Filter water before Ward Lab?

[Zionoraca]

Hello I have a carbon filter that I filter my tap water for AG brewing. I am going to send in a sample to Ward Labs to find out exactly what I am working with. Should I filter the water first and then send it in or should I go straight from tap. If I do go straight from the tap should I stop using the filter because if I do I won't know how much I am affecting the water before I treat it. Thanks for the help.

 

[tx-brewer]

If it were me I would send one of each. Cost might be higher but at least you know both ways and can better determine which one will work better for you in the longrun based on the results

 

[Wynne-R]

Carbon filters are described as CTO for chlorine taste odor. They won’t change the mineral content of the water.

Run the water for about a minute and take it straight from the tap.

 

[Brutus Brewer]

I submitted 2 samples to Ward Labs, one water straight from the tap and one water that had been filtered. The results between the 2 were negligible, and I have attached a summary for you to take a look at.

View attachment Ward Labs Summary.pdf

 

[Zionoraca]

Awesome! This helps a lot

 

[Spartan1979]

I submitted 2 samples to Ward Labs, one water straight from the tap and one water that had been filtered. The results between the 2 were negligible, and I have attached a summary for you to take a look at.

It seems strange to me that many of the values went up in the filtered sample.

 

[kpr121]

It seems strange to me that many of the values went up in the filtered sample.

Yeah I agree.... how long has it been since that filters been changed? Maybe you are adding TDS to your tap water?!

 

[jmf143]

Send the water as you would brew with it.

 

[Brutus Brewer]

It seems strange to me that many of the values went up in the filtered sample.

I thought the same thing and asked Ward Labs about that. If I remember correctly their response was something to the effect of a build up of those elements inside of the filter itself led to the increase. The filter probably had 100-150 gallons of water run through it at that point, and I believe it's useful life is 2000 gallons. If I can locate the email from Ward Lab's I'll post their response for you to read.

 

[mabrungard]

Don't worry about any response from Ward on their point that elements buildup in filters. Unfortunately if they made that statement, the folks at Ward's know little about water treatment. An activated carbon filter does not remove the ions that affect brewing water chemistry. It primarily removes organic compounds and some heavy metals. It also catalyzes the destruction of chlorine and chloramine. Ca, Mg, Na, SO4, CL, and HCO3 are uncaptured in either activated carbon or particulate filters.

You don't need to worry that the filter will 'unload' its captured materials into the filtered water. The same thing applies to particulate filters. As long as you aren't shaking or otherwise disturbing the filters, they won't unload either.

Enjoy!

 

[Brutus Brewer]

Here is a link to the filter I use.

http://www.culligan-store.com/product_detail.asp?T1=CUL+RV-800&.

Also, I have emailed the Culligan people to see if they can offer an explanation why the filtered water contained greater concentrations than the unfiltered water.

 

[kpr121]

Im not accusing you at all but I know that if it were me I’d question whether I labeled the samples correctly. But then again I would probably accidently put my shoes on backward if they didn’t hurt so much.

It could also have been an error in the reporting where they may have switched the labeling or something. I’ve seen that happen, even in a professional lab, before.

Either way, I think the take home message here is that the filter didn’t do much to the ions that affect the water chemistry. It’s just for chlorine, heavy metals, etc that affect taste mostly.

I’m awaiting my Wards lab sample kit and will be taking one sample downstream from my filter (after running it for 1-2 minutes). Before this thread I was thinking of taking two samples. Thanks for saving me 20 bucks!

 

[anengineer]

I also sent two samples, one straight from the tap, the other
charcoal filtered. Both reports were the same.