Filtering my Water

[centralpabrewer]

I have a whole house water filter on my home water line. I use a standard type water filter that removes chlorine. I have checked with my water company and they do not use chloramine. When i draw my water for brewing, I attach another filter to my spigot and then run the water through that into the HLT. I don't know what micron that filter is, but I did pay $25 or $30 for the filter. I also draw the water very slowly, usually taking an hour or more to draw 10 gallons.

Is drawing the water this slowly buying me anything? Would I lose anything by drawing the water more quickly since i am running it through 2 filters? Say 10 over 10 minutes?

 

[Mindsculptor]

Do you know how many gallons per hour your filters are rated for?

 

[dannysk]

By drawing the water slower, you are getting more EBCT (empty bed contact time) and that should allow for a more efficient removal of what ever components your particular filter (aromas, CL-, etc. in your case assuming it is a carbon filter) are removing. That being said, you may or may not be benefitting from this. Sensory analysis or lab analysis could answer that.

 

[centralpabrewer]

I was able to find that the whole house filter is 5 micron with a flow rate of between .75 and 1 gal per minute. I dont have any info on my other filter.

 

[seckert]

Correct me if i am wrong here, but as long as you stay under the flow rate then you will filter out what the filter is rated for. so if your flow rate is 5 gal a minute and you only pull 1 gal a minute you are just slowing down your process. Or is there something i am missing with this?

 

[centralpabrewer]

No, i think that about sums it up. Just wanted to see what anyone had to say on the matter.

thanks

 

[MindenMan]

I was able to find that the whole house filter is 5 micron with a flow rate of between .75 and 1 gal per minute. I dont have any info on my other filter.

I am confused. If your whole house filter is rated @1gpm it would seem to be way undersized if I understand correctly. If the toilet has just been flushed, does the whole house goes into trickle mode every time?

 

[Fishin-Jay]

It sounds to me like your whole house filter is hugely undersized, unless that was a typo.

But to answer your original question, if you have a whole house filter and you're filtering what comes out of the spigot I wouldn't bother with trickling the water out. I seriously doubt you're gaining anything at all by going slowly.

In my experience, I am using a single filter on the spigot and my water comes out with no discernible chlorine smell or taste. Likewise my beer has not exhibited any signs of chlorine contamination. Here's the filter I'm using: http://morebeer.com/products/water-filter-kit-10-inch.html?gclid=CI3z5-H8-LoCFeZ7QgodXCAAew

 

[centralpabrewer]

This is the filter I use from my house water.
http://www.filtrete.com/wps/portal/...Products/?N=4315+3294472992+3294529207&rt=rud

I assume that if the water draw per minute is more than what the filter is rated for, the water just doesn't get filtered as well. It does not slow to a trickle.

I have the same water filter as Fishin-Jay that I hook up to my spigot and filter into my HLT. But I have replaced the cartridge once or twice.

 

[dannysk]

Correct me if i am wrong here, but as long as you stay under the flow rate then you will filter out what the filter is rated for. so if your flow rate is 5 gal a minute and you only pull 1 gal a minute you are just slowing down your process. Or is there something i am missing with this?

EBCT says that slower throughput will result in more contact time and therefore more removal and this applies to carbon filtration and other "bed" systems but not membranes. It is entirely possible, however, that there will be no difference and this is dependent on how much stuff is to be removed, how exhausted the filter bed is, etc.

 

[bethebrew]

OP next time if you want to filter more sediment you can go 1 micron versus 5 micron.

Your "whole house" filter is a typical chlorine cartridge sized filter not a true whole house filter. When I put a 1 micron sediment filter on my big whole house filter, eventually it plugged up so much I barely got flow.

But in answer to your original query, often those cartridge chlorine etc. filters are used prefilter of an RO. Then the flow is greatly reduced, and your question would be moot. I think you may be onto something in the way of water quality, but will be so minor you might as well let it flow through there at 3-5 GPM.

 

[bethebrew]

OP next time if you want to filter more sediment you can go 1 micron versus 5 micron.

Your "whole house" filter is a typical chlorine cartridge sized filter not a true whole house filter. When I put a 1 micron sediment filter on my big whole house filter, eventually it plugged up so much I barely got flow.

But in answer to your original query, often those cartridge chlorine etc. filters are used prefilter of an RO. Then the flow is greatly reduced, and your question would be moot. I think you may be onto something in the way of water quality, but will be so minor you might as well let it flow through there at 3-5 GPM.

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

I have a whole house water filter on my home water line. I use a standard type water filter that removes chlorine. I have checked with my water company and they do not use chloramine. When i draw my water for brewing, I attach another filter to my spigot and then run the water through that into the HLT. I don't know what micron that filter is, but I did pay $25 or $30 for the filter. I also draw the water very slowly, usually taking an hour or more to draw 10 gallons.

Is drawing the water this slowly buying me anything? Would I lose anything by drawing the water more quickly since i am running it through 2 filters? Say 10 over 10 minutes?

I know this is an old thread, but the issue is timeless, and we see it all the time. ?Here's some comments:
1. There's no such thing as a "standard" filter. Different types of filters (e.g., sediment filter, carbon block filter) do different things/remove different contaminants and have different limitations (e.g., flow limits, filter life, prefilter requirements).

2. Filter limits vary by the physical size of the filter. There are four common/standard nominal filter sizes, listed here in order of capacity:
10" x 2.5"
20" x 2.5"
10" x 4.5"
20" x 4.5"

3. Most residential point of use (POU) filters are 10" x 2.5".

4. Whole house, or point of entry (POE) filters can be any of the four sizes.

5. Sediment filters can generally handle higher flows than a carbon block of the same size. If you push too much water (flow) through a sediment filter, you'll lose pressure. If the flow is way to high, the filter can collapse.

6. If the flow through a carbon filter is too high, you'll have inadequate treatment - typically treatment of chlorine/chloramine or organics.

Russ