Hoppo's Crappy Water Test - Help!

[ajdelange]

I took a few minutes to look at you R/O system, which is quite impressive. However, it is waaaaaaay more advanced that what I am looking for.

Keep in mind that I am an engineer who loves to tinker and didn't really have to put in things like the timer which delays the pressure pump turn on for 6 minutes after the atmospheric tank level switch trips back on after the skid has replenished low water in the tank. Nor is triple redundancy in bladder tank over pressure protection required.

I guess what I really need to know is if I purchase a light commercial system that is capable of producting 300 or 400 gpd (like the one I linked prior) and upgrade to a 20 gallon tank, can I accomplish my goals?

Absolutely. The biggest problem you face is a surfeit of options. You can go with an atmospheric tank alone which, if you position it above the HLT can fill that by gravity or you can use a boats pressure pump and have it feed the faucets and ice maker too. Or you can have a bladder tank only and let its pressure drive the 'loads'. Or you can have both.

I have no problem drawing off of the system and then having to wait an hour or so to draw off the rest of the volume required for my brewery. Hell, I wouldn't care if I had to draw 1/2 off the night before and the other 1/2 the morning of my brew day.

If you are willing to start collecting early you don't need 400 GPD. A much smaller system will serve.

So, with the system that I linked, which has a booster pump to speed up production and with a 20 gallon tank, would I require and additional distribution pump or an atmospheric tank?

No but keep in mind that the pressure across the membrane is (approximately) the feed pump pressure minus the bladder tank pressure. Thus if you set things up so that the RO sytem runs until bladder tank pressure hits 30 psig then the pressure driving the system is effectively reduced by 30 psig. This will slow flow somewhat.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

Great responses and feedback......lots to chew on from my end. Thanks guys, I'll try to make a decision soon. I'm contemplating my inaugural brew day on my new system for later today. Obviously, with my water profile and lack of a R/O system currently, I'll be lugging water home from the store. I am not 100% confident that I am ready for this, as I have only experimented with my control panel and the BCS program processes individually for each step of the brew day. I have yet to run through the entire brewing program with each process consecutively. I did circulate PBW and hot water through the entire system and give a good rinse, so my system is ready. I'm just not 100% confident that I am ready.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

OK guys, a little more help here. I am feverishly searching for the ideal R/O sytem, but likely won't get it until after the holiday. I would like to brew for the first time on my new system tomorrow or Saturday. I was able to find the 5 Gallon Primo water bottles for a reasonable price at a Kmart across the street from my clinic. I see that Meijer used to use culligan for their R/O dispenser, but now use a Primo system as well. I went ahead and purchased 3 of the 5 gallon jugs filled, because I am going to need some collection containers once I have the R/O system anyways. Here's the question:

I currently have 15 gallons of Primo R/O water in the back of my Jeep. If you guys had my water profile:

pH: 7.5
Total Dissolved Solids: 452 ppm
Electrical Conductivity: .75 mmho/cm
Cations/Anions: 9.2/9.0 me/L

Sodium: 12
Potassium: 3
Calcium: 103
Magnesium: 29
Total Hardness: 378
Nitrate: 0.6
Sulfate: 16
Chloride: 55
Carbonate: <1
Bicarbonate: 387
Total Alkalinity: 317
Total Phosphorus: <0.01
Total Iron: 0.17

Would you go ALL R/O and build the water profile from scratch? OR Would you go with a dilution process to at least take advantage of some of the mineral content of the water. I have been playing around with -TH-'s water calculator and tried several different options. Using my water (hard and very high in total alkalinity) and diluting it does leave my mash a little less acidic as I would like (pH 5.5 to 5.6), so I'm a little stumped as to what to do. It would be much easier if I had a pH meter and could make mash adjustments on the fly, but I don't have one yet (it's on the x-mas list). I realize that there are a lot of variables and these calculators are only estimations, so any feedback on what everyone would do would be fantastic. Thanks for your responses.....I truly appreciate it.

 

[Hoppopotomus]

OK guys, a little more help here. I am feverishly searching for the ideal R/O sytem, but likely won't get it until after the holiday. I would like to brew for the first time on my new system tomorrow or Saturday. I was able to find the 5 Gallon Primo water bottles for a reasonable price at a Kmart across the street from my clinic. I see that Meijer used to use culligan for their R/O dispenser, but now use a Primo system as well. I went ahead and purchased 3 of the 5 gallon jugs filled, because I am going to need some collection containers once I have the R/O system anyways. Here's the question:

I currently have 15 gallons of Primo R/O water in the back of my Jeep. If you guys had my water profile:

pH: 7.5
Total Dissolved Solids: 452 ppm
Electrical Conductivity: .75 mmho/cm
Cations/Anions: 9.2/9.0 me/L

Sodium: 12
Potassium: 3
Calcium: 103
Magnesium: 29
Total Hardness: 378
Nitrate: 0.6
Sulfate: 16
Chloride: 55
Carbonate: <1
Bicarbonate: 387
Total Alkalinity: 317
Total Phosphorus: <0.01
Total Iron: 0.17

Would you go ALL R/O and build the water profile from scratch? OR Would you go with a dilution process to at least take advantage of some of the mineral content of the water. I have been playing around with -TH-'s water calculator and tried several different options. Using my water (hard and very high in total alkalinity) and diluting it does leave my mash a little less acidic as I would like (pH 5.5 to 5.6), so I'm a little stumped as to what to do. It would be much easier if I had a pH meter and could make mash adjustments on the fly, but I don't have one yet (it's on the x-mas list). I realize that there are a lot of variables and these calculators are only estimations, so any feedback on what everyone would do would be fantastic. Thanks for your responses.....I truly appreciate it.

PS....my first batch is going to be a 12.5 SRM amber ale (16lbs 2-Row, 2 lbs, Victory (28L), 2 lbs Munich (10L), and 1.5 lbs Crystal (80L).