What's the skinny on RO water?

[BongoYodeler]

So I recently retired and am looking for a way to help curb brewing expenses without curbing my brewing. Regarding water, I generally stop at WalMart or other nearby grocer to buy gallon jugs of distilled water off the shelf, usually priced around 99 cents to $1.19 per gallon. Last week I stopped at my local Culligan shop and learned that they offer a RO club whereby you pre-pay $75 for 250 gallons of RO water, which comes out to 30 cents/gallon, and then pick up what you need each trip. (I didn't think to ask if this includes the containers or if I have to purchase or provide my own). So my question to those that use RO water is, do you treat that as distilled water when building a water profile to fit the beer you're brewing?

*I don't want to put in a RO home unit.

 

[lumpher]

For all practical purposes, they can be treated as the same. RO is heavily filtered, distilled is boiled and capturing the steam. Unless you want to send them in for analysis (kinda silly), I'd go with treating them the same. About the only difference that might have any effect is distilling is less effective than RO at removing chloramines.

 

[day_trippr]

I agree - but only because I have a TDS meter and know how to use it The output of my home system typically reads 6 to 7 on a TDS meter.
I recommend obtaining one - a $7 stick model is fine - and use it whenever dealing with purported RO water, especially if a kiosk is involved...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

(I didn't think to ask if this includes the containers or if I have to purchase or provide my own).

I'm willing to bet you provide your own containers. That's the case at Walmart and other grocery stores with the RO-kiosks. They may sell empties, but then you're back at 90 cents a gallon.
+1 on the TDS meter, it's cheap insurance that the filters and RO membrane(s) are working before you fill, buy, and transport the water.

I've noticed that the newer, taller, opaque white, gallon milk containers (those with the pull-up heat seal) are very sturdy and can be reused many times, for several years. They don't seem to start leaking along the seams as the thinner, older style transparent, stubbier ones do.

 

[Buckeye_Hydro]

https://www.buckeyehydro.com/handheld-meters/

 

[Brewer Mike]

Do those gallons of RO water "expire"? Like the old pre=paid cell phone minutes? XX to use in 90 days. If so, I don't know that you'd be saving much (or anything) if you're using it strictly for brewing.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Do those gallons of RO water "expire"? Like the old pre=paid cell phone minutes? XX to use in 90 days. If so, I don't know that you'd be saving much (or anything) if you're using it strictly for brewing.

Thanks for mentioning that. I don't think they expire but I'll definitely verify that before proceed.

 

[BongoYodeler]

I agree - but only because I have a TDS meter and know how to use it The output of my home system typically reads 6 to 7 on a TDS meter.
I recommend obtaining one - a $7 stick model is fine - and use it whenever dealing with purported RO water, especially if a kiosk is involved...

Cheers!

I'd be inclined to think their water would have very low TDS since they also sell and install RO systems. Would be a very bad look for them if their own RO water was crappy.

 

[day_trippr]

Didn't mean to impugn any specific supplier, but there have been plenty of folks that tested kiosk-generated RO and found TDS readings in the hundreds of ppm - obviously pointing to a system problem. Best to be armed

Cheers!

 

[BongoYodeler]

Didn't mean to impugn any specific supplier, but there have been plenty of folks that tested kiosk-generated RO and found TDS readings in the hundreds of ppm - obviously pointing to a system problem. Best to be armed

Cheers!

I understand completely. I was just thinking out loud.