3 stage water filtering system

[ghost24]

Hi everyone.
I am looking to purchase a 3-stage water filtering system to add to my homebrewing system and wanted to know if any of you have used the one at homebrewfilters.com?
http://www.homebrewfilters.com/index.php/brew-water-filters/3-stage-water-filter.html
If so, what was your experience.
Unfortunately I can't find any feedback on this setup.
Any other suggestions within the same price range?

I also found this one which uses a 5 micron filter at the 3rd stage instead of the 1 micron from homebrewfilters.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UUNHK2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Many thanks.

 

[Yooper]

If you're going that far, why not get an RO system?

Filtering will remove sediment and things, but not things like sodium or alkalinity. You probably need the RO membrane to really improve your water for brewing, and not just the filtering set up.

I have this, but without the DI:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd.html

 

[audger]

I use a cheap DIY '2-stage' filter for brewing. The first stage is a 5-10 micron sediment filter, and the second is a 0.5micron nominal carbon block filter for chlorine and chemicals.

true, carbon wont remove minerals, but it will still absorb a huge amount of trace chemicals or pesticides in the water. I end up replacing the elements once per year (which is probably about 1-3 thousand gallons of water). One chemical Carbon does NOT remove, however, is chloramine (used by municipal water supplies as a chlorine donor, in place of direct elemental chlorine).

If you're going that far, why not get an RO system?

...because three $20 water filter housings, plus three $10 filter elements is considerably cheaper than even the most basic RO system? And with RO, you then need to re-add minerals to the water. Plus, with most of the sub-$200 RO filters, for every single gallon of purified RO water produced, the system will literally waste 5-10 gallons of "dirty" water down the drain in the process.

I really dont want to turn the ~2,000 gallons I use per year currently into 10-20,000 gallons per year.

 

[Yooper]

I use a cheap DIY '2-stage' filter for brewing. The first stage is a 5-10 micron sediment filter, and the second is a 0.5micron nominal carbon block filter for chlorine and chemicals.

true, carbon wont remove minerals, but it will still absorb a huge amount of trace chemicals or pesticides in the water. I end up replacing the elements once per year (which is probably about 1-3 thousand gallons of water). One chemical Carbon does NOT remove, however, is chloramine (used by municipal water supplies as a chlorine donor, in place of direct elemental chlorine).




...because three $20 water filter housings, plus three $10 filter elements is considerably cheaper than even the most basic RO system? And with RO, you then need to re-add minerals to the water. Plus, with most of the sub-$200 RO filters, for every single gallon of purified RO water produced, the system will literally waste 5-10 gallons of "dirty" water down the drain in the process.

I really dont want to turn the ~2,000 gallons I use per year currently into 10-20,000 gallons per year.

Sure, but the "filter" he linked to was over $90. For another $20, an RO system could be had.

It depends on the base water- if it doesn't have much in it like bicarbonate, sodium, etc, simple filtering is fine. But not many people actually need a filter, as usually our water supplies aren't loaded with sediment and off-flavors. If someone has those water issues, then of course filtering will help. But it won't fix beer flavor issues.

 

[pdietert]

This is what I use, it pretty much lets me start at a blank slate (it is the first one - OCEAN WAVE SHELL FOUR STAGE 75 GPD REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM):

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm

These guys are great. Really responsive to any questions.

 

[audger]

I agree for the most part, but this is HIGHLY dependant on your water source:

But not many people actually need a filter, as usually our water supplies aren't loaded with sediment and off-flavors.

I would guess that the majority of places in the US would actually benefit from some sort of filtration; if you have a municipal water source, then you almost *definately* would benefit from a carbon filter. Sediment is less of a concern, certainly, though a lot of sediment is composed of precipitated minerals (so with excess sediment, you may also have excess mineral concentration). I only use a sediment filter to prolong the life of the more expensive carbon filter behind it.

 

[j1n]

I just installed this in my home over the weekend.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XELTTG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Its a 5 stage RO filter. Was pretty easy to setup. Used my ph/ppm meter to test and the water comes out at around 5 ppms

 

[ghost24]

Thanks for all the info guys. It seems I am going to have to continue my research, especially since I am very new to the science of water.
The town I live in (Woburn, MA) is partially supplied by wells as well as the mwra.
The town itself has had some water issues in the past and even had its own movie due to this - A Civil Action with John Travolta.
I am aware the town has taken huge strides in cleaning up the water, but in researching the quality, I found that there still seems to be some issues. Not sure if this is true or not. On the other hand, I've also heard the quality of our water is now very good.
:|
It's hard to find out especially because I am having some difficulty finding actual info on the water quality for Woburn and that's making this process a little more difficult. Not even sure what minerals are in the water/quantities, etc.
I would definitely be interested in the RO system but as audger wrote, feel I may be stripping the water from some important minerals which I would have to add back in.
At this point, I'll keep on researching.
Please feel free to keep chiming in with any opinions, feedback, etc.
You guys are awesome!!

 

[Roadie]

I'd rather start with RO and build up to the profile I want as our water is really hard. For years I had an in-wall reef tank and di water was necessary but now RO is good and I run a line to our fridge as well. I do have a pump and definitely use more water but nowhere near as much as mentioned above. I also bought a large holding tank for convenience. I got my stuff from airwaterice.com which is where a lot of reef people get their stuff.


Almost Famous Brewing Company

 

[j1n]

Thanks for all the info guys. It seems I am going to have to continue my research, especially since I am very new to the science of water.
The town I live in (Woburn, MA) is partially supplied by wells as well as the mwra.
The town itself has had some water issues in the past and even had its own movie due to this - A Civil Action with John Travolta.
I am aware the town has taken huge strides in cleaning up the water, but in researching the quality, I found that there still seems to be some issues. Not sure if this is true or not. On the other hand, I've also heard the quality of our water is now very good.
:|
It's hard to find out especially because I am having some difficulty finding actual info on the water quality for Woburn and that's making this process a little more difficult. Not even sure what minerals are in the water/quantities, etc.
I would definitely be interested in the RO system but as audger wrote, feel I may be stripping the water from some important minerals which I would have to add back in.
At this point, I'll keep on researching.
Please feel free to keep chiming in with any opinions, feedback, etc.
You guys are awesome!!

If you want to find out whats really in your water then send some to a lab for testing. see this thread for info.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/how-send-water-ward-labs-test-129581/

 

[pdietert]

You can send water in for analysis but if it is like mine, changes often depending on time of year etc. I noticed a big difference when I started building my own water profiles.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for all the info guys. It seems I am going to have to continue my research, especially since I am very new to the science of water.
The town I live in (Woburn, MA) is partially supplied by wells as well as the mwra.
The town itself has had some water issues in the past and even had its own movie due to this - A Civil Action with John Travolta.
I am aware the town has taken huge strides in cleaning up the water, but in researching the quality, I found that there still seems to be some issues. Not sure if this is true or not. On the other hand, I've also heard the quality of our water is now very good.
:|
It's hard to find out especially because I am having some difficulty finding actual info on the water quality for Woburn and that's making this process a little more difficult. Not even sure what minerals are in the water/quantities, etc.
I would definitely be interested in the RO system but as audger wrote, feel I may be stripping the water from some important minerals which I would have to add back in.
At this point, I'll keep on researching.
Please feel free to keep chiming in with any opinions, feedback, etc.
You guys are awesome!!

Don't be afraid to "strip the water from some important minerals which I would have to add back in"! First, you don't have to add a single thing to RO water; not a single thing. The people that say things like that often are just repeating what they have heard or read, with no real knowledge of water chemistry and mash pH.

However, you may want to add a little calcium chloride, or gypsum, or both, easily obtained at all homebrew stores. And we can help you add what is needed, but if you check out the "Water Primer" in the "Brew Science" forum, there is a quick and easy primer on what can be added- and it really is as simple as "add a teaspoon of calcium chloride" in many cases.

For me, I have to add LESS of things now that I use mostly RO water, as I had a too-high mash pH with my tap water and struggled with that issue. Now, I rarely have that problem and rarely need to add acid to hit an optimum mash pH.