tap water

[knowltonm]

Do those RV filters work well enough? I didn't think they filtered nearly as well as a faucet one for in the kitchen.

 

[bradsul]

Do those RV filters work well enough? I didn't think they filtered nearly as well as a faucet one for in the kitchen.

I did a totally unscientific taste test between my previous method (Brita faucet filter) and the RV filter and the water tasted the same to me. Take that for what it's worth though.

 

[ChemE]

Thanks for all of the responses, I feel good about my water. However, this raises a different question. It appears to me that these "filtering" systems don't filter, but somehow chemically remove atoms, or molecules, of detrimental chemicals (lead, mercury, chlorine), which are considerably smaller than cellular bodies (bacteria). Does anything physically filter out bacteria, that is on the market?

I happen to be into reef aquaria and so have one of these already for that hobby.

Not only do these things laugh at chlorine and chloramine but they take out heavy metals, salts, organics, bacteria, and viruses. Starting off with totally pure water also allows you to adjust your water profile for the style of beer you are brewing.

This model filters down to 1 micron and so far has made thousands of gallons of RO/DI water without any filter changes. I have replaced the DI bed once ($13 and 10 minutes) though. You can get them for as little as $140 so if you are brewing often your payback period might not be too unreasonable. The big cost justification in my book is convenience. I couldn't be asked to lug gallons and gallons of RO water from the grocery store to keep my reef going and I certainly wouldn't want to do it for homebrewing either.

 

[cheezydemon]

Louisville, Ky.

My tapwater is amazingly forgiving. I use tap water to cool my wort and top up. No off flavors or infection.....ever.

 

[bad coffee]

I have an RO/DI filter as well, but I got rid of the RO membrane. My NYC tapwater has very little Total Disolved Solids (TDS) so I can use only DI. I get 0 TDS out with a prefilter, a carbon block (removes chlorine/chloramine) and the DI. I buy the resin in bulk so it's only $5 per filter change, and I don't waste 4 gallons of water for every gallon I make. Plus I can make about 40 gallons of clean water in an hour.

*thread Hijack*
ChemE, what size tank do you have and what do you have in it? I've got a 58 gallon I built, with mostly LPS. This spring I took out all my rock and cooked it, I lost a battle with bryopsis.
*/hijack*
B

 

[ChemE]

[hijack]It is a 55 with a few softies, some LPS, and SPS (2 monti digi, 2 monti caps, pocillipora, and 2 monti spumosa). I'm losing a battle to bubble algae and am contemplating cooking my rock too.[/hijack]