What undersink Filter

[Josho]

Hi Guys,

Bit of a newb question so here goes:

Just wanted a little advice as to what inline undersink filter i should be considering,
I have a feeling that a two stage might be the way to go but im not too sure,

I will only be using it for brew water - 23 litres so the faster flow the better i guess, coffemachine and kettle water

the water in butler is quite hard - looking at the shower screen, so i may need to take a bit of the chlorine out does this sound correct?

 

[chewy]

A simple 2 stage 2.5 x 4.5 big blue with 1mu polyspun and 1mu carbon filter will be suffice. WWW.magneticworld.com check them out.. They know what they're selling so don't be worried to contact them.

 

[Malted]

So you have said the water is hard which is generally excessive mineral salts such as calcium and magnesium ions and your soap has a hard time lathering. If this is the case it would be the hardness that is leaving marks on your shower screen. Chlorine is not likely to make marks on your shower screen. Excessive chlorine in your brew water can lead to plastic flavour in your beer - chlorophenols link to article on them: http://beer-geeking.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/water-chlorine-chloramine-and.html

It would be hard to say what needs to be done to your water if you don't know what is already in it. I would try googling for 5 year average water testing for your area.
Here is a link to a basic article on brewing water hardness published by Beersmith2. http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/08/24/brewing-water-hard-or-soft/

I like filtering to remove potential organics etc and a bit of chlorine. I have bought this 'magneticworld' filter unit: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Twin-CARAVAN-Water-Filter-Kit-Heavy-Construction-White-Bracket-Filters-1-4GWC-/251274182729?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item3a811bc049 and highly recommend it's build quality and usefulness. Others may find that a different unit suits them. I fill a 50L urn with mine and it takes beggar all time. These use a general 10" filter that are easily replaceable.

 

[MartinOC]

If your water is hard, using a filter won't help it. They're mainly useful for removing particulates.

If you can manage it, try simmering your total required brewing water for half an & then let it sit uncovered whilst it cools overnight. That will drive-off the chlorine & precipitate-out some of the carbonates (what makes water hard).

Do you collect/have access to rainwater? That's another way of getting better quality water (as long as it rains!).

If all-else fails & your water is still crappy, you might try cutting it with some distilled/RO water (supermarkets will have 2L bottles in the laundry section for less than a couple of $'s). Expensive, but possibly your only solution.

 

[Josho]

Its wierd the water dosent smell too bad,

I guess i should has just asked how many stage filter will suffice - clearly any filter is better than none at all

That 2 stage one looks the goods i guess,

 

[Coalminer]

Josho

I just bought the same caravan filter from Magnetic World as referred to by Malted.
They supply 4 different versions but the only difference in the 4 is the quality of the bracket. (ie painted or stainless)
I got the cheapest one - $51.00- with filters included - free delivery.
Also got and extra 2 sets of filters for $39.00 - free delivery
The bracket on mine is as sturdy as I need as it is mounted out of the way near my brewing setup. The stainless brackets are probably as they are intended for caravan use
Just be aware they are NOT mains pressure units. but still have a max flow rate of 15 litres/min. I usually only run it at about 4-5 litres/min

Cheers

edit: typo

 

[Josho]

So how do you control the pressure or is there no need to or does it self regulate?

The only problem is that this will be permanant on the kitchen sink as I am using it to "descale" the water a little bit if i can

I might have to get a seperate spouty one i think?

 

[DJR]

on my undersink filter (purchased an Aquaport including the tap, 2 filters sediment/charcoal, t-piece adaptor and a pressure limiting valve and was around 180 from bunnings) it has one of these

http://www.clarencewaterfilters.com.au/products/Apex-Filtamate-FMSC-12%252d350-Pressure-Limiting-Valve.html


It's a pressure limiting valve also slows flow to around 2L per minute. the one i have has john guest style fittings on it so all you need is an adaptor from 1/2 or whatever is under your sink to the 1/4" john guest style tubing. The one in the link above is a little different but the concept is the same and you just need the right size to fit whatever tubing/plumbing you have there (if you have a flick mixer it should have 1/2" screw on mini stopcocks or similar)

 

[Coalminer]

Josho
The filter is fed by a hose fed from a tap in my case.
Check out their site as they have setups for all occasions, but prices also vary
They do supply mains pressure under sink arrangements as well

Cheers

 

[Josho]

Is this the bad boy you have?

 

[DJR]

Josh if you are asking me I have one of these - http://aquaport.com.au/files/details.php?id=72 with a tap head (can't see the kit with the tap included) - got it at Bunnings.


The link was just to a pressure limiting valve as an example

To be honest I don't bother using the filtered water most of the time as it comes out too slow from the filter tap (2l per min or so) so I just use tap water with a pinch of metabisulfite in to help get rid of the chlorine but here in the mountains the water is pretty clean anyway

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Use water from your hot tap. Fill your vesel with it and let it cool. Any chlorine will evaporate by the time its cooled.

If your water is hard your stuffed. Nothing you can do but brew english bitters.

 

[bluedoors]

Anyone used/tried the inline caravan filters? I fill from exterior tap so an inline would be easier to use.

Also anyone have any issue in only use it for occasional brews? Do you have to take the carbon out and dry between uses?

 

[andy@67]

+1 for the under sink filters fom magneticworld. We have had one in our last 2 houses.

Regards,

Andrew.

 

[Black n Tan]

water typically contains chloramine not chorine and this is not removed easily by using hot water or boiling. I used to use an aqua port filter that screwed on the the end of my tap (on tap filter). I have since gone with the full flow aquaport under sink. if you only need it occasionally I would just use the on tap filter and remove and drain after use (this is what I did). Works well.

 

[Black n Tan]

Oh yer I got both from Bunnings as suggested by DJR

 

[dicko]

Hi Josho,

I dont know how "hard" your water is but where I live it is absolutely terrible. Our shower glass is white again a few days after cleaning.

After much searching, I too, went to Magnetic World via ebay and bought the RO filter below.

Absolutely the best thing I have ever done for my brewing. I use Eazywater Calculator to adjust the water salts and the PH of the mash comes out spot on

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/REVERSE-OSMOSIS-WALL-MOUNT-WATER-PURIFICATION-SYSTEM-1-39-/230960611231?pt=AU_SmallKitchenAppliances&hash=item35c6533f9f

I filter my water into a 60 litre fermenter the day before. I generally use 34 to 35 litres per brew and this will take several hours as it is quite slow.

Cheers

 

[ambrieproye]

Water filter system for house is a necessity these days. I agree with you. The capacity of system depends upon the family size.

 

[mischa6262]

A simple 2 stage 2.5 x 4.5 big blue with 1mu polyspun and 1mu carbon filter will be suffice. WWW.magneticworld.com check them out.. They know what they're selling so don't be worried to contact them.

1 Um pre filter is a bit too fine (1Um will dramatically reduce your pressure and flow rate imho) 5 Um will suffice and for taste and odor any carbon block filter will do the job

 

[mischa6262]

Use water from your hot tap. Fill your vesel with it and let it cool. Any chlorine will evaporate by the time its cooled.

If your water is hard your stuffed. Nothing you can do but brew english bitters.

Alas i beg to differ, you can do something about hard water, if your filtering, start out with a std 5um polyspun sediment filter, then at least around a 1Um carbon block for taste and odor, then add a third housing with a water softening cartridge (such as https://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-WS-10-softening-filter.asp only $20)