Removing Chlorine from water

[hotbeer]

For aquariums, it's always been acceptable to just leave the water in a open container for up to 5 days to get rid of the chlorine. Or just boil the water for 5 to 15 minutes. Cooling it of course before using if cooked fish isn't desired.

Shouldn't either method be acceptable for beer too if it's known that the water doesn't have any chloramines in it?

I know I can simply use potassium metabisulfite. So you need not tell me.

 

[mac_1103]

Shouldn't either method be acceptable for beer too if it's known that the water doesn't have any chloramines in it?

Yes, but (there's always a but). Both methods depend on the surface area exposed to the air. So if you want to de-chlorinate enough to brew a 5 gallon batch of beer, you're going to have to either do it in small batches or get a very wide and very shallow pot.

I've been using a ZeroWater fliter for my last few batches. Removes 99.9 percent of dissolved solids (hence the name). Seems to work very well so far. How long a cartridge lasts depends on the water you're starting with. Certified to remove chloramines, too, but apparently chloramines shorten filter life.

 

[MaxStout]

If you're certain your water is treated with elemental chlorine and not chloramines, yeah, that should work. The chlorine just off-gases, though how quickly it does is a function of surface area exposed to the air, as @mac_1103 mentioned.

But if you're not sure which type they add to the water, you could call your local water dept. and ask. My understanding is that more and more water departments are switching to chloramines, as it's effective and safer for them to handle than compressed cylinders of toxic gas.

 

[mabrungard]

If you want to test out an alternative dechlorination method, I recommend that you go down to your local swimming pool store and buy one of those chlorine test kits with the drops that turn yellow when there's any sort of chlorine compound in the water. They're pretty accurate to fairly low concentration. Be sure to test your test kit by using it on untreated tap water and you should see some yellow in that sample.