Water Filter - Questions

Hey all,

Anyone here use one of these or something like it:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/16762/beerwinecoffee/Water_Filter_Kit_-_10_inch

If you do, a couple questions:

- How do you get the filter dry between brewing sessions?

- How often do you change out the filter?

- What filter do you replace it with? Do you get a normal chlorine and sediment filter or the whole enchilada that removes cysts, lead, arsenic, etc? (Man, I hope that crap isn't in my tap water!!)

I have had one for about three years and have changed the filter twice. I never seem to be able to get it dry. When I think it is dry and I close it up inside the unit, it condenses.

Thanks in advance,

Dean

I have this and it works great. I just tip out the water from the plastic container after each use and put it away for storage. My drinking water is really skunky, but using this filter it comes out tasting good. I have only had this about 3 months, but understand the filter should be changed about once a year.

Yep, this thing works great. I love it. The filter that came with it allowed it to flow too fast and the website said it would leave chloramine behind. The filters you get from Home Depot have a restrictor in them that only allows it to flow at around a gallon per minute, perfect for our purposes!

Last time I bought the whole enchilada filter but this time I only got the chlorine and sediment filter. It was a matter of $40 vs $12. I guess the economy was a little better three years ago!

Check this out for about 1/2 the money of the one you posted.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006IX87S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I don't think it's possible to ever get it completely dry once you use it. But one way to dry it out might be to flush it out with a high percentage grain alcohol.

You might also consider an under the counter unit that would be installed at your kitchen sink. That would be used for drinking water and cooking too!

Check with the county or city that supplies your water to see if they still use Chlorine or now use Chloramine. Chlorine is easily filtered by any Activated Charcoal ( aka Carbon ) filter.

Chloramine is another story all together.

The problem with a filter that is used only part time or most all filters over time is that the moisture and organic matter the filter collects allows bacteria to grow. The only good way to combat this IMHO is to change filters regularly or get a filter with Silver impregnated into the filter media such as these


http://doultonusa.com/commercial_industrial_filters/commercial_and_industrial_water_filters.htm


One note however is that since you boil your wort the bacteria is not a health concern for beer.

Here's a primer on filters

http://heartspring.net/water_filters_guide.html#ceramic

Thanks abracadabra. Yeah, I have another crazy hobby doing fish tanks and am intimately connected to our water profile. Chloramines started being used here about three years ago. I was bummed. That stuff is tough to get rid of AND it shows up as ammonia when you do the standard water test. Talk about freaking out when checking tank water after a big water change for the first time!

Good point about boiling and the little nasties.

That's a cool filter you posted there but since I already have one, I'm not going to go out and buy another one! Plus that one you have to throw away when it is done, so there is no changing out of the element like the one I have now. I don't like that. Plus, I bought it a while back and only paid $30 for it and it included the filter element. For $13 a year, I'll replace the elements!

I thought about a permanent mount and that isn't a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion!