Easy and Cheap Water Filtration System

[phidelt1499]

So I've been less than 100% happy with some of my brews lately, and I've begun to systematically tune my system in order to take my beer from "good" to "great."

Before brewing today, I tasted my water. I have a white potable water hose connected to a sink in the adjoining room that I run to the brewstand. Out of this hose, I tasted a "plastic-y" taste and just the overall bitterness of bad city water. Enter the brewstand water filter.

I went to Lowe's and bought the following:

1) A whirlpool whole-house filter housing. This has female 3/4" MPT threads on each side. $22
2) The accompanying carbon/charcoal filters. Best ones available for this housing. Say they remove chlorine, etc. $12 for two filters. Each filter lasts for 3 months for an entire house, so it should last a loooooong time for brewing.
3) 3/4" male MPT to garden hose ball valve. $8.50
4) 3/4" male MPT to 1/2" hose barb. $2

All told, about $45 and change

 

[Andrew5329]

Honestly, when I make a batch I skip all the hassle and just buy $5 worth of a spring water brand I like from the supermarket.
It's probably the easiest way to get a controlled taste/mineral content for the water you use in your brew. (as compared to tap water that varies by city, or messing around with mineral tablets)

 

[phidelt1499]

Teflon tape and hand tight connections were all that were necessary.
Here is the ball valve.

Here is the barb fitting. My silicone hose slips on and is clamped with some SS hose clamps.

As you can see here, the brew kettle fills from the bottom up. Pretty slick.

 

[phidelt1499]

So I'd say it was a worthy investment. In my opinion, the water tastes much better out of the filter, and considering the filters last for 3 months of an entire household use, I think I'll get my milage out of it. Let me know if you have questions.

 

[TaylorInOK]

This is on my to-do list. 45 bucks versus 8 bucks (spring water from the store for me is around 80 cents per gallon) for 10 gallons of spring water per 5.5 gallon batch of all grain runs you into your sixth batch, which means every other batch until those two filters are done are just saving money.

Lets do the math!

According to the EPA the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day with 70 percent (280 gallons) used indoors. LINK

SOOOOOO lets take a wild ninja swipe at that because we know we don't use that much and cut it in half (140), then again because we are super paranoid about what the government tells us (70). Lets say 70 gallons per day to be on the extremely safe side.

This means your filters "SHOULD" at least (even being on the safe side) last through 70 gallons per day x 30 average days per month x 3 months = 6300 gallons. Minus the 60 gallons for six batches you just paid for by buying this equipment comes to 6240 gallons of water you didnt just buy from the store.

These water filters always just add up to crazy positive numbers.

Well done. You just saved (or with my prices) $4,992 to brew 624 batches of beer.

Now here's the catch... the time periods on the filters really need to be scrubbed. How many gallons of water can they filter before they need replaced? Then we can do proper calcs.

All in all... i dig it. Brew on brotha!

Edit: Durr... i forgot the most important part... your beer should taste better too! LOL He11 yeah! That's worth the 45 bucks right there!

 

[paparker21]

This is on my to-do list. 45 bucks versus 8 bucks (spring water from the store for me is around 80 cents per gallon) for 10 gallons of spring water per 5.5 gallon batch of all grain runs you into your sixth batch, which means every other batch until those two filters are done are just saving money.

Lets do the math!

According to the EPA the average family of four uses 400 gallons of water per day with 70 percent (280 gallons) used indoors. LINK

SOOOOOO lets take a wild ninja swipe at that because we know we don't use that much and cut it in half (140), then again because we are super paranoid about what the government tells us (70). Lets say 70 gallons per day to be on the extremely safe side.

This means your filters "SHOULD" at least (even being on the safe side) last through 70 gallons per day x 30 average days per month x 3 months = 6300 gallons. Minus the 60 gallons for six batches you just paid for by buying this equipment comes to 6240 gallons of water you didnt just buy from the store.

These water filters always just add up to crazy positive numbers.

Well done. You just saved (or with my prices) $4,992 to brew 624 batches of beer.

Now here's the catch... the time periods on the filters really need to be scrubbed. How many gallons of water can they filter before they need replaced? Then we can do proper calcs.

All in all... i dig it. Brew on brotha!

Edit: Durr... i forgot the most important part... your beer should taste better too! LOL He11 yeah! That's worth the 45 bucks right there!

While i always applaud a good effort at justifying something with math, you've missed the boat here I think. Heres why: you would never filter ALL the water in a household. Most of that water consumption is through showers, toilets, dishwashers, and laundry. In truth, i suspect most families use less than 5 gallons a day of water that would be filtered- drinking, cooking, and if your pets are spoiled, maybe their water as well.

Still, i think filters > buying water for each batch. As was already pointed out, at 1$ per gallon (the cheapest around here i see is like 0.88, the most expensive like 1.28) a 5 gallon batch costs me 7$ (I get nearly a gallon of boil off + the grain loss in steeping), a 10 gallon would likely go 13$, and if i was all grain i'd be even a bit higher i'm sure. I've still paid for the filter in only a handful of batches AND i've now got tasy drinking water.

So- the points the same, your logic to get there was just a little flawed

 

[TaylorInOK]

So- the points the same, your logic to get there was just a little flawed

<deleted earlier reply>

This is a "Whole House Water Filter System" not just drinking/cooking/under sink water filter.

 

[rossi46]

I have a filter on my system and my beer flavor improved as a result of it. It is certainly more convenient than running to the store for water when I want brew. I am very happy with my filter system and will install one on my single tier that I'm building now.

 

[JuanMoore]

I have this same filter and have been using it for a couple years now. I suggest filling your vessels as slowly as you can stand it to get the maximum filtration effect. I also take my filter out and dry it after each brew day. Leaving it in place wet is just asking to grow some mold or other nasties.

 

[krazydave]

I've been using something similar, though I got my housing from eBay for about $10.
Something to keep in mind when using these... don't open your tap full blast when filling your vessel. The reason being that the longer your water is in contact with the carbon in there, the more strange flavors it extracts. So I always just crack it and let my HLT start heating up while I fill it.