Hard Water

[ArcLight]

1. I will soon try my first All Grain (using BIAB)
I was looking at my water report (Millburn, New Jersey)

PH 6.8 - 7.6
Total Hardness 100 - 240 mg/L
(as CaCO3)
Sodium 16 - 50 mg/L

This seems a tad Alkaline and rather hard.
Do I need to do anything to my water?
(or is it generally suitable)



2. My Starsan always turns cloudy when I mix it. Is it still effective, or has teh water raise the Ph too much?
I can use bottled water for my StarSan mix next time.



3. Also
It looks like Chlorine and (.41 - .67) and Chloramine (0.6 – 1.1) are present.
Should I fill up my pots the night before and leave them expose, for the Chlorine to evaporate?

 

[ajdelange]

1. I will soon try my first All Grain (using BIAB)
I was looking at my water report (Millburn, New Jersey)

PH 6.8 - 7.6
Total Hardness 100 - 240 mg/L
(as CaCO3)
Sodium 16 - 50 mg/L

This seems a tad Alkaline and rather hard.

This actually says nothing about alkalinity. 100 ppm as CaCO3 isn't that hard but 240 mg/L is getting fairly hard. The positive charges associated with hardness (Ca++, Mg++) must be balanced by something negatively charged which are Cl-, SO4-- and HCO3-. Only the latter is responsible for alkalinity. The question as to how alkaline your water is depends on whether the hardness is temporary (associated with HCO3-) or permanent (Cl-, SO4--). It is likely that there will be appreciable alkalinity when the hardness is at its upper limit.

Do I need to do anything to my water?
(or is it generally suitable)

You must do one of two things. Either
I. Check the alkalinity and hardness of the water each time you brew and adjust for the current levels. This is important for you, but not all brewers, because your water is clearly subject to large seasonal variations. Not all brewers have this problem.

II. Demineralize your water with and RO or RO/DI system and reinsert the minerals you need for particular beers. A modification of this approach involves dilution with RO/DI to the extent necessary to get the profile you want (or one close to it). But this requires measurements. Measurements are not difficult (one buys kits from Hach or LaMotte or even aquarium suppliers) but most seem reluctant to do that and it does add additional tasks on brew day.

2. My Starsan always turns cloudy when I mix it. Is it still effective, or has teh water raise the Ph too much?
I can use bottled water for my StarSan mix next time.

Uncertain so using DI water for the StarSan is doubtless a good idea.

3. Also
It looks like Chlorine and (.41 - .67) and Chloramine (0.6 – 1.1) are present.
Should I fill up my pots the night before and leave them expose, for the Chlorine to evaporate?

The chlorine will evaporate but the chloramine won't. Use part of a Campden tablet. One per 20 gal will treat up to 3 mg/L chorine/chloramine. You could use 2/3 that dose.

 

[mabrungard]

Starsan is affected by hard water. Using any soft or softened water is highly recomended for use with sanitizer. This is the one use that ion-exchange softened water is suitable for in the brewery.

Both chlorine and chloramine will volatilize or degrade if left out in a bucket or pot. Its just that it will take much longer for chloramine to go away than chlorine. Most brewers are better off using a metabisulfite product to remove these compounds. Actvated carbon filtration is quite suitable for chlorine removal, but not so good for chloramine.

That water report provides too little to count on for brewing. In addition, the variation is troubling. If it does vary that much, those test kits that AJ mentioned, will be a necessity.