First, I get bulk RO water from my local grocery store for 49¢ a gallon. I had no idea what was in it (I was using it to dilute bicarbonate in my tap water) so I sent a sample to Ward Labs. I doubt this will help many people because I assume all of these machines are different from each other and even from themselves depending on the filters, etc. But I was concerned that I might use 50% or even 75% of the water for a batch from this RO machine and not know what was in it... I wanted to know. While I was at it, I also sent Ward Labs a bottle of Pilsner Urquell. Why? To see if they could tell me what the water ion concentrations were. We always hear that the water is so low on ions & I thought it would be an interesting experiment to find out. The guys at Ward said, "No Problem". Here we go:
First, my bulk RO water that I get at the grocery store for 49¢ a gallon:
pH: 7.7
Calcium: 10
Magnesium: 4
Sodium: 5
Chloride: 7
Sulfate: <1
Bicarb/HCO3: 50
Total Alkalinity: 41
Total Hardness: 42
All of this seems good except that the bicarb number is higher than I would like for diluting. If I'm diluting 138ppm bicarb water with 50ppm bicarb water, it's not much of a bargain so it appears that for that reason alone, I should discontinue using this water and go with distilled which I know is zero across the board.
Next up, a sample of Pilsner Urquell that I hope the fine people at Ward Labs drank when they were done.
pH: 4.5
Calcium: 21
Magnesium: 94
Sodium: 14
Chloride: 192
Sulfate: 69
Bicarb/HCO3: 85
Total Alkalinity: 70
Total Hardness: 444
This sample was an unopened bottle of Pilsner Urquell, btw. I find some of the numbers surprising but what can we learn from this, anything? Check out that magnesium number. Also, I thought it was unusual (and not ordinarily associated with a water report) but this also shows a potassium level of 438ppm and a sulphur level of 69ppm. Are some of these numbers skewed somehow because they come from a sample of BEER and not WATER? Hops, yeast, the presense of alcohol, the grains, etc. I did this with the hope of learning something. Are these numbers telling us the the fine people of Plzen are making some good-sized additions to their soft water? Are the numbers meaningless because they came from finished beer? If I made a beer and knew what was in the water (as far as Ca, Mg, Na, SO4, Cl, HCO3 are concerned), would my numbers look similar to my original numbers after the beer was brewed, fermented, etc? Anyone care to comment? Cheers Beerheads.
First, my bulk RO water that I get at the grocery store for 49¢ a gallon:
pH: 7.7
Calcium: 10
Magnesium: 4
Sodium: 5
Chloride: 7
Sulfate: <1
Bicarb/HCO3: 50
Total Alkalinity: 41
Total Hardness: 42
All of this seems good except that the bicarb number is higher than I would like for diluting. If I'm diluting 138ppm bicarb water with 50ppm bicarb water, it's not much of a bargain so it appears that for that reason alone, I should discontinue using this water and go with distilled which I know is zero across the board.
Next up, a sample of Pilsner Urquell that I hope the fine people at Ward Labs drank when they were done.
pH: 4.5
Calcium: 21
Magnesium: 94
Sodium: 14
Chloride: 192
Sulfate: 69
Bicarb/HCO3: 85
Total Alkalinity: 70
Total Hardness: 444
This sample was an unopened bottle of Pilsner Urquell, btw. I find some of the numbers surprising but what can we learn from this, anything? Check out that magnesium number. Also, I thought it was unusual (and not ordinarily associated with a water report) but this also shows a potassium level of 438ppm and a sulphur level of 69ppm. Are some of these numbers skewed somehow because they come from a sample of BEER and not WATER? Hops, yeast, the presense of alcohol, the grains, etc. I did this with the hope of learning something. Are these numbers telling us the the fine people of Plzen are making some good-sized additions to their soft water? Are the numbers meaningless because they came from finished beer? If I made a beer and knew what was in the water (as far as Ca, Mg, Na, SO4, Cl, HCO3 are concerned), would my numbers look similar to my original numbers after the beer was brewed, fermented, etc? Anyone care to comment? Cheers Beerheads.