Gathering water quality data

[Arminius757]

Hello everyone,

So I have 6 brews under my belt and have nailed down my process for brewing and fermentation. I have been very fortunate to not have any infected batches thus far (knock on wood) and have made some rather decent brews. It's time to step up my game.
I already have a chest freezer with stc-1000 set up to manage my fermentation, so the next step I wanna take is water chemistry.
I have done quite some research and understand what the grand idea behind water chemistry and how it can help bring my beers from good to great. My trouble is getting the data. I'm currently a college student and spend my time spilt between home and school so the water that I use obviously changes. Now I have looked at some water quality reports online from the two cities I live in, but they don't provide the mineral breakdown that I'm looking for. I know that I can send in my water to a lab and have them test it, but at almost $25 through Ward labs, that's a little pricy... Especially since I've heard it is smarter to test your water at least once a season due to fluctuations. So between my two homes that almost $200 in testing. As a college student, that is a no go.
I know I could go out and buy water, ethier distilled or bottled, and have a good idea of what I'm getting, but that could get very pricy down the road.
So I'm asking, what kinda testing could I do? There must be a more cost effective way for me to obtain the data that I need. Any help would be great.
I'm just looking for the most cost effective way for me to test my water, or at least a cost effective way for me to create my desired water profile.

Thanks!
Mark

 

[jschein]

Go hangout with some chemistry or environmental students, they have access to the lab. That's how I got mine.

 

[mabrungard]

Water quality variation is dependent upon the water's source. If the water source is wells, then the water quality typically remains more constant than surface water sources. At a minimum, you should contact your water providers to see if they have the water quality info we brewers are interested in. You need to ask for the Secondary Parameters. If they don't have them all, you may need to resort to Ward's.