Garden hose water... how bad is it?

I'm not a beginner but I've been thinking about this for a LONG TIME and I'm sure others have too, that's why I'm posting it here. we're all new'bs no matter how long we've been brewing.

I brew outside as I've gone to all grain, HOWEVER I rent a house that has no outside tap. Carrying a big 10 gallon thin walled economy stainless pot with 8+ gallons of tap water out of the kitchen across a small deck, down 3 steps and out 15' to brew area is a PIMA! (and my hernia suffers later) while scrubbing out brew pot last weekend I thought... how bad could the garden hose be? I've marked my pot to 9 gallons, so much faster if I could just run the garden hose to it~.

then I remembered a few posts here, rubbery flavors, non food safe materials, mom saying "Don't Drink from the HOSE! You'll get sick!" Blah Blah Blah. (lol I never got sick... water tasted funny, but meh, I was a kid.

That being said. what about a well flushed garden hose ran for 10 min + how long is it really in the hose? a few seconds at best?

What a bout one of those clear or green coiled hoses dedicated just to brew water and not left outside to bake in the sun?

thoughts. I'm liking the dedicated coil hose idea, don't think I want to use my 3 year old garden hose. If I can find clear again to monitor algae growth if any.

My 'Hose Water Hefe' never gets any complaints! (for real though, I bought a new hose and use it exclusively for brewing. Our tapwater here is decent. What the hell, ya know?!)

I started off using bottled water in big jugs, but got tired of it, got lazy and used hose water. I'm no BJCP judge, but I can't tell a difference.

If it tastes good, brew with it.

If it doesn't work out, don't do it again.

Two things, first you could get a length of vinyl hose and get some hose fitting from (insert favorite home improvement store here) or you could also get a hose meant for filling RV's.

I know at my local ACE they sell food grade RV's hoses for about what a garden hose of the same length will cost ya and you know it's ok since it's designed to move potable water.

Use it all the time. Nothing wrong with it. Just make sure there's nothing on the "out" end of the hose. (like dirt or other stuff..)

Can't you just run it for 20 minutes into a gutter before pouring into your pot to get rid of the plastic/rubbery tastes?

I only use filtered water from the water bottling stations in front of grocery stores. I haul around my 5 gallon water bottles much farther (and up stairs) than what you are doing, and it is totally worth it in my opinion.

That's the problem with a new hose. Might take longer than 20 minutes though.

Get a drinking water safe hose like this



They are usually white and sold as marine or RV water hoses.

I use one of those going into a water filter when I brew outside.

No problems or off flavors added.

I agree with using a rv type hose that can move potable water. Then you don't have to run it for 20 minutes to get rid off potential off flavours.

Eric

your going to boil it anyway. so no risk of contaminating. but i would say do what you can to minimize off flavors (ie if you use a regular hose then let it run a while, otherwise buy the drinking water hose like my man said)

I plan on using my existing hose (which is probably good n dirty) with this attached to the end:
http://www.hottubwarehouse.com/Pure_Fill_Spa_Pre_Filter_p/pre-filter.htm

0.5 micron filter, food grade activated carbon, all what it says on the site. 1200 gallons should last me a while... I hope.

Hell, the water pipes in my house (85+ years old) are galvanized so I'd bet whatever's coming out of my tap is just about as bad as what's coming out of the hose. I just can't connect a filter like this to my sink faucet (no hose adapter).

Wayne1 said:

Get a drinking water safe hose like this

They are usually white and sold as marine or RV water hoses.

I use one of those going into a water filter when I brew outside.

No problems or off flavors added.

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+1 on the R/V hose. That's what I use. Less than $20 from WalMart. No filter, although i've been thinking about getting one that can attach to your hose like Mike A shown. I bought an adapter for my utility sink in the laundry to get my hose to fit on and run it out to the garage.

I don't know man... It doesn't say anything about drinking the water out of that thing. You could get the white neverkink for a few dollars more and not have to deal with it. I have been using mine for awhile now and it doesn't change the flavor of the water at all. They sell them at Lowes/Home Depot.

Costs a bit more but I have a Watts osmosis system in my kitchen so would definitely trust this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018N0XAU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

if your place/setup allows it...why not just ad a hose connector to your faucet in the kitchen/bathroom and run the potable water hose out of the window to the brew location?

Also, be sure that your hose bibs are piped to your DOMESTIC water supply, some cities that have SECONDARY water for irrigation, etc.... Their hose bibs from the house are connected to SECONDARY water. SECONDARY WATER is not good for any brew.

Hoses are said to have trace quantities of lead and other leachable chemicals (which is why they have some warnings on them) http://www.swanhose.com/qa.shtml for example.

As for the other part, definately run the old stagnant water out of the hose.

go to a place that sells rvs they sell used hose cheap. got twenty five feet for less than ten bucks last week

+1 to RV drinking water hose.

Someone on these boards also turned me on to RV-style in-line filters: http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-RV-500A-Recreational-Vehicle-Filter/dp/B000VQBYVW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299804526&sr=8-1.

Pretty simple setup, and all parts are purpose-built for drinking water.

Don't just use the green garden hose. I live in an apartment with no outside tap, so I have a garden hose to sink conversion thing on the sink in my kitchen. I run a fifty foot hose out the door and use that to chill. You could try the same thing with an RV hose and use that for potable water.

Personally, I've smelled the water that comes out of my chiller and it smells exactly like a garden hose; Not too appealing. Best option would be to buy an appropriate hose, second best would be to get a workout and carry the thing!

ellicit said:

Also, be sure that your hose bibs are piped to your DOMESTIC water supply, some cities that have SECONDARY water for irrigation, etc.... Their hose bibs from the house are connected to SECONDARY water. SECONDARY WATER is not good for any brew.

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Yuck, heard about that except for outside water sources like sprinklers, irrigation and some public buildings, but never as a home outside tap. Definately check your plumbing. (I know that the last house I was in was stemmed off the same incoming water as the internal for example. Darn thing leaked enough each year.)

If I can find 20' of rv hose I'm in. other wise I'll use the clear 20' coil I can get at the wally world or big box hardware store. my current hose has 3 years of slime on the inside and tastes like my fish tank. some sort of dedicated hose. (hopefully the rv grade next time I'm down in Myrtle Beach will look at Camping World) RV stuff should do the trick! I hadn't thought about that! Thanks!

Thanks all! We all have new'b questions from time to time! Glad I posted here. GREAT Responses QUICK and some interesting other ideas! This will save time and hernia pain! Thanks again!

whats up man. i didnt even realise you were from florence. i'm from conway. know of any other homebrewers in your area? not too many in mine

For gods sake don't pay RV Worlds prices, just go to walmart and pick up an RV hose in the camper section back by automotive.

IrregularPulse said:

For gods sake don't pay RV Worlds prices, just go to walmart and pick up an RV hose in the camper section back by automotive.

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Just bought 2 25 footers at walmart for 10 bucks each

sweet! thanks didn't even think about walmart! never make it past the fishin' stuff without dropping a few bucks! should look one row over!

rycov said:

whats up man. i didnt even realise you were from florence. i'm from conway. know of any other homebrewers in your area? not too many in mine

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Sent a PM but a girl I work with just moved to SC from OR has a boyfriend from conway they now live in Aynor he's a brewer... hoping to meet him sometime soon. got a guy I'm hoping to set up a homebrew club with here in Florence if our work schedules work out. Have 1 guy I taught to brew, and a few more on the line...

teach it and they will brew

I have 3 buckets and a 6 gallon carboy all spoken for. I need some buddies to step up and buy a bucket if I need to teach a new guy. I just love my kegerator... but beers go QUICK! It's all about the pipeline.

i was hose shopping a couple of weeks ago for one that i could use in my basement brewery. i found that most of the traditional garden hoses had a warning that says not to drink from them. i also found out (the hard way) that you're not supposed to run hot water through them either...

i wound up just making my own using the reinforced / braided vinyl tubing, adaptors and hose clamps... all in all, probably cost me a few bucks more but, they work great...

Last summer I had a leak in my wort chiller that I wasn't aware of. It was hooked up to a brand new green water hose. Even though I think I only got a couple of quarts in my wort before I noticed it; after 3 months in the bottle, I finally dumped it. It had a nasty band-aid flavor & smell that kept getting worse.

I had a bad experience with cheap RV water hoses, I traced a nasty taste back to the hose.
I ended up buying a 100' roll of 1/2" PEX (water line, the same stuff that gets the water to many houses) and put a couple garden hose fittings on it. I got the tubing for less than $20 on a clearance at Lowes. It is hard plastic so it's a bit of a pain to deal with but I've had zero problems. I also learned to taste the water before you brew with it.

Ed

Does something like this help? http://acehose.com/food-suction-discharge-hoses.htm#pvc-clear ---I just googled "food grade hose."

Good luck.

I use one of these now from a garden hose. I suppose I should get a brewing specific one some day soon.
I installed one in my kitchen also and the water tastes pretty good from both (even from the hose).

I second the RV hose and filter, that is exactly what I use and my brews thus far have turned out great.

Looks like nobody has actually gone out and tested the water out of the hose. I am going to run the water through my regular garden hose until it is cold and take a sample to get tested to see what is in it. These are relatively new hoses so no fertilizer or pesticides have been ran through them. But it will be interesting to see what is in the water.

starrfish said:

That being said. what about a well flushed garden hose ran for 10 min + how long is it really in the hose? a few seconds at best?

Click to expand...

If you are going to dedicate a hose you can get food grade tube fairly inexpensively, get tube wide enough that you can get hose couplings that will fit. There are reducers that work drip systems and will work with that setup as well.

Tube
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17608/beerwinecoffee/Silicone_Tubing_1_2"_ID_-_By_the_Foot

You will need to get tubing wide enough that you can get hose repair fittings to go on the ends.
You will prob also need a pressure regulator.
I def would not use garden hose since it does leach into the water.

scottab said:

If you are going to dedicate a hose you can get food grade tube fairly inexpensively, get tube wide enough that you can get hose couplings that will fit. There are reducers that work drip systems and will work with that setup as well.

Tube
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17608/beerwinecoffee/Silicone_Tubing_1_2"_ID_-_By_the_Foot

You will need to get tubing wide enough that you can get hose repair fittings to go on the ends.
You will prob also need a pressure regulator.
I def would not use garden hose since it does leach into the water.

Click to expand...

I found a 1/2" x 100' roll of PEX tubing at one of the big box stores for about the cost of a garden hose. PEX IS waterline, used inside houses, etc. You can find brass garden hose adapters that will push into the PEX if you heat the PEX a bit with a heat gun. PEX is not as easy to coil & uncoil as a garden hose but it has worked fantastically for me.

I had a real bad experience with the white RV, potable water hoses.
Before I add any water for brewing now, I taste the water from the hose and haven't had any issues since starting to use the PEX.

Good luck,
Ed

Dumb to revive, but anyone use one of these? My last hose crapped out - it says drinking safe, but who knows:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P9XAHS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I got this hose recently. Says it's drinking water safe. I've been keeping it inside over the winter. My old white RV hose spent the winter under a bush and has crud in the ends. Now that spring is here, might use the new hose. Anyone try one of these yet? Only related feedback I've seen is that RV folks seem to like them. Sure is lightweight and flexible. I just coil it in a bucket and put it in the garage.

https://www.amazon.com/4001-50-Lightweight-Flexible-Durable-Kink-Free/dp/B014M9PEXC/ref=sr_1_9?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1491212553&sr=1-9&keywords=flex+hose

RV hose is the way to go
get a mid priced one, they are designed to hold pressure and are food safe.

This has run to 4 pages already, but when I last needed food grade reinforced polyvinyl tubing I bought a 25m roll off ebay and it was no more expensive than a mid price garden hose and while it is a bit tight to seal up it works fine with half inch hose fittings. If that is no good blue MDPE water pipe is pretty much the same price if not less and is designed for drinking water. Personally if it has been well flushed through and isn't dirty, hasn't been sat in or used for something gross I'd have no compunction using a garden hose to fill containers with cold water.