Using tap water via garden hose?

opps, turns out i accidentally bought a lead-free hose from costco a while back. With brass fittings. LOL.

i use garden hose but before i fill my hlt i run several gal of of water through it just to flush it, i havent use any filters yet (but i just ordered one) and never had problem with taste of my beer, simply i dont believe that in time to fill hlt there will be any leaching from the hose in to the water

I feel that water as one of the primary ingredients in beer is worth insuring Ihave a clean, safe and good tasting source . For less the cost of one batch I was able to buy a food safe hose and filtration setup. Money well spent in my opinion.

alers22 said:

Can you share the model number of the filter and where you got it?

Thanks

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Here is where I got the info when I made my similar setup
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/water-filter-setup-29145/

I purchased mine at lowes, but Home depot and Menards should have comparable.

Wal-Mart had a blue 20' hose that states on the packaging you can drink safely from it. I run the water for a minute before I use it and beer has tasted fine.

I don't eat purses or backpacks, but I do drink beer using water from a hose. So I try to make sure the hose is safe for drinking water, as I give my beer to friends and family. It's not difficult, as it is printed on the package when you buy it. It doesn't really cost a any more than any other hose. You are free to use whatever hose you like to make your beer, but there is a common expectation that foodstuffs be relatively free of potential contamination if you plan to give your homebrew to others. I am not really sure what all the righteous indignation is about.

I have the blue hose from Walmart but don't remember what the packaging said, hafta look it up. This weekend I just filled up my carboys from the kitchen sink and took them to the garage to brew, saved a couple trips from gallon jugs.

Stauffbier said:

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...

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I'm not sure what you mean by "heavy minerals". Are you thinking of heavy metals?

Anyway. that white layer is calcium deposits. No reason to be afraid of calcium, That's what your bones are made of.

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.

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Your water heater doesn't boil the water. It doesn't even come close. Probably 140* maximum.

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.

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That sediment is caused by minerals coming out of solution when the water is heated. They don't go back into solution, and if you have stuff floating in your hot water, there's something seriously wrong with your water heater.

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!

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If you had this attitude about everything in life, you'd be living in a bubble.

If your house has very old plumbing (pre 1980's), you should have some water tests done to see what you have. Lead free solder has been used for plumbing for a very long time so I don't see what the issue is here.

Also, if your water contains harmful minerals/toxins, then it's non-potable. That would be an issue that you take up with your water authority.

Naturallight16oz said:

So if the plumbing is pvc, a certain kind of hose is basically useless?

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Only waste lines are PVC. Supply lines are cpvc which is safe for potable water.

Its really easy to figure out. Drink from your hose... does it taste good? Then brew with the water. If your paranoid or a perfectionist, take a water sample from the hose and have it analyzed.

The post-boil mineral deposits aren't necessarily bad. It just indicates perhaps hard water... Guiness anyone?

Ultra-Medic said:

Its really easy to figure out. Drink from your hose... does it taste good? Then brew with the water.

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This.

...in a literal sense and without euphemism.

Only waste lines are PVC. Supply lines are cpvc which is safe for potable water.

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This is incorrect. CPVC is used for HOT water supply because it has a higher temperature handling than regular PVC. PVC supply lines are very common, although I prefer copper.

BetterSense said:

This is incorrect. CPVC is used for HOT water supply because it has a higher temperature handling than regular PVC. PVC supply lines are very common, although I prefer copper.

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While I'll give you that in an unground municipal supply situation PVC is a common supply line, however most local codes prohibit the use of non buried PVC supplies. I've never seen in a home past the pressure tank aside from the occasional Harry homeowner hack plumbing repair, but if makes you feel good to call me out then well done.

I have PVC from the road to the house, as you mention. But really, aren't we talking about two different things-flexible PVC and rigid PVC? Wouldn't this constitute different chemistry anyway? Just sayin...cause I don't really know..?