Water Filtration?

[bugwan]

Griffo,

Have a look at Bugwan's setup, he also uses a cheap pump too keep the water at a constant temp the whole way around the fermenter.

link

Rook :beerbang:

Thanks Rook! Good to see the old tight-arse temp system getting a mention! Between that and my dead fridge, I'm pushing efficiency to new heights!

We're overdue for a beer, by the way :beer:

 

[glenos]

I have never been a fan of tank water, there is a lot of crap growing in water tanks.

I used to live in a house that had the water tank (green poly) plumbed into the laundry and kitchen on a pressure pump. The owner told me "it runs a bit green for the first few minutes but after that its OK to drink" A bit green!!! It was greener then the grass for 5 minutes or more, no way was I going to drink that shit. I used it to wash the clothes with until it stained the washing machine intake.

Without serious filtration, 1 micron then carbon black, and possibly some UV or ozone treatment, I would be very wary of roof run-off.

In saying that I agree that mains water is not perfect either, I work in a water testing lab, and we get samples from the public cos they are concerned, this resulted in a towns water supply being turned off due to cyano-bacter in the reservoir. A local brew-by-U has been complaining about the particulates in their supply and said he is changing his filters more frequently.

I have been thinking about getting a 2 stage filtration system for my drinking/brewing water, maybe a 1 micron and then a carbon cartridge, like this one on eBay, what are the thoughts out there?


BTW, the guidelines for mains water are much tighter then bottled water, and my boss is of the opinion that bottled water is a total con.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Yes it does which is why you have the tank cleaned every few years but it doesn't come through to the tap because gravity pulls it to the bottom of the tank. Are you telling me that you won't drink your tank water? If it's safe to drink and has no off flavours then it's safe to brew with IMO

I used to drink use the tank water without a filter, but was noticing floaty bits in the water, and, after rain the water would get a bit murky and stired up and would take a few days to settle. So I had to go with a filter. The 1Micron does a great job.

I have no alternative but to use tank water and as I AG sterilization is not an issue.

It is all well and good to say that you need first flush diverters, clean gutters, gutter gaurd and all the rest, but you will still get crap in your tank over time.Any one who doesnt is a bullshit artist. I dont know anyone that has had tanks long term and not had crap in them. Sorry but it is a fact of life.

It is still much nicer water that the stuff from town, even if it does have some bird shit in it.

 

[FazerPete]

I used to drink use the tank water without a filter, but was noticing floaty bits in the water, and, after rain the water would get a bit murky and stired up and would take a few days to settle. So I had to go with a filter. The 1Micron does a great job.

It's interesting to hear because our place only has tank water and we've never had problems with floaties coming out of our 10000 gallon tank. We have one filter on the pump and that's it. Of course I have removed any overhanging trees so the only real dirt that get's into the gutters is dust and bird shit so there's no major solids going in there.

We always get complimented on how good our water tastes whenever we get visitors who are used to town water so I had assumed that tank water would all be the same but I stand corrected. :unsure:

I suppose I should now change my initial recommendation to: if you like drinking your tank water then it would be fine to use untreated in your brews.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

The floatie bits are very small and you have to put a glass upto the light to see them, but they where there.

Most of the time the water was fine, it was only after heavy rain that it stirred up the tank. It is more noticable when the tank is getting empty.

Filter fixed that.

And it certainly is fine to use in brewing. I couldnt be bothered getting fanatical any more.

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

A couple of hundred years ago when I lived in a remote rural area, we had several water tanks. The roof fed just one of them and when we could, we would let everything settle in that before opening the valve to equalise with the others. No sense in having dead birds in *all* your water tanks, I reckon.

 

[EnergeticSloth]

What about the use of filtrated water?
Will that make a crisper/tastier brew?
Ive been thinking about goin up to the west end brewery and grabing some if the donation water that they have on offer
i assume it would be the same stuff they use in the production of their product

 

[drsmurto]

What about the use of filtrated water?
Will that make a crisper/tastier brew?
Ive been thinking about goin up to the west end brewery and grabing some if the donation water that they have on offer
i assume it would be the same stuff they use in the production of their product

Jokes aside about said brewery, their water is very very good and very cheap. Used to live around the corner in Bowden and picked up my drinking water from the brewery. Back then it was $1 donation for up to 15L, think its a tad more now....

 

[Pandreas]

Griffo, The frsh water spring where I get my water from is about half an hour from Ballarat in Daylesford. It's the best tasting water I have EVER come across and don't think even tank water comes close to it.

PM me if you would like the exact location.

I have used this water for drinking for the last 10 years and now collect a couple 15 litre bottles from this spring whenever I am about to put a brew in. If you're like me, once you try this water, you'll never drink (or brew with) anything else!

 

[EnergeticSloth]

Yeah im not sure how much the donation is or for how much but joke about the brewery all ya want i dont drink their shit anyways i just want the water

 

[Shaneygrog]

Hi Griffo, this is my 1st response on ahb so I hope it works. I have never used rainwater but read it's not as good as tap water in most cases due to the particles collected as rain passes through the atmosphere, let alone the organic leaf litter etc sitting in the rain tank. You could run it through a carbon filter though.
Anyway as for brewing in the shed, well I haven't tried that either as I have the luxury of plenty of spare house space where the temp is less variable than a shed. Despite this I wrap my brewing bins in old toweles, blankets whatever during fermentation to minimise temp variation anyway and manage about 2.C variation at most giving me nice beer. I don't use any sort of heating devices but by getting an average of 20.C the last few weeks I have brewed some real nice ales. As it gets cooler I will brew lagers under the house where it's a little cooler, but still using blankets to keep the temp constant. I suspect in the shed you'll need a lot of towels. Try a brew and see the temp in the morning and the evening as the days go by and record them to see what pattern you get. Also keep in mind that the yeast create a little heat themselvs when fermenting. Good luck and happy brewing.

 

[griffo17]

Thanks for the help everybody. I really appreciate it. I managed to get the brew down last night and it was bubbling away this morning.

Fazerpete, the fish tank heater is working beautifully and keeping the brew at a constant 21 degs.

Thanks once again.

Cheers (& beers)

Griffo

:beerbang:

 

[FazerPete]

Thanks for the help everybody. I really appreciate it. I managed to get the brew down last night and it was bubbling away this morning.

Fazerpete, the fish tank heater is working beautifully and keeping the brew at a constant 21 degs.

Thanks once again.

Cheers (& beers)

Griffo

:beerbang:

Good to hear mate. I'm sure it'll be magnificent. :beer: