Twin filter cartridge waste of money?

[wobblythongs]

I've always had the twin under sink sediment and .5 micron carbon filters believing better quality water up until a couple of months ago I purchased a TDS meter testing the tap water came up at 206ppm in Springwood 4127 then testing newly replaced filters came in at the same read. woolworths 600ml spring water read 87 and my mates place at Arundle gold coast had a very impressive 80ppm and same read again from his under sink filter.
Now with this knowledge looking up water filter supply shops they all admit carbon filters remove very little if any total dissolved solids from water.

Is there any point in having a filter system? I'm thinking it's all a brain wash scam.

 

[SBOB]

I use a single carbon filter for my brew water, purely to remove/reduce chlorine and improve taste..

 

[MHB]

I think the time to do your research is before you spend money, its pretty silly to buy something then complain that it isn't doing the job you wanted, when its doing exactly what it was designed to do.

A carbon filter will remove Chlorine, a bunch of organic chemicals like pesticide residues all of which we want out of brewing water.
The particulate will remove bugs and (for want of a better word) shit in the water, have a look at the filter after its been in use for a couple of months, the amount of crap on the filter can be startling.
Standard practice is to have the particulate before the carbon filter, this extends the life of the carbon filter.

It is also important to replace both filters from time to time, otherwise the carbon filter will be saturated and no longer removing the Cl so it becomes pretty pointless.
Mark

 

[lost at sea]

the house i bought had a single filter setup in the kitchen, but it was broken. the town water in newcastle reeked of chlorine to me (im used to drinking ROed water on a ship) so i bought a new single filter setup, an the resulting water now tastes fine. worthy investment without even considering the beer side of things.

 

[fungrel]

I've always had the twin under sink sediment and .5 micron carbon filters believing better quality water up until a couple of months ago I purchased a TDS meter testing the tap water came up at 206ppm in Springwood 4127 then testing newly replaced filters came in at the same read. woolworths 600ml spring water read 87 and my mates place at Arundle gold coast had a very impressive 80ppm and same read again from his under sink filter.
Now with this knowledge looking up water filter supply shops they all admit carbon filters remove very little if any total dissolved solids from water.

Is there any point in having a filter system? I'm thinking it's all a brain wash scam.

Maybe you are looking at this issue in a slightly different way than i do. Perhaps you think it's a scam because you haven't brewed or tasted beers that have been made with more than a two stage system, and the water quality from the two stage system is just a percieved difference in flavour and doesn't physically strip dissolved solids from the water?

I can guarantee that the water coming out of a multiple stage filter system makes a huge difference. I use a 6 stage RO filter that outputs at pH 10.3 and less than 16ppm dissolved solids and I went from tap water that was around 114ppm DS. The difference in my light coloured beers when using the RO system is truly like night and day.