How to Order a Water Analysis Report

[ajdelange]

The easiest thing to do is use RO water removing both the minerals and the variations in their concentration. Next best thing is to do the water analysis yourself. This is quite possible to varying degrees with readily available kits. They can, however, be a little dear.

 

[Hudini56]

For me, I'm on a well. So shouldn't change, but as time goes on, I will likely do another sample year to year see if there's any changes over the next year or 2.

 

[ajdelange]

Wells vary too. My alkalinity has ranged from, 70 to a little over 200 (mean 131, standard deviation 49) in random grabs over the last year or so. OTOH other ions stay pretty constant except, I suspect, calcium. When they come up with a hardness test that's as easy as the alkalinity test I'll start checking it as often as I check alkalinity.

 

[Hudini56]

Thanks for the info. I guess I will check more often see how mine varies..

 

[archthered]

The links in the original sticky are broken, looks like Ward labs updated their site. I'm not sure exactly what the originals looked like but here is a link with the information indicated in the first link- http://www.wardlab.com/water-services.php
It is NOT a pdf as the original link was.

Here is the new URL for the form- http://www.wardlab.com/download/sampleforms/HomeBrewer.pdf
It is still a pdf

These are pretty to find, Wards site is pretty user friendly, so this is really not a big deal but I just wanted to pass this on.

Here is a PDF of The various tests they offer and the list of results given for each test.

Here is a PDF of the form you will need to send into Ward Labs along with your water sample. It also has instructions for filling a bottle and payment options at the bottom so you won't have to print a copy of this sticky.

 

[Homercidal]

The links in the original sticky are broken, looks like Ward labs updated their site. I'm not sure exactly what the originals looked like but here is a link with the information indicated in the first link- http://www.wardlab.com/water-services.php
It is NOT a pdf as the original link was.

Here is the new URL for the form- http://www.wardlab.com/download/sampleforms/HomeBrewer.pdf
It is still a pdf

These are pretty to find, Wards site is pretty user friendly, so this is really not a big deal but I just wanted to pass this on.

Thanks! I will update the OP.

 

[Sbe2]

So is the price $27.25 if I submit my sample with my own water bottle and pay for shipping?

A month or so ago I fumbled my way through their site and thought I saw it was $40. Maybe that was the cost if they covered everything (container and shipping)?

Side note, I am on A well and my inside water is chlorinated and softened. I used to take water from my outside faucet for brewing, before going with store bought RO. It is probably a no brainer question, but should I send in a sample from the treated water, or the untreated water? My inclination is to send in what I normally would use (outside), I just want to have some reassurance.

 

[nDub]

Yes. I would use whatever water you brew with.

Unless you* want to know if the treated water is good to brew with. Or maybe both?

 

[sweetcell]

for the price-conscious (AKA just about everyone), you might want to consider the $21.00 Household Mineral Test. the only difference between it and the Brewers Test is that you lose iron and phosphorus. personally i have never looked at iron nor phosphorus, not sure what i'd do with that information anyways... i'll be saving myself $6.25 by going with the cheaper option.

fyi, if you have too much iron in your water, you'll know - beer will taste like blood.

phosphorus shouldn't be a problem unless you live in a very agricultural area - fertilizer runoff could jack up your P levels, but this will vary throughout the year (rainfall, growth phase, crop type/rotation, etc.). however, if you or someone you know have kidney disease and are on dialysis, phosphorus levels matter and you should get the test. then again, if you have kidney disease, i'm not sure drinking beer is a great idea anyways...

 

[ajdelange]

Knowing the level of iron in in the water is helpful in designing a remediation solution.

A small amount of phosphate can contribute significantly to alkalinity if pH is high and alkalinity low. Now if you have low phosphate and low iron you have for sure wasted your $6.25. But if you don't have a car accident this year you have for sure wasted your insurance premium.

 

[MSK_Chess]

If you have relatively soft water you guys should consider deionised water. Its way less expensive than the set up you need for reverse osmosis and produces water that is even more free from ions than RO. All you need is a resin like Tulsion MB-115 and a filter housing. If you are using it for brewing a 25KG bag would last forever.

 

[TwoTonTed]

I don't know if this tells me anything about my water from my supplier here in Wales UK. Is there anything in here that you 'experts' can comment on?

I didn't pay for this, it came straight off my water company's website, as applicable to the town where I live.

I'm, very new to brewing so this is of just a passing interest.

 

[VikeMan]

I don't know if this tells me anything about my water from my supplier here in Wales UK. Is there anything in here that you 'experts' can comment on?

Unfortunately, that report doesn't include most of the the ions that are useful to brewers...

Ca: not specified
Mg: not specified
Na 6.5-6.9 ppm
Cl: not specified
SO4: not specified
Total Alkalinity : not specified

It's because the ions important to brewing are not particularly important from a health/safety standpoint.

 

[TwoTonTed]

ok thanks!

 

[LBussy]

Ward now offers a W-501 Brewer's Test (which is the same exact thing as the W-5 Household Complete Mineral Test from what I can see) for $27.25, which includes:

• Bicarbonate
• Calcium
• Carbonate
• Chloride
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Nitrate
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Sulfate
• Total Hardness (Lime)
• Total Alkalinity
• Electrical Conductivity
• pH, Est. Total Dissolved Solids

The following would be extra:

• Aluminum $5.50
• Fluoride $6.00
• Silica $6.00
• Zinc $6.50
• Chromium $20.00
• Cobalt $20.00
• Nickel $20.00
• Copper $6.50
• Arsenic $20.00
• Selenium $20.00
• Cadmium $20.00
• Lead $20.00
• Manganese $6.50

I don't think any of those extras would be of any help for a homebrewer with municipal water, would they?

 

[mabrungard]

Ions like manganese and iron are likely to be apparent to anyone drinking the water when they're present in excess.

Ions like nitrate and phosphorus are not typically problematic in brewing and may not be worthwhile testing for.

The heavy metals might be a worry if you're on your own water source but those WILL NOT be a problem in the US if you're on a municipal water source.

Testing for silica may be a good idea if you are in a desert area where that ion can tend to concentrate, but it's not typically a problem in other parts of the world.

Zinc is typically present in most water at very low concentration and the testing method might not be sensitive enough to pick it up, so it might not be worth testing for. Confirm with Ward that they can detect to between 0.1 mg/l (aka: 100 ppb) and 0.5 mg/l, since that's the minimum and maximum zinc you want in your water.

 

[LBussy]

I'm on KC MO municipal water - by all accounts pretty soft and generally very good tasting. The current report shows Zinc at ND - 0.006 which is pretty low. At those reported levels, it may not be worth it to pay for it from Ward. The water here is from the Missouri River.