Buy a home water filter, it's worth it!

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
U

user 22118

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2008
Messages
2,023
Reaction score
13
I just installed one of these for the brew rig and one for the house and I am instantly amazed. It makes the water so much softer tasting and it doesn't have any smell. Just smells like the glass! I picked mine up at Lowes and they work really well.

This is a Culligan version, but the same principal.

Culligan-HF150-Filter-Housing.jpg


I then used the 2 Micron filter (you could go carbon, but you have to run it at a super slow rate) and attached it under the kitchen sink for the house (rental, so I am not about to tap the main water line) and another is going to travel with me for the brewery. I just brewed with it yesterday for the first time and made up a Barleywine that will ferment for a couple of weeks before going into a barrel. Should taste good now that I don't have to worry about the flavor of my water!

Here is what the sink looks like now. Click for a bigger picture.

 
Normally you want a carbon filter to get rid of odor, taste, and chlorine/chloramines. A non-carbon filter will just filter out sediment.

The restricted flow rate of the carbon filter is exactly why I stopped using mine.
 
2 micron gets your chlorine and definately "softens" the taste of the water. Chloramines need the carbon filter, but I am working one step at a time. I am amazed at the difference in the flavor of the water already.
 
Yep got something like this on my kitchen sink and have been using it for all my brewing. My "tap" water is pretty harsh and what this puts out is drinkable and not at all offensive so I hope the yeast agrees!
 
Our water comes into the hose soft and sucks/ I purchased a carbon filter (like $30) and use it for brew. Yea - a little slower flow rate but it's in teh mud room sink and you can flip it on and off. It is GREAT!!! Brews were way way better.

We have a refrig where we get drinking water.
 
A filter can be great- depending on what's in your water. We use a whole-house filter similar to what is pictured (Omnifilter, Google it) with a spun poly filter to remove sediment and particulates. A carbon filter is great if you want to take out chlorine / chloramine. Our big water problem where brewing is concerned is large amounts of dissolved minerals (calcium & iron), and a resin unit is required to remove those.

Were I to decide to start treating our water, I'd go with a reef tank (aquarium) unit. See:

http://www.airwaterice.com/category//

However, at this point I'm completely happy with buying the RO (reverse osmosis) water from the machine at the grocery store. It runs $1.67 for 5 gallons, including tax. I'd rather buy my treated water this way than own and maintain my own unit.
 
AnthonyD said:
What model did you get? Cost?

Also, does it affect the flow rate at the faucet?
Click to expand...

The unit I have is a little under sink deal, I actually mounted it to the cabinet door under the sink for easier access for when the little filters need changing. It has 2 round filters about the size of a beer bottle (with the neck off) and it has it's own faucet just for filtered water, and yeah flow rate is pretty small it takes several minutes to get a gallon. But it does make a noticable difference in taste if you just drink a glass of water so I can't imagine it does anything but help a brew too.

Cost wasn't high I think it was around $100 on sale at Lowe's.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_152246-43353-WHED205_0_?productId=3130911&Ntt=water%20filter&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?rpp=60$Ntt=water%20filter
That looks VERY similar to what I have.
 
I went with this. It's cheap and easy. It does slow me down a little but not by much. I put it together before I brewed a Pilsener and it was definitely worth it!
 
Ooops I forgot the link. http://***********/stories/projects...self/402-build-your-own-water-filter-projects
 
I've got amazing water pressure so I'm glad the filter slows it down some, before the smaller micron carbon filter it would splash out of a 15 gallon keggle (empty) now it flows nicely, probably still at 2gpm which is fine. I know it might not get all the chlorine but it helps a ton, I also add a little bit of campden to the water to remove any chlorine/chloramines that get past. I'm planning on adding another faucet upstairs on the sink to use the filtered water as well, for drinking.
 
bbrim said:
Ooops I forgot the link. http://***********/stories/projects...self/402-build-your-own-water-filter-projects
Click to expand...

Awesome thanks for this link, once I go AG I'll add this inline on a garden hose so I can get decently filtered water from the faucet outside then!
 
I highly recommend this one:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=image&resnum=6&ved=0CDsQ8gIwBQ#

The advanced works just fine. And it's a steal at 32 bucks. The professional (12 bucks more), filters down to 0.5 microns instead of 2.0 by using a third stage, but this restricts water flow by 0.5 gallons per minute. The Advanced filter hooks up under sink and gives NO restriction in flow. Activated charcoal removes odors and flavors.

Filters last 3 months, cost 15 bucks. I don't use mine for brewing, but it's great for drinking.
 
Chicago Tap water is arguably the best in the nation for brewing. If it's good enough for the craft brewers in the city, it's good enough for me.
 
Blueberryspies said:
Chicago Tap water is arguably the best in the nation for brewing. If it's good enough for the craft brewers in the city, it's good enough for me.
Click to expand...

Chances are they treat the water is some way, even if it is just to remove chlorine, fluoride and adjusting hardness. Brewery's use municipal water supply and waste systems because not because of excellent taste but because it gets around having to deal with the headaches of supplying that much water and handling that much waste water daily.
 
I have a filter like this on our main water line and it does work great. It doesn't take long for the filter to turn a reddish, rusty color. I'm glad that sediment doesn't get into any of my water, let alone my brew.
 
I couldn't agree more with the OP. I've got one attached to my brew rig and the supply comes off of our soft water spigot in the garage. Our SW system also has a chlorine filter so it gets filtered twice.
 
I attached to the hose spigot with a 25ft RV/Boat hose (so that it is not hose flavored) and flicked the hose on and had my 10 gallons in less time than it took to heat the water to 170* :D It was most likely about 2-3 gpm and maybe a bit more. I had my ten gallons in 3 minutes or so. Sparge water was taking a while to get out and I realized I had a kink in the hose.

I use this



The left side is the input with a hose connector. The right side is the exit that I hang on the kettle like a hook. So I hook the hose up to the left side (which leaks right now and I need to fix it) and then the right side exits directly into the kettle and tastes like a little slice of heaven.

And my faucet flow has not been restricted at all from what it was considering that the faucet hose is 3/8ID or something like that.
 
whutever said:
I couldn't agree more with the OP. I've got one attached to my brew rig and the supply comes off of our soft water spigot in the garage. Our SW system also has a chlorine filter so it gets filtered twice.
Click to expand...

But folks, by using SOFT water, you're adding water softener salt into your beer---unless the filter catches THAT. Typically the minerals, etc. in hard water is what makes up the profile. You just want to get rid of the nasties.

"General rule: whatever water you like drinking, make beer with it!"
 
I brewed for a year with softened water and it made effing awesome beer. This filtered water tastes the closest to that that I have tried in terms of drinking water. The sample of barleywine I just tried also tastes really freakin' good! Surprising really.
 
Jfriah said:
But folks, by using SOFT water, you're adding water softener salt into your beer---unless the filter catches THAT. Typically the minerals, etc. in hard water is what makes up the profile. You just want to get rid of the nasties.

"General rule: whatever water you like drinking, make beer with it!"
Click to expand...

Right you are...and since ionic radii are on the order of angstroms, no puny 0.5 micron filter is gonna come close to catching em.

Of course, if it tastes good, brew with it, and softened water doesn't usually taste BAD...
 
mmb said:
Chances are they treat the water is some way, even if it is just to remove chlorine, fluoride and adjusting hardness. Brewery's use municipal water supply and waste systems because not because of excellent taste but because it gets around having to deal with the headaches of supplying that much water and handling that much waste water daily.
Click to expand...

Brewer at the LHBS, doesn't touch the water, not even with gypsum, neither does the micro-pub Piece.

# What is the fluoride content of the water?
The fluoride content of Chicago water averages close to 1 milligram per liter. This is the calculated concentration determined to be helpful in preventing cavities.

# What is the hardness of Chicago water?
Chicago water is considered moderately hard. Its hardness is approximately 140 milligrams per liter or 8 grains per gallon. What is the fluoride content of the water?

# What is the material left behind after water boils or evaporates?
This material (commonly called "scale") is the natural mineral content of Chicago water. It is mainly calcium carbonate, the component of common blackboard chalk. It can most easily be removed with household vinegar.

# What is the sodium content of Chicago water?
The sodium content is approximately 5 milligrams per liter. This is considered a very low concentration.
Click to expand...

I'm more than willing to concede here, but my current understanding is that Chicago tap water is good for brewing.
 
Even if my water tastes great, there are certain things such as chlorine that are added to municipal water that I wanted to get rid of. I used to have fresh spring water that had to be treated and for some reason the local county water board decided to add a lot of chlorine that was overpowering. If a simple 40 dollar housing, ten bucks in parts and 5 bucks for a filter can take care of that, I am game.
 

Similar threads

B
Sparkling Water - Connecting Water Line to Keezer
Replies
3
Views
375
BeerLV
B
R
Hard Seltzer
Replies
2
Views
380
redrocker652002
R
Airborneguy
Should I use RO water?
Replies
30
Views
2K
CobraVin
CobraVin
WortMonger
0 TDS Water, Finally
Replies
1
Views
807
WortMonger
WortMonger
land3r
Mmmmm.... Swimming Pool
Replies
7
Views
625
wepeeler
wepeeler
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top