Garden Hose Use

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exbrit

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Getting ready to brew my first batch of extract beer and wondering if i can use a garden hose to fill the brewpot or at the least use it to run through the wort chiller? I'm concerend about contamination specifically at the cooling phase. Any thoughts?
 
I'd avoid using it for your brewing liquor, but you should be fine to use it for the chiller. I'd just check for leaks before you plop it into the kettle.
 
I'm sure it won't kill you if you do, as I drank out of the garden hose for years growing up on a horse farm but unless it says "lead free" on the garden hose there will be trace amounts of lead leached into the water.

Just pick up a RV hose (usually white) and that will be safe for drinking water and brewing water. All my garden hoses are dirty and I wouldn't want them near the wort anyway. *shrug*
 
I'm sure it won't kill you if you do, as I drank out of the garden hose for years growing up on a horse farm but unless it says "lead free" on the garden hose there will be trace amounts of lead leached into the water.

Just pick up a RV hose (usually white) and that will be safe for drinking water and brewing water. All my garden hoses are dirty and I wouldn't want them near the wort anyway. *shrug*

I don't think safety is really the issue with garden hose, its that newer hoses tend to make your beer taste like rubber.
 
I don't think safety is really the issue with garden hose, its that newer hoses tend to make your beer taste like rubber.

If you use the water that is sitting in them, sure. Flushed with fresh water you'll find it pretty difficult to detect any "rubber" flavor.

However, unless they say "lead free" a PVC garden hose will contain a small amount of lead. Most garden hoses will have the "Do not drink out of this product," and, "This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm." warnings.

If you don't consider lead a safety issue.... :confused:
 
"This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm."

If you don't consider lead a safety issue.... :confused:

All the ball valves, and brass fittings we use have the same warnings, and no one seems to worry about them.
 
You don't necessarily need an RV hose. Go to Lowes/HD to the garden hose section. Those pre-coiled/springy green hoses are normally safe for drinking water and should say so on the package. That's what I use, in conjunction with an RV filter, for my brewing water.
 
All the ball valves, and brass fittings we use have the same warnings, and no one seems to worry about them.

I wouldn't say no one . Any brass in my system has been pickled by soaking for about 10 -15 minutes with a solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide. This removes the surface lead in brass.


There are also other concerns with garden hoses . They have been dragged around the yard in dog poop, cat poop, bird poop and every other kind of poop fertilizers/chemicals. I don't want that stuff anywhere near my brew. I use the blue Swan water safe hose I bought at Lowes.
 
I wouldn't say no one . Any brass in my system has been pickled by soaking for about 10 -15 minutes with a solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide. This removes the surface lead in brass.

Yes, it does. The problem is, as soon as the brass is exposed to an acidic solution (like Wort), you start exposing more lead.
 
Yes, it does. The problem is, as soon as the brass is exposed to an acidic solution (like Wort), you start exposing more lead.

how do you come up with that ? I do know that if you leave the brass in the vinegar hydrogen peroxide solution it will start to leach lead to the surface but wort is no where near acidic as the vinegar . The peroxide yes
 
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