RO Water in Contact with Boil Coil Overnight - is it a Problem?

[philm63]

I plan on pulling all of my RO the night before brew day and leaving it in the HLT and MLT so the next morning, I just need to power up and start heating. I understand RO can be more aggressive than water with a typical mineral content such as drinking water.

My concern is the extended contact time between the RO and all those different types of stainless steel in my kettles.

I'm pretty sure the G2 Boilermaker kettles will be fine, and also the temp probes and valves, sight glass, etc. It's the Boil Coil I'm most concerned about. Anyone have experience with this and are there any concerns?

 

[SEndorf]

I think you have incorrect information about RO water. It is not "aggressive"; it is stripped with negligible mineral content.
You'll be fine.

 

[Vale71]

There are no concerns as far as stainless is concerned. RO water is stripped of its salts but still has its CO2 content and is only aggressive against carbonates and regular steel, it won't affect stainless in any way.

 

[CodeSection]

Since i generally need 17-18 gallons of water, I start filling my BK with RO water the night before brew day as well. I have never had a problem with anything on the BK including the heating element.

 

[Spartan1979]

I always fill my HLT with a BoilCoil in it the night before.

 

[h22lude]

I think what you are thinking about is how some say distilled water can pull minerals from your body if you drink it. Not sure how true that is but I've heard it a bunch of times. RO (or distilled) isn't "aggressive". It won't do anything to SS.

 

[philm63]

Thanks all for the insight - very helpful. Now, not wanting to go off topic too much - I also treat my sparge water with 10% phosphoric acid to bring it down to pH 5.5 - can I add it to the HLT the night before with no negative effects on the components that would then sit in that pH 5.5 water overnight? Or should I just wait 'til morning and add it then?

 

[sicktght311]

I think the general consensus is that as long as your heating elements and kettles are stainless steel, theres not much in there that can really damage it. Think about fermenters. They're the same material as the element and you have acidic beer sitting in there for weeks.