whilst copper was used for hot.
More modern homes will have copper for hot and cold
.. and really modern homes may have this new fangled plastic ( came in after my time) piping that I don't trust the longevity of.

As a former plumber and now a brewer I can't see any problems with using the water from your HWS.... in fact I do it at home.


PS. ... Darrens idea of an instantaneous for sparging sounds good to me... and they are a bit cheaper nowadays as well.


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## Darren

manticle said:


> I use hot water often.
> 
> Neither copper nor iron are heavy metals so if they're not in toxic amounts then I doubt a small amount of either in the weater will do much harm. Copper is only toxic in very large amounts - I guess iron is similar as in small amounts it's an essential mineral.
> 
> Please note: I am not claiming to be Mr Science man so if there's evidence to the contrary I'll switch over to the cold tap.




Hey Manticle,

Heavy metals are nowadays prohibited from HWS systems. 

Perhaps look at Hemosiderosis in the liver. Not an indoctrination but simply a consideration.

cheers

Darren


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## Peteoz77

Well, I have used hot water directly from my tap for my last 300 GALLONS of beer and I think it is perfectly safe and wonderful!

55 from the tap into the HLT, heat for 20 mins up to 80 ( a little less now that it's summer) and run it into the MLT. Adjust a few degess plus or minus and you are done! Then just fill up the HLT with more hot water, and heat it for Sparging.


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## A3k

I'm pretty lucky that the water out of my hot water system (electric storage) comes out at about 69degrees. Pretty much perfect.

The last 4-6 brews i've done have been with this hot water, and the time savings allows me to do it after work (although i was very hesitant at first). I haven't noticed the affect on these beers as they have been beers i've never made before. Maybe in the christmas break i'll try a side by side comparison for my HWS.

Cheers,
A3k


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## manticle

Darren said:


> Hey Manticle,
> 
> Heavy metals are nowadays prohibited from HWS systems.
> 
> Perhaps look at Hemosiderosis in the liver. Not an indoctrination but simply a consideration.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Darren



Had a quick squiz - obviously requires a bit more in depth reading but my understanding is basically overdose of iron/excess iron in the blood or organs? Hopefully my skim read hasn't been a misread.

Can the simple presence of iron pipes be enough to cause this? Curious because my house (rented) is of a reasonable age (no idea about the hot water system).

Also, as someone else mentioned earlier, does heat (~50) have an effect on leaching of iron and copper or is our cold water likely to have the same (if any) risks as hot?

@Syntetease: I guess my main point was about the toxic levels of pipes being unlikely to be high enough to warrant concern. I'm presuming that if I can drink the water with no ill effects, that I can brew with it.

Otherwise I'm heading for an early grave. My dying words to my lady will be: "that's right sweetheart, it wasn't all the beer that shot my liver out, it was those damn water pipes".


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## dug

blackbock said:


> Stainless steel tank = no sacrificial anode = less chance of metal contamination in your brew.



I'm sure I read somewhere that the very little bit of zinc from a sacrifical anode dissoveld into the water can be a good thing for yeast, ie its like a trace element.

and I always use hot water from the tap to speed things up.


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## QldKev

dug said:


> I'm sure I read somewhere that the very little bit of zinc from a sacrifical anode dissoveld into the water can be a good thing for yeast, ie its like a trace element.
> 
> and I always use hot water from the tap to speed things up.




Nope thats copper that is a yeast nutrient.


Qldkev


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## QldKev

Rudi 101 said:


> I think the cloudy appearance, which goes quickly, is just dossolved oxygen coming out of solution becasue of the high temperature. I think some hot water systems might have zinc for cathodic corrosion protection, not sure what that means for brewing/consumption though.




Yep I would never use water from a hot water system due to the sacrificial anodes. But a lot of people say "I'm not dead from it so it must be ok"; bit like they used to say about smoking

QldKev


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## Darren

beerDingo said:


> But in this case, it wouldn't really matter if you were using water from the hot or cold tap??? As they would both have the same issue, unless the higher temps makes a difference in the pipes.




yeah they do.

cheers

darren


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## Darren

Higher temps do indeed increase the solubility of toxic chemical elements in a brew.

Similarly, concentration of these ionic elements by boiling (reduction of water) increases the input (from drinking resultant beer) and hence increases toxicity.

cheers

Darren


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## Tony

I find it funny that people start wondering about what nasties they may get from water from their HWS. Have you had a look at whats in most foods you eat? Do you drink soft drinks? The caramel colour in most cola drinks is made from water, sugar, Hydrocloric acid and amonia..... and lost of the last 2. Its nasty stuff and melts holes in your clothes in its pure form...... then theres all those preservatives..... and god knows what else.

Were not talking eating lead pain off the walls here...... its hot water????

I use hot water from the tap to fill my HLT as its already close to temp and saves me lots of time...... also the power used to heat the HWS is off peak which is much cheaper power.

When i brew from my esky i use water from the hot water tap..... mixed with a touch of cold to mash in, then a bit more boiled to infuse up to mash temp. THen i sparge with nothing but HWS hot water. Its about 68 to 70 deg from the tap here.

Beers are great and im not going blind or mad or ...... well....... im already mad 

cheers


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## manticle

What's that on your shirt?


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## Darren

Tony,

I find your "electrical engineer" post similarly funny as i do your avatar picture.

But again I guess you are right? Excessive exposure to metal ions is always encouraged as an acceptable "occupational and safelty hazard" in the mines (where you work) that the average Aussiehomebrewer should ignore?


cheers

Darren


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## manticle

@Darren: I know you suggested that metal ion seepage/contamination might be accentuated by hot water and subsequent boiling but is it likely to be in amounts anywhere close to toxic? I wash my dishes in hot tap water, boil my vegies with water from the hot tap etc etc. Will any of these practices lead to toxic levels and is beer making likely to lead to levels more toxic than any of these?


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## Tony

Darren said:


> Tony,
> 
> I find your "electrical engineer" post similarly funny as i do your avatar picture.
> 
> But again I guess you are right? Excessive exposure to metal ions is always encouraged as an acceptable "occupational and safelty hazard" in the mines (where you work) that the average Aussiehomebrewer should ignore?
> 
> 
> cheers
> 
> Darren



:lol:


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## jayse

BribieG said:


> snipped>
> .......................... Still alive and several medal wins later I continue to do so.



GMK has moved along but I can see he has successfully passed the torch. :lol:


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## manticle

manticle said:


> Neither copper nor iron are heavy metals



Let me say this little tidbit came directly from my arse. Copper IS considered a heavy metal despite the definition of heavy metal being slightly non-standard.

Man enough to admit when I'm wrong but I'd rather not be so in the first place.


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## jayse

I love Heavy Metal :super:


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## kegpig

I replaced my system a few years back and was a stainless steel gas unit we cut the tank open and if you saw what crap was in it you would never drink from your hot water tap again


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## Gout

poo ..... kegpig - looks like you have set my mind. say no to Hot water?


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## crundle

Meh, I use hot water all the time for brewing. It saves me time and the beer tastes ok by me.

Maybe I should issue a health warning on my beers from now on - brewed with Adelaide water from a hot water service.

Crundle


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## jayse

I have seen a lot of things you think you wouldn't want to use again.


But you do


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## jayse

crundle said:


> Meh, I use hot water all the time for brewing. It saves me time and the beer tastes ok by me.
> 
> Maybe I should issue a health warning on my beers from now on - brewed with Adelaide water from a hot water service.
> 
> Crundle



I have been doing the very exact same thing as you for many years, the HWS is my friend (but I have never had to put him to bed drunk).


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## Tony

like hot water 

Your skin is the largest organ in (on) your body and absorbes just about everything you put on it.

I refuse to use bug repellants after seeing airoguard make a plastic hard hat so brittle it shatered. Your skin soaks it up!

All the chemicals in soap, shampoo, sunscreen, and god knows what else that we rub on ourelves.

Im buying goats milk soap now for the family and its curing my kids Excma and skin conditions. No nasty chemicals.

who is having a cold shower tonight?........ we wouldnt want heavy metal poisioning from the hot water.

Im off for a nice warm sower.

cheers


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## jayse

Tony said:


> like hot water
> 
> Your skin is the largest organ in (on) your body and absorbes just about everything you put on it.
> 
> I refuse to use bug repellants after seeing airoguard make a plastic hard hat so brittle it shatered. Your skin soaks it up!
> 
> All the chemicals in soap, shampoo, sunscreen, and god knows what else that we rub on ourelves.
> 
> Im buying goats milk soap now for the family and its curing my kids Excma and skin conditions. No nasty chemicals.
> 
> who is having a cold shower tonight?........ we wouldnt want heavy metal poisioning from the hot water.
> 
> Im off for a nice warm sower.
> 
> cheers



Theres something peotic in the way that reads, not sure of the meaning but can you do it Poe style?


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## MHB

Dragging out the old plumber and digging into memories probably best left buried.
There are two classes of hot water systems
Instantaneous and Storage
Instantaneous are basically not going to be a problem, the gas ones are just a copper heat exchanger hanging over a fire, water goes in cold and comes out hot, newer ones (about 10 years or so) have a tempering valve that mixes hot and cold so the water wont scald people. The modern ones can have a computer controlled mixer that lets you dial up the desired temperature. The only possible downsides are that you might get some copper in the water; and that the newer ones are not really hot enough. Lets ignore Electric instantaneous as they are fairly rare now days and getting rarer.
Storage tanks are a whole different ballgame. I think you will find they all have sacrificial anodes (yes all, Stainless and especially Solar units - they have huge anodes), these are going to be made of Magnesium or Aluminium or and alloy of the two. The amount of Aluminium goes up as the hardness of the local water supply increases. Anodes should be replaced every 5 years (read your warranty paperwork some time).

Does it matter? Well apart from the never ending arguments about the link between Aluminium and Alzheimer's not a dam.

I think most of the muck in the bottom of storage systems is decayed Anode, very reactive metals like those chosen for Anodes will react, most of the Aluminium will wind up as Aluminium Hydroxide (if your water is chlorinated). Some Magnesium may get into the brew water but unless there is something seriously wrong with your hot water system I doubt it will be enough to cause any trouble.

Copper is more interesting, potentially the cause of lots of problems, in small dosed it accelerates protein condensation (trub formation) and tends to get bound up in the trub, not a problem and arguably beneficial.
Too much will shorten the shelf life of beer by catalysing (speeding up) the formation of permanent haze; the old brewers saw goes, No Copper Downstream of the Kettle, for very good reasons.
Way too much is a cumulative heavy metal toxin and could seriously ruin your whole day, not to mention your beer. We are talking extreme cases here; the tap water would be coming out blue/green or would taste Tinny this is usually only caused by faulty wiring or appliances leaking to earth via the plumbing.

For most of us I dont think using water from a HWS is an issue defiantly not in the case of modern well maintained systems, but if you have problems that you cant track down it is one place to look.

Isnt brewing fun
MHB


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## Thirsty Boy

I think you are more likely to notice brewing problems than have health issues, or at least I hope so because I have been cooking pasta, veges, soups - everything really - in water from the hot tap all my life......

Copper & Zinc while needed by yeast in very low amounts, are both detrimental to yeast health and general beer quality at higher levels; and iron is, apart from actually toxic stuff, pretty much the worst of the worst ions you could have in your brewing water. So I can see a potential for beer quality issues with old and/or poorly maintained piping and hot water systems - but if you aren't noticing problems... then really there isn't one.

As MHB said, if you are noticing problems.. maybe consider your use of hot water from the tap as a place to look, but thats about it. I'd use it if it were available in my brewery.

I'd be more inclined to suggest that the OP stop using his garden hose to fill his HLT than to worry about using hot water.

TB


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## Wisey

Sensitive lot.

If you were Chinese, taking your brewing water out of the downstream yantzee river - you would have a valid concern


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## beerDingo

manticle said:


> Otherwise I'm heading for an early grave. My dying words to my lady will be: "that's right sweetheart, it wasn't all the beer that shot my liver out, it was those damn water pipes".



:lol:


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## blackbock

MHB said:


> Storage tanks are a whole different ballgame. I think you will find they all have sacrificial anodes (yes all, Stainless and especially Solar units - they have huge anodes)



No they don't. Mine is an Everlast tank, I know for a fact there is no anode. 

After a while, the anode itself becomes coated in other material anyhow and that is why they become ineffective and tanks rust out.


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## Gout

Thirsty Boy said:


> I'd be more inclined to suggest that the OP stop using his garden hose to fill his HLT than to worry about using hot water.
> 
> TB


How do you fill your brewery? i tend to brew 50Lt or 100Lt and apart from the hose (which i run for a while to clean it out) i could only bucket the water - which takes ages

i cant detect any effect from the hose but if there is a better way i would like to know so i can change my setup and use a new method before i move the brew stand

cheers

edit: also the hose i use is about 5m long just to get from the tap to the brewery


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## bradsbrew

Garden Hose = Bad IMO. especially with hot water, think of the taste you get of warm water out of the nylex..it tastes like...well...garden hose??. Use Pots 

Brad

Edit for why i dont use hose.


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## quincy

FFS....

I've been drinking water from the tap all my life. Still do it now. If I'm outside doing stuff around the yard and feeling a bit parched, I turn on the hose and have a drink.

Have been using hot water from the tap for cooking, washing etc. If I make a coffee or tea in summer and don't want it boiling hot, I turn on the hot water and use that.

I sometimes use hot water in my HLT if time is tight....does it change the taste of the resultant beer - f**ked if I know  

IMHO my beer is very drinkable - perhaps not award winning but I doubt if my taste buds (and many others for that matter) would be able to say "that beer has been brewed using hot water from the tap".

My 2c

Cheers
Q


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## Synthetase

Gout: the big green shed sells potable water hoses designed to carry drinking water and don't contribute any plastic "hose taste".


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## Gout

sorry i use the garden hose only with cold water, hot water i use a 20Lt drum 

synthetase - if i have a hot tap this hose you mention would be perfect! and given i plan to pump from chiller to the 100Lt fermenter it would also be great for that too. thanks very much i will have a look see

cheers


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## Fantoman

I think you will find that a lot of the crap at the bottom of Hot Water System's is also sediment that is picked up from the local water supply - remember, there are many meters of copper pipe before your hot water system, and god knows what kind of pipe in the water grid, all of which are likely leeching into the water. Also, your cold tap water just comes from a large tank at the top of the local hill anyway in most cases.


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## manticle

What type of pipes lead from this 'local hill' to my cold water tap?


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## Gout

i installed new pipes from the HWS when we got it as it used to be in the roof - now outside so thats fine but the pipes to the house will be old, be it hot or cold.

If i get the natural gas hooked up i guess i wont worry as much as heat is cheaper. I guess i am just a tight arse on time and heating (lpg/elec) cost - aint we all hehe


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## browndog

My Missus has one of those italian ceramic water filters that sit on the kitchen bench, they hold about 10L or so. She fills it from the cold water tap in the kitchen, it runs though a ceramic candle with an activated carbon core. Every 4 months or so it slows down to a trickle an the candle is coated in a rusty looking powder. Having said that, I don' tthink it would be any worse for you than the flouride an chlorine that the govenment puts in the water in the name of health.

cheers

Browndog


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## Thirsty Boy

Gout said:


> How do you fill your brewery? i tend to brew 50Lt or 100Lt and apart from the hose (which i run for a while to clean it out) i could only bucket the water - which takes ages
> 
> i cant detect any effect from the hose but if there is a better way i would like to know so i can change my setup and use a new method before i move the brew stand
> 
> cheers
> 
> edit: also the hose i use is about 5m long just to get from the tap to the brewery



With the food grade hose synthetase mentioned ... never gets used for anything but brewing water, is stored indoors between use and goes through a dedicated carbon filter on the way to the HLT (most of the time) -- do a search on the term Garden Hose... On this and other forums, I can remember more than enough "whats this weird taste in my beer?" threads that were backtracked to a garden hose so that I would bucket all 40L of water before I used a garden hose.

But.. if the water coming out the business end tastes taint free... then you're obviously good to go and a different hose is an optional upgrade for the future.


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## jyo

browndog said:


> My Missus has one of those italian ceramic water filters that sit on the kitchen bench, they hold about 10L or so. She fills it from the cold water tap in the kitchen, it runs though a ceramic candle with an activated carbon core. Every 4 months or so it slows down to a trickle an the candle is coated in a rusty looking powder. Having said that, I don' tthink it would be any worse for you than the flouride an chlorine that the govenment puts in the water in the name of health.
> 
> cheers
> 
> Browndog



You should see the crap in the bottom of mains water PVC pipes. :icon_vomit:


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## Tony

Thirsty Boy said:


> With the food grade hose synthetase mentioned ... never gets used for anything but brewing water, is stored indoors between use and goes through a dedicated carbon filter on the way to the HLT (most of the time)



Hey Thirsty.

I bought a carbon filter and 10" housing a few years back to use for filtering my brewing water and never hooked it up. I found it the other day.... still in its plastic wrapper.

Im not certain about what to do with it between brews........ i think you air dry them and run a bit through next time you use them before puting the water in the HLY dont you?

cheers


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## SpillsMostOfIt

Tony said:


> Im not certain about what to do with it between brews........ i think you air dry them and run a bit through next time you use them before puting the water in the HLY dont you?



Someone here once wrote that they stick it in a plastic bag and into the freezer. I am as yet undecided about whether to use a filter or not to filter the crap that comes off my roof, collection tank, black poly pipe, storage tank, etc, but I used to air dry the thing and store it like any other filter.

Regarding drinking water quality (caravan) hose, I think if you pass hot water through it, you will taste some of the plasticisers. I haven't had mine long enough to be entirely sure about it, but I've tasted some quite plasticky (hot) water out of it. Cold is absolutely fine though and I got to pay a heap more for it than normal garden hose.


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## brettprevans

I recently hooked up a water filter for brewing. Instructions were to unwrap, then run some water thru it first to rinse it then use as normal. When rinsing blackish water came out for about 39sec. I assume it's a coating on the filter. All good since then. Oh and I use silicone hose with brass tap fittings ti transfer the water into the filter and from the filter to the hlt.

Edit: re OP
ur better off getting a wall urn for what ur planning. Cheaper than a hot water service. If u do go a hot water service use a newer model. If ur really worried ask a plumber/gas fitter.


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## mckenry

Peteoz77 said:


> Well, I have used hot water directly from my tap for my last 300 GALLONS of beer and I think it is perfectly safe and wonderful!
> 
> 55 from the tap into the HLT, heat for 20 mins up to 80 ( a little less now that it's summer) and run it into the MLT. Adjust a few degess plus or minus and you are done! Then just fill up the HLT with more hot water, and heat it for Sparging.



Can someone set up a poll on using your hot water service for brewing please? Things like, for: Mash water only, sparge water only, both, never, sometimes, etc. Thanks someone! I dunnos hows to do it.
Personally I have only ever used my filtered cold water as I thought the HWS was no go for brewing. May have been an old wives tale, but I'd be interested to know how many do use their HWS for brewing water


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## bum

jyo said:


> You should see the crap in the bottom of mains water PVC pipes. :icon_vomit:



I do quite regularly. The only negative comment I could make is that the smell of cholrine is sometimes a bit too strong. If the street has services drawing water or it feeds another area the pipe should be fine - particularly if the main is PVC (this is an age based statement, not one based on the properties of the material itself).

Now the ends of mains that see little to no use - those you don't want to know about.


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## sama

Being unable to filter hot tapwater prior to brewing is the main reason why i dont use it, i can definetly taste the difference between our unfiltered/filtered tapwater.Our Unfiltered tastes like shit.Install a filter at ya kitchen sink if you can,its the one brewing related thing my missus actually approved of...i just fill 20l willow jerry cans prior to brewing and lug them to the brewery!


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## dr K

What your local water authority would prefer you did not know (cause its yucky) and your water filter company certainly does not want you to know is that the big big mains pipes (as opposed to what feeds your house, so the big pipes that feed the backwards tributaries) are actually, something on the line of sphagnum bogs but different, they are chockers with slime and assorted organics, is this slime going to make you sick or screw your beer up, most likely not, is it going to filter your water..well make your own call.
Your HWS is not going to impact on your water or beer quality, if its old enough to do so its most likely blown up by now , a sort of sacrificial HWS one might say.

K


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