Using tap water via garden hose?

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sivdrinks

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Im using a keggle to brew and was wondering if there was any reason not to fill your keg with a garden hose? I have a sightglass so no worries about questionable volume.
 
If you get a food safe hose then it would be no problem, however most run-of-the-mill garden hoses will impart a rubbery taste to the water.
 
It is what I do. Watch this bottle water tasting from P&T BS show

 
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^^^^ What he said, I know people who still do it and it drives me nuts but thats probably because I have worked in the hose industry for 10+ years now.. go to your local hose shop and get som clear vinyl or pvc braided hose. Its cheap and wont leech taste. Plus they will usually put garden hose fittings or whatever you want on it.
 
They sell the potable water rv hoses (white in color) at Lowes.

4295-DSC02430.jpg
 
Is a typical garden hose still a problem if using an RV Carbon filter at the end of it?
 
Read this Article about drinking from a Garden Hose. There is a lot of info on this but i thought the article summed it up well.

Don't know if the filter could remove the possible lead and definite pvc odor, but I'd just rather use FDA approved potable water hoses.

I got nervous after reading this thread, because I just started using a carbon filter with my standard garden hose 2 batches back. I used to use bottled water, which was too expensive. I decided to do a hydro reading real quick on the batch I brewed using the filter, and it seems to taste fine. I don't like taking chances, so I'm buying a rv hose this friday for my saturday brew!
 
The only reason I don't use a rv hose is my water in the house at the tap is a lot warmer so less propane used. I don't want to hijack the thread but might also help the op does anyone know a good way to tap directly off a hot water heater for brew water?
 
The only reason I don't use a rv hose is my water in the house at the tap is a lot warmer so less propane used. I don't want to hijack the thread but might also help the op does anyone know a good way to tap directly off a hot water heater for brew water?

Ideally you shouldn't consume hot water from a water heater..
 
You might but 'we' don't! Hot water can leech out lots of things faster, including heavy metals. So why chance it? I live in a house built in the 50's, so no way I am trusting the old piping to not have tracies of lead. So hot water only for cleaning and bathing, and we run the cold water for a bit before to flush out what ever leeches out into the water sitting in the pipes.
 
Don't we all do it every day? So why not?

I never consume "hot" tap water! It carries heavy minerals over from inside the hot water heater tank, and it is said it can leach minerals and metals from copper water lines and other metal water lines. There has been a lot of debate on the issue, but personally when there is even a speculative chance that I might be drinking lead I choose not to drink water from a water heater. You should always be cooking with "cold" tap water, and it is said you should let the cold water run for a minute or two after using hot water to rinse it out, so to speak... Google it!
 
What about in newer houses? Cuz like many I use hot water a lot for cooking? Is there some kind of danger or just crazy paranoia?
 
I never consume "hot" tap water! It carries heavy minerals over from inside the hot water heater tank, and it is said it can leach minerals and metals from copper water lines and other metal water lines. There has been a lot of debate on the issue, but personally when there is even a speculative chance that I might be drinking lead I choose not to drink water from a water heater. You should always be cooking with "cold" tap water, and it is said you should let the cold water run for a minute or two after using hot water to rinse it out, so to speak... Google it!

Let's see, I ride motorcycles, fly small airplanes and drive in a car everyday. I think I'll take my chances with drinking water from the water heater. You actually worry about this or is this post tongue in cheek?
 
What about in newer houses? Cuz like many I use hot water a lot for cooking? Is there some kind of danger or just crazy paranoia?

I don't believe it matters how old the house is..

Let's see, I ride motorcycles, fly small airplanes and drive in a car everyday. I think I'll take my chances with drinking water from the water heater. You actually worry about this or is this post tongue in cheek?

I'd rather fly, ride, and drive any day over drinking lead, but if you don't mind then by all means... knock yourself out!
 
I've used a garden hose with no problems, no rubber taste, nothing. But ill read these articles u have
 
I'd rather fly, ride, and drive any day over drinking lead, but if you don't mind then by all means... knock yourself out!

Fair enough, but small planes burn leaded fuel so you better cross that off your list and motorcycles (atleast dirtbikes) have lead in the cases so those are out too.
 
For my own brewing, I use an RV hose attached to a cold water faucet inside the house, and run it through a sediment filter. However, I have a friend who has been brewing many more years than I have who routinely uses his garden hose - even in the summer - and brews fabulous beers with no off tastes from the hose at all.

Which of us is right? Either? Neither? I dunno but I suspect he'll continue with his garden hose and I'll continue with my RV hose. To each his own.
:mug:
 
I had a brand new rubber garden hose hooked to my wort chiller.The chiller had a leak. About 1 gal leaked into the wort before I detected it. After 3 weeks in the fermenter @ 62° & 2 months conditioning, it had a terrible medicinal taste. After another month I finally dumped it. This was a recipe & process that has been successful many times.
 
djt17 said:
I had a brand new rubber garden hose hooked to my wort chiller.The chiller had a leak. About 1 gal leaked into the wort before I detected it. After 3 weeks in the fermenter @ 62° & 2 months conditioning, it had a terrible medicinal taste. After another month I finally dumped it. This was a recipe & process that has been successful many times.

But how much of that was the hose and not just your water? Do you use your tap water for brewing?

I know that I would never use my tap without filtering it, even then I probably wouldn't.
 
Stauffbier said:
I never consume "hot" tap water! It carries heavy minerals over from inside the hot water heater tank, and it is said it can leach minerals and metals from copper water lines and other metal water lines. There has been a lot of debate on the issue, but personally when there is even a speculative chance that I might be drinking lead I choose not to drink water from a water heater. You should always be cooking with "cold" tap water, and it is said you should let the cold water run for a minute or two after using hot water to rinse it out, so to speak... Google it!

A friend I mine is a chef and he always boils cold water not hot water for the reasons quoted above.
 
Mindhop said:
A friend I mine is a chef and he always boils cold water not hot water for the reasons quoted above.

^^ This. But if you don't, that is fine; it is your body/ health and you do what you want!
 
But how much of that was the hose and not just your water? Do you use your tap water for brewing?

I know that I would never use my tap without filtering it, even then I probably wouldn't.
I use a 2 to 1 ratio of tap to ro water for brewing. My well water is very alkaline. The batches I brewed using all tap water were not medicinal, they were very harsh.
 
djt17 said:
I use a 2 to 1 ratio of tap to ro water for brewing. My well water is very alkaline. The batches I brewed using all tap water were not medicinal, they were very harsh.

Fair enough.
 
Fair enough, but small planes burn leaded fuel so you better cross that off your list and motorcycles (atleast dirtbikes) have lead in the cases so those are out too.

If you fly and ride fast enough the lead tainted exhaust will be behind you! haha.. The fact is, just breathing the industrial, poluted air in our world is bad enough. That doesn't mean I want to throw caution at the wind and start chewing on lead based paint chips or drinking lead filled water!

I saw another person post this before, and I'm going to repeat it;

What do you gain by consuming hot tap water?
What could you lose by consuming hot tap water?
What could you gain by "not" consuming hot tap water?
What could you lose by "not" drinking hot tap water?

I like my odds better when "not" consuming it...
 
BS! Where are these heavy minerals coming from?

Boil some cold tap water in a pot for an hour.. Depending on your water chemistry you might notice a white layer of heavy minerals left on the pot after boiling from chlorine and other trace minerals found in your water. That white layer was the result of boiling water one time in a pot for one hour... Now imagine that happening inside of your water heater every time the flame lights up to boil water for your bath, dishes, hand washing, etc., etc.. The only difference is, you don't get to clean and scrub the inside of your water heater like you do a pot on the stove. Now multiply this by X amount of days/years that your water heater has been in service.. Your water heater now has a nice layer of sediment at the bottom of the tank and coating the sides.. Some of the sediment is solid but some is loose and can float around. Every time the water in the tank boils it can stir up all of that "sediment" into the rest of the water and send right thru your pipes and out of your tap... So, even if it is safe to drink (which I personally don't think it is) it still has sediment in it which can't be tasty or of high quality when it comes to potable water. I don't claim to know the truth as to whether the water contains lead or other harmful minerals/toxins, but the fact that I CAN"T PROVE that it doesn't have those things in it is enough for me to not want to drink it. If you feel safe and like drinking tap water out of your water heater, then that is your choice!
 
All you gotta do is flush your hot water heater and you can SEE with your own eyes what comes out of that tank. It is NASTY people.

I recommend a tankless hot water heater if you can, when you replace what you have...A little more peace of mind in this world where you can't even trust baby formula.
 
I used a garden hose once without thinking about the repercussions. My beer (Denny's Rye Smile IPA) came out tasting like a garden hose. It was the most disgusting thing ever. I had to dump the whole batch down the drain, about $40 worth of garbage.
 
No rubbery taste in any of my batches, but coincidentally none of the water that sits in the hose makes into the wort. All my stagnant water goes to initial cleaning, rinsing, etc so by the time actual brewing starts many dozens of gallons have gone through my hose. The article does say "when water sits in a PVC hose..." which is different from a few seconds of expose from transit.

Homedepot now sells lead free garden hoses so you don't need to find a specialty RV hose.
 
It is your health, do whetever you see fit.

Like jhoyda, I ride and fly, but i fly less since I rent; I also brew with water from my garden hose.

BUT. If you are afraid of the amount of lead in garden hose, lets take a look around. All of those plastic kitchenware from China have a lot higher a mount of lead in them, adn those toys that your kids/grand kids are chewingon: they too have lots of lead in them too. What about those crayons? and those colorful books? those fashion jewelries? and shoes, and purses, those back packs..? Even the ink from the copy machine at work has some amount of lead in them.

Sometimes, we need to take off the tin foil hat and enjoy the sun!
 
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