How safe is hose water?

Brewing outdoors has been a real pleasure lately. But I'm breaking my back getting water from the kitchen to the kettle. I really don't fancy running a nice new PVC hose through my house from the kitchen tap outside to it.

How safe is hose water? It would be pretty practical for me to run a garden hose off the end of an external mains tap, straight to the kettle. Any leaks, its ok, its outside. My concern is not with the water itself, but the insides of the garden hose! Has anyone had any experience brewing with water from a garden hose? :fro:

 

Just buy a marine grade hose that's what I have, they are safe for drinking water!

 

They sell them at home depot and lowes they are usually white!

 

I've done this with an elcheapo hose and it's fine. I'd run it for a few seconds so none of the water that was sitting in the hose is going into your pot though. It's touching that hose material for such short amount of time and it shouldn't be a problem. I let my water sit out anywhere from 12-24 hours though, so the chlorine in my water evaporate out of solution.

 

+1. I drink out of my hose all the time. I think the only two issues are bacteria (which I obviously ignore, but hey...I've done it all my life with no ill effects - pun intended) from warm water that sits in the hose (you're boiling, so no worries) and a rubbery or plasticky taste. As long as you run it a few seconds to clear any water that has spent considerable time in your hose, I doubt you would taste any flavors from it.

 

I have to disagree. Spend a few dollars on a decent drinking water grade hose. It's a cheap insurance policy.
In a darker beer you may not taste any difference, but in a pale, more subtle beer, there's nothing to hide behind and it would be a shame to get those plastic flavours in your beer.

 

A fellow brewer in home brew club uses an in line portable water filter he got at Wal Mart. I would make your own hose with some tubing from home brew shop and get some kind of filter. Just my opinion.

 

I use one of these and it suits me well.

 

My water comes through an everyday garden hose, gets heated for the mash and then gets boiled for the wort and I even use it to clean everything with Oxy. I also use it to mix with star San and bottling.

I can happily report I have never had an infection or generated any off flavors from my palest colored Belgian White to my completely opaque holiday ale.

Not saying this is the way that's best but IME I've never had any issues and the beers are fantastic!

 

What about just filling from the spigot. I disconnect the hose and just fill my pot. I know you still have to carry the pot but at least you don't have to worry about water sloshing out inside your house. Or the water in a cheep hose. Or to lighten your load carry two smaller clean buckets from the spigot to your kettle.

 

Get a drinking water grade hose, RV'ers use these all the time.

 

regular garden hoses have lead in them, read the label

 

I have an all rubber hose from Sears. I would think that would be pretty safe as long as I run some water through it?

 

Water is a key ingredient to beer, buy an inexpensive rv water hose, they start under 10 on Amazon 25 for 50 feet.

 

I barrow the RV hose from my camper for outside drinking water all the time. A new Python fish tank cleaning hose works good also. Or you can buy the clear hose and the compression fittings to make one of your own. I had a used Python that saw a lot of service running water to the cooling jacket on a condenser coil, took a lot of abuse and worked for a long time.

 

Camco 22833 Premium 5/8"ID x 25' Drinking Water Hose

$19.44 at Amazon. Works great.

 

have your wife or friend fill up two pint glasses - one from the hose and one from the kitchen and then have them do a blind taste test on you. If you notice an unpleasant difference then go buy a fancy hose like others are suggesting. If you don't notice then put your hose in the pot and fill 'er up.

 

I use this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Element-1-2-in-x-25-ft-RV-and-Marine-Water-Hose-ELMRV12025FM/100175856?keyword=RV+water+hose#.UbK3j_mW-So

 

Best answer to this thread! Lots of opinions here but no one has really answered the question. Try the test, see for yourself. If you can't taste it in a glass of water, you won't taste it in your beer...

 

Demus, the question wasn't whether or not the water tastes fine, it was is it safe. Packersfaninsandiego already answered 'No' by saying garden hoses often contain lead. In addition to lead this LA Times article found many hoses containing pthalates and other nasty chemicals.

Water doesn't have to taste bad to be dangerous to your health. So again as Packersfaninsandiego said: Read the label on your hose to make sure it doesn't contain lead or other nasties.

 

WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Sooooo. Yes! But only in Comunistfornia.

The above is implyed as a joke......

 

lead is tastless

just google "lead in garden hoses" and you will find out how bad garden hoses are for drinking. here is one link
http://containergardening.about.com/od/greencontainergardening/a/Gardenhose.htm

 

I dRaNk WaTeR fRoM a GaRdEn HoSe AlL tHe TiMe WhEn I wAs A kId, AnD iT dIdN't Do AnYtHiNg To Me!

 

I have a couple of these, but in 25' lengths: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Heavy-duty-Camco-50-foot-Fresh-Water-Hose-for-RVs/14504302

I don't think there's any real "danger", per se (how many of us drank straight from the hose as kids?), but it made my beer taste a little like hose water.

 

What Brewmcq said makes more sense than anything.

 

I won't use garden hose water. The taste is there. I've drank a garden hose beer too. The taste was there; big time.

Maybe with some super high quality garden hose there won't be a taste, but there are safer options for such little money.

And safer, yeah, they're still finding lead in garden hoses, and BPA too. That little endocrine disruptor has been found at levels 20 times higher than what's safe for drinking.

 

Very interesting stuff guys!

Some really good advice here, wasn't expecting this much feedback!

 

How about putting an rv water filter at the end of a drinking safe rv hose?

 

Or just buy a filter housing and filter at lowes and put garden hose fittings on it cost me about 40 bucks to build.

 

That's what I do. I've considered getting a water drinking grade hose, but then that's another piece of equipment to keep track of.

 

EVERYTHING causes cancer, birth defects and reproductive harm in California. I think just living there does it!

 

I see ur point. Still, what it's made from doesn't necessarily mean that will transfer into the water in the few seconds of contact it has with the hose. Having said that, can't hurt to use something that's made for drinking water to be on the safe side...

 

While most of the high levels of lead were from water that had sat in the hose for a bit. When you think about how often some people on this board brew even the little bit of lead that does dissolve into the water begins to add up. Lead may leave your system before it builds to harmful levels but many of the other plasticizers incorporate into your tissue or trigger reactions. Most of the compounds in question take very low levels to show adverse effects.

When the price difference between garden hose, RV hose and PEX tubing(100ft)(5 ft is in favor of the right type of hose, it just doesn't make sense to use garden hose. Even if you already have the garden hose, the off-flavor risk and that of anything leaching into the water just isn't worth it. To those who say, " Why not just slap a filter on it?" If you're going to spend 15-30 bucks on a filter, you can get the right type of hose for the same or cheaper price and not worry about replacing filters.

 

For the record I wasn't saying just slap a filter on it my water had a metallic taste that's why I got a filter and I use a rv hose and the addition of these items has made a major difference in my beer.

 

I'm concerned that since I only brew every 2 to 3 months that water left in the hose could lead to mold or bacteria. Hard to get every last drop of water out of a 50' hose. Anyone run into that?

 

It's going to boil so a little mold and bateria won't matter my water filter gets a little stinky and after everything boils I have no issues.

 

The quip about slapping a filter on it wasn't meant to be directed at you JoeyChopps. There had been a few people who suggested, or used filters on their setups and I'm sure people will continue to use them. I was just trying to keep people from falling into the rut of 'I already have X and Y costs only a few dollars to kluge something together.' mindset that is common on this forum. I'm of the 'cry once' school of thought, I'd rather buy the right tool for the job than 5 mediocre tools to get the job done and spend a bunch of time futzing around getting everything configured.

 

Garden hoses should NOT be used for potable water usage. Why do you think they make RV hoses that are lead free? I don't see why all hoses aren't lead free. Gotta love the mind set, "drinking from a garden hose hasn't hurt me yet". I wonder how many commercial brewers out there are using garden hoses for their beer.

 

granted that nobody probably wants to add more potential problems to the heap, especially when they're preventable for a few bucks. But just incase anybody's unsure:

 

Its all the sun. but hey I'm not complaining