RO water filter?
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WFox93
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I use an under-sink Culligan RO system. Primarily for drinking and cooking as my tap water tastes god awful. I use it pretty successfully in my Keurig so I imagine it'll work fine in your nespresso.
I do use this water for brewing as well but I don't really bother with building profiles yet since I'm still working out my main process. Since the thing only produces 1.5 gallons every 8 hours I pre-fill 2 or 3 gallon jugs over days leading up to brew day and I'll buy a couple more gallons of ice mountain gallons. I know this isn't the right way to do it but I'm pretty happy with my beer as of now.
Based on that and what else I've read, using RO is the same if not better than distilled.
I do use this water for brewing as well but I don't really bother with building profiles yet since I'm still working out my main process. Since the thing only produces 1.5 gallons every 8 hours I pre-fill 2 or 3 gallon jugs over days leading up to brew day and I'll buy a couple more gallons of ice mountain gallons. I know this isn't the right way to do it but I'm pretty happy with my beer as of now.
Based on that and what else I've read, using RO is the same if not better than distilled.
Yes, RO is essentially the same as distilled.
I use RO for brewing, and I also feed my Keurig with it
I bought my RO system from Buckeye Hydro. They're participants here. I suspect you can find cheaper systems, but they're fabulous with support, and patient with people who don't know what they're doing.
I use RO for brewing, and I also feed my Keurig with it
I bought my RO system from Buckeye Hydro. They're participants here. I suspect you can find cheaper systems, but they're fabulous with support, and patient with people who don't know what they're doing.
Have you had your water tested? How does your water taste? Are you making beer that you are happy with drinking?
Nothing is a good deal if you don't need it. If you haven't had your water tested then how do you know that it isn't perfect for some style that you like but just haven't made often enough to realize that it works for you?
Nothing is a good deal if you don't need it. If you haven't had your water tested then how do you know that it isn't perfect for some style that you like but just haven't made often enough to realize that it works for you?
RO water is so close to the purity of distilled, the differences are negligible. My RO water tests at around 4ppm total dissolved solids (TDS). Once you get an RO system you will find more applications for it. I use water for brewing, coffee-making, and in a room humidifier (no chalky dust settling on everything!). I have a Buckeye Hydro system, and am very satisfied with it. Russ is a good person to work with and he won't steer you wrong.
Get a water test oriented for brewing needs. In the USA, Wards offers a solid array for brewers that can be used to determine what steps are necessary to make water good for brewing. While an RO system can solve many ills it may not be necessary, only a test can show the need.
fwiw, I have a 50gpd APEC system that drops my 350TDS well water down to 6. The only issue I've had with it is my well pump peaks well below the input pressure that'll actually hit 50gpd, so I'm upgrading it with a set of components from Buckeye Hydro. Two thumbs up to Russ @Buckeye_Hydro for guidance and taking the time to draw up my system with the new enhancements...
Cheers!
fwiw, I have a 50gpd APEC system that drops my 350TDS well water down to 6. The only issue I've had with it is my well pump peaks well below the input pressure that'll actually hit 50gpd, so I'm upgrading it with a set of components from Buckeye Hydro. Two thumbs up to Russ @Buckeye_Hydro for guidance and taking the time to draw up my system with the new enhancements...
Cheers!
DonGavlar
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Since I've started using RO water my beers have improved for sure. I get my RO from an aquarium that have to have their system up to scratch due to regulations etc. 10 gallons of it only costs me about £5 so, $7. I would buy my own system but the aquarium fills my containers for 10 gallons in about 2 minutes and its right next to my work.
The guys in the aquarium say they use the water for their kettle for coffee and tea as it leaves behind 0 lime scale etc so no need to ever clean the kettle. I've also had a glass of the water I use, tastes pretty good, a lot better than my tap water and that's not bad either.
The guys in the aquarium say they use the water for their kettle for coffee and tea as it leaves behind 0 lime scale etc so no need to ever clean the kettle. I've also had a glass of the water I use, tastes pretty good, a lot better than my tap water and that's not bad either.
I use exclusively RO water for brewing. That way I can build the water profile I want. This has worked extremely well for me so far.
I get mine from a machine at the grocery store, but I would like to get my own. That'll happen as I work towards a more dedicated brewing situation. Right now I haul everything from my basement store room to the garage, sit it all up, brew, clean it all and haul it back downstairs. I'd say I drop over an hour just with setup and tear down each brew day. The good news is that I get my exercise on a brew day...I'm usually exhausted by day's end.
I get mine from a machine at the grocery store, but I would like to get my own. That'll happen as I work towards a more dedicated brewing situation. Right now I haul everything from my basement store room to the garage, sit it all up, brew, clean it all and haul it back downstairs. I'd say I drop over an hour just with setup and tear down each brew day. The good news is that I get my exercise on a brew day...I'm usually exhausted by day's end.
Dcpcooks
Well-Known Member
You’ll want a TDS meter, it measures the total dissolved solids saturated in the water. You can get a stand-alone unit or an in-line unit. So my water is roughly 170 ppm total solids in suspension. After it passes through the filter I usually see a reading around 1-3 ppm.
If you get a unit for Home have them add an Inline TDS meter and a water pressure gauge.
My water pressure is roughly 50 psi.
Between the tds meter and the pressure gauge you can monitor the effectiveness of the RO filter. If pressure drops and the tds number rises it’s time to replace your filter and/or the membrane. It’s essentially a real-time test for the system and no further testing is necessary.
I’ve been using Buckeye Hydro’s set up for a few years now. They are very very helpful.
fwiw, I upgraded my APEC ROES-50 system yesterday and was able to test its performance today.
Thought I write up what I did in case anyone's interested in a similar upgrade.
While the oem system is rated at 50 gpd, it'll only get there with an 80+ psi water source, and as my well pump ranges between 35 and 55 psi the system yield was significantly affected - like, by 50%. Gathering the 20+ gallons for a typical brew day was a totally manual protracted affair at that rate, almost always requiring over-night operation with fingers crossed nothing went awry. Also, due to design limitations, filling my kettles immediately emptied the reservoir tank, leaving the merest trickle of water available at the RO faucet nearby until the filling was accomplished.
So my intention was to add a booster pump with appropriate controls to get the pressure in the ball park, and not have the kettle-filling exhaust the pressure tank for the duration. I ran my needs and ideas by Russ @Buckeye_Hydro and worked through the parts needed and what went where and sent me a marked up version of one of the site's diagrams as a reference.
I took all that and drew up my system before and after the changes to give me a road map for installing everything in the right place the first try. Note a couple of shut-off valves appear redundant but are there for convenience (ie: the tank valve is up near the ceiling so I added a shut-off in that path that I can actually reach, and the shut-off near the end of the ~20' kettle-filling branch has obvious benefits).
We added the pump and an input screen for it, a pressure gauge to monitor the pump pressure, a pressure sensor and a solenoid to control the raw water input to the system, and a strategically located check valve prevents my kettle-filling path from drawing from the pressure tank which now is dedicated to the faucet. An adjustable float valve will make the kettle-filling automatic once I come up with a mounting scheme. And we also added an auto-flush feature to help keep the membrane healthy and relieve me from having to manually cycle the system every few days when not being used.
So how'd it turn out? Couldn't be more pleased!
Before the mods it was yielding 1.15 gallons per hour @ tds of 6 (our well typically runs around 330 with most of it bicarbonates).
After the mods it is now yielding 2.28 gph, still @ tds of 6, so nearly double, and actually a bit over the oem system's performance ratings.
And the RO faucet will be useful all the time now, and I don't have to tend to the RO membrane's needs any more, it can take care of itself now
Cheers! ("It's A Good Thing")
Thought I write up what I did in case anyone's interested in a similar upgrade.
While the oem system is rated at 50 gpd, it'll only get there with an 80+ psi water source, and as my well pump ranges between 35 and 55 psi the system yield was significantly affected - like, by 50%. Gathering the 20+ gallons for a typical brew day was a totally manual protracted affair at that rate, almost always requiring over-night operation with fingers crossed nothing went awry. Also, due to design limitations, filling my kettles immediately emptied the reservoir tank, leaving the merest trickle of water available at the RO faucet nearby until the filling was accomplished.
So my intention was to add a booster pump with appropriate controls to get the pressure in the ball park, and not have the kettle-filling exhaust the pressure tank for the duration. I ran my needs and ideas by Russ @Buckeye_Hydro and worked through the parts needed and what went where and sent me a marked up version of one of the site's diagrams as a reference.
I took all that and drew up my system before and after the changes to give me a road map for installing everything in the right place the first try. Note a couple of shut-off valves appear redundant but are there for convenience (ie: the tank valve is up near the ceiling so I added a shut-off in that path that I can actually reach, and the shut-off near the end of the ~20' kettle-filling branch has obvious benefits).
We added the pump and an input screen for it, a pressure gauge to monitor the pump pressure, a pressure sensor and a solenoid to control the raw water input to the system, and a strategically located check valve prevents my kettle-filling path from drawing from the pressure tank which now is dedicated to the faucet. An adjustable float valve will make the kettle-filling automatic once I come up with a mounting scheme. And we also added an auto-flush feature to help keep the membrane healthy and relieve me from having to manually cycle the system every few days when not being used.
So how'd it turn out? Couldn't be more pleased!
Before the mods it was yielding 1.15 gallons per hour @ tds of 6 (our well typically runs around 330 with most of it bicarbonates).
After the mods it is now yielding 2.28 gph, still @ tds of 6, so nearly double, and actually a bit over the oem system's performance ratings.
And the RO faucet will be useful all the time now, and I don't have to tend to the RO membrane's needs any more, it can take care of itself now
Cheers! ("It's A Good Thing")
Last edited:
MaryB
Well-Known Member
Buckeye Hydro, go with them! I bought their 100gpd system and to gather 18 gallons of brewing water takes ~ 9 hours. My water pressure is only 40psi plus I am dealing with MN ice cold water coming into the system, my water temp is 45 degrees right now. Both will drop system output considerably. Buckeye does have a calculator on their site and my output is pretty close to calculated! I fill 3 gallon jugs so I just set a timer and swap them every 90 minutes.
calculator http://www.buckeyehydro.com/calculator/
calculator http://www.buckeyehydro.com/calculator/
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MaryB - Give your low pressure and cold water, you may be able to make a $4 adjustment and improve your system performance. Start by measuring (not estimating), the ratio of permeate (RO water) to concentrate (waste water). Line up 6 to 8 identical cups in front of your RO. Solo beer cups work great. With your waste water tube in one hand, and your RO water tube in the other, how many cups do you fill with waste water in the time it takes to fill one with RO water?
Assuming you have hard water, the answer you want is about 4. If it's more than 4, then we need to adjust your flow restrictor. $4 and 30 seconds is all it will take to do that.
Russ
Assuming you have hard water, the answer you want is about 4. If it's more than 4, then we need to adjust your flow restrictor. $4 and 30 seconds is all it will take to do that.
Russ
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Day_Tripper - a couple of comments for you:
Replace the self piercing saddle used to connect to your plumbing to get water to the system. You'll get higher flow and better pressure and no leaks.
Move the check valve on your permeate tube to BEFORE the tee.
Move the pressure switch on your permeate tube to before the tee.
Russ
Replace the self piercing saddle used to connect to your plumbing to get water to the system. You'll get higher flow and better pressure and no leaks.
Move the check valve on your permeate tube to BEFORE the tee.
Move the pressure switch on your permeate tube to before the tee.
Russ
