How much chlorine?

[BaldApe]

I read that you can tell if your water has chlorine or chloramine by testing the cold tap water with swimming pool test strips, then boiling and chilling, then testing again.
I tested my cold tap water and got almost no ( 0.5 ppm?) Chlorine.
Is the pool test strip too insensitive, or do I just have almost no chlorine?
How much chlorine is acceptable?

 

[ajdelange]

I read that you can tell if your water has chlorine or chloramine by testing the cold tap water with swimming pool test strips, then boiling and chilling, then testing again.

That's damn clever IF the test strips respond to chloramine as well as chlorine which I would expect pool test strips to be as chloramine is a big issue to pool owners/operators. The kiddies can always be counted on to supply the nitrogen. I never thought of doing that (maybe because I don't have city water) but it is certainly valid. The pre boil number is the total (which can be between 0 and 4 mg/L) equivalent free chlorine in chlorine and chloramine and the post boil number the chloramine. The difference is free actual chlorine.

I tested my cold tap water and got almost no ( 0.5 ppm?) Chlorine.
Is the pool test strip too insensitive, or do I just have almost no chlorine?
How much chlorine is acceptable?

No, that's a typical residual chloramine number. Dispose of it with a half a campden tablet in 10 gal. (acceptable level is 0). See the sticky at https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=361073.

 

[BaldApe]

The 0.5 ppm I mentioned was in the unheated water. When the level was so low I figured I'd ask how much was acceptable.
I heated a glass of water, let it cool, and tested it again. The level was 0.0
Even if the test strips aren't sensitive enough, I'm assuming that means that I have chlorine, not chloramine. As long as I heat the water before it gets in the grain, I'd assume I'm ok.
Butt it does mean that post boil dilution water must be boiled and cooled.

 

[ajdelange]

The level was 0.0
Even if the test strips aren't sensitive enough, I'm assuming that means that I have chlorine, not chloramine.

Yes.

As long as I heat the water before it gets in the grain, I'd assume I'm ok.

Yes. You may not even need to heat it. Standing exposed to the air over night is often sufficient and sparging with air of course works even better. The vigor required in treatment depends on the surface to volume area of the water. If you have 10 gal in a couple of 5 gal pots standing overnight or heating short of boiling should work. If you have 50 bbl in an unvented HLT even holding over night at temperature might not get all chlorine out. You can always experiment with the test strips to see what works for you.

Butt it does mean that post boil dilution water must be boiled and cooled.

Again, if small volumes are involved standing may do but if you are diluting chilled wort you want the dilution water to be sterile and so should boil it for that reason alone.