Using Water From The Hot Water Service In My Hlt

[spudfarmerboy]

Hello Brewers,
At the moment I use water from my water tanks (with a temp of about 12C), and heat it up to strike temp in my HLT. Would there be any ill effects if I was to use water from my electric hot water service, which is supplied from the same water tanks? It would mean only having to heat the strike water from about 65C up to strike temp rather than from about 12C.
Cheers
Spud

 

[QldKev]

I've recently started doing it; I honestly cannot tell the diffrence in the final beer. So I say go for it.

There's been a few threads before and some people talk about possible issues with it, but from my reading no-one has even actually had an issue.

Only downside is when my wife goes for a shower after I have drain 110L of water from the HWS.

QldKev

edit: I should add I have never made a light lager using the HWS water, the lightest beer I have made using it is my Aussie Gold with a mild grain base but 28IBU.

 

[Malted]

I think Townies don't use water from the HWS because of potential for chlorine to be still active in it; I think the "HWS water is bad" argument stems from this. Yeasties don't like chlorine apparently.

I said to hell with it and used town supply HWS water in my HLT recently and I saved over an hour of waiting for the water to heat up. Chlorine is supposedly driven off by boiling so I don't think much will go through to affect the yeasties.

 

[Bribie G]

When I'm doing a style-Nazi beer such as a Bo Pils, Yorkshire Bitter etc I use RO water and salt it accordingly. But for a whack-it-through UK bitter, a lawnmower high adjunct lager, etc etc I just use the HWS and have done for nearly 3 years, and it didn't stop me getting a couple of gongs at some comps, and no off flavours that I can discern. :icon_cheers:
Aren't electric HWS lined with a glass or ceramic layer? If you flush them occasionally I expect they are just like a massive urn, in practice.

 

[yum beer]

If you had an old system it probably wouldnt be a great idea, wierd flavours etc, but with a newer model I wouldnt think youd have any problems.
the boil should knock out any wierdness in the water.
As Bribie said you probably dont want to do it for a lighter beer where flavours will be easier to notice.

 

[Malted]

If you had an old system it probably wouldnt be a great idea, wierd flavours etc, but with a newer model I wouldnt think youd have any problems.
the boil should knock out any wierdness in the water.
As Bribie said you probably dont want to do it for a lighter beer where flavours will be easier to notice.

I thought it was kind of standard for HWS to have a copper tank inside but I suppose with the price of copper these days it might be cheaper to line them as BribieG suggested?

Tank water in a HWS, what kind of potential weirdness or flavours might you expect from that?

I'll run with that for shits and giggles.

What sort of tank is it?
Some contend that concrete tanks can contribute slightly higher levels of calcium and lime (?) to the water. I suppose this would be more the case for a new tank versus and older one?

What sort of roofing feeds the tank?
Maybe galvanised tin could contribute some mineral additions. Particulalry if your roof or gutters have some rust they could contribute slightly higher levels of iron to the water.

Do you have leaves in the guttering?
Maybe rotting leaves could contribute tannins to your water supply that could affect your beer as a percieved harshness?

Do you have lots of birds in the area?
Maybe they roost on your roof or shit on it? They could contribute nitrates to your water? Not sure what this would do to a brew.

If you have a new conrete tank, fed from rusty gutters, cockato shit on the roof and a really old HWS then I would be doubtfull about using the HWS water in your HLT. Personally I can't see that using the water straight from the tank would be much different, if these are you circumstances... it'd still have higher calcium and lime, rust and birdshit.

I'll eat my hat, or at least nibble it a bit, when someone can tell me exactly why HWS fed from a RW tank is not good for brewing.

 

[Bribie G]

The steel tank normally has a bonded glass liner to keep rust out of the water.

Vitreous - that's the word I was thinking of ... vitreous

 

[therook]

Do it all the time.

Poly tanks, Zincalume roofing and birds etc etc.....

Beer tastes great

Rook

 

[Rodolphe01]

I thought the problem with hot water system water was the sacrificial anode possibly leaching zinc or other metals into the water? This shouldn't be a problem where the vitreous enamel lining is intact.

I don't use the hot water tap for my brewing, but for different reasons.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Taste it.

Fill a glass bottle with hot tap water and let it cool down - taste it. If it tastes clean and good, its fine to brew with. If it tastes different to your cold water, have another think about it.

Thats all thats required

 

[lagers44]

I agree with Thirsty.

I've been using the hot water system water for 14years, no problems with weird taste but gets to the boil quicker than from the cold tap . Time is money they say.

 

[QldKev]

Good point Thirsty, I actually did do the taste test with mine, and once it was back at room temp there was a slightly different taste to it; but I would not have said a worse taste.

Also as lagers44 said, time is money. But depending on the cost of heating water in your HWS it can be a direct tangable item too. Up here tarrif 11 elec is 21.351c kw/h, but the elec for the HWS tarrif 31 is only 8.712c kw/h

QldKev

edit:
Just did the maths
110L water
to get from 20c tap to 60c HWS temp = 40c change
will take 5.12 kw/hours

(21.351 - 8.712) * 5.12 = 64.71 cents saving against peak tarrif wow

At least it still saves time. But if you have a elec heating element and a controller you could always switch it on a couple of hours before and save the HWS running out.

 

[goomboogo]

Only downside is when my wife goes for a shower after I have drain 110L of water from the HWS.

QldKev

This is why I brew early in the morning. First in, first served. I just lock the door to the garage(brew room), turn up the music and I can't hear the yelling.

Spudfarmerboy, I have changed from heating up cold water to using water from the HWS and noticed no difference in the final beer. The only difference is less time to get the HLT up to temperature. Take the tip from TB and do a taste test on the water. I've never done this but I'm going to give it a go right now.

 

[spudfarmerboy]

Thanks for the replies gents,
I will take TB's advice and do the taste test.
Cheers
Spud

 

[Dave70]

In theory you should be able to crank up the thermostat on a HWS to heat water well above strike temp. Ive replaced enough of them with faulty thermos that were spewing hot water out of the pressure relief valve like giant kettles to know that.
The only thing is the HWS is hard wired and runs a separate fuse at the box, but I cant see why you couldn't adapt a high amp plug and lead to a unit and and just plug it into a regular outlet. Its only the standard live - neutral - earth setup after all. I might just score a 50L unit and give this one a crack, that would be a real time saver on brew day.

And by the way, sacrificial anodes do **** all, even if they are replaced on a regular basis. The idea is metal wont oxidize in the absence of oxygen. Full tank = no oxygen.
That's the idea anyway.
If you get longer than eight or nine years out of a HWS, congratulations.

 

[Malted]

I thought the problem with hot water system water was the sacrificial anode possibly leaching zinc or other metals into the water? This shouldn't be a problem where the vitreous enamel lining is intact.

I don't use the hot water tap for my brewing, but for different reasons.

I'll eat my hat, or at least nibble it a bit, when someone can tell me exactly why HWS fed from a RW tank is not good for brewing.

Ohh it is almost lunchtime. *looks nervously at his hat*

Probably Magnesium according to your link. So your beers could end up a bit hoppier from using water from the HWS because they may be higher in Magnesium Sulfates?

So why don't you use hot tap water for brewing?

 

[goomboogo]

If you get longer than eight or nine years out of a HWS, congratulations.

Thanks for that. Looks like I may something to look forward to soon.

 

[felten]

Our hot water heater is at least 14 years old :X probably quite a bit older, it was here when we moved in.

 

[stl]

Our hot water heater is at least 14 years old :X probably quite a bit older, it was here when we moved in.

And my gas system is 22 years old according to the notes scribbled on it...

 

[stux]

My solar system has a 400L SS tank with gas boost

As far as I'm concerned it's a solar powered HLT