jamie3
Well-Known Member
My local water supply is increasing water rates by 30% in the next 6 months. I'm wondering if anyone has any good tips on reducing water consumption (ie: re-using/reducing water, etc)?
Tips on reducing water consumption?
- Thread starter jamie3
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Giant buckets on the roof. I reduce my water consumption by using sanitizer in a spray bottle (and it helps with the $$$ starstan costs). Most of my water comes from cleaning.
OP
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jamie3
Well-Known Member
yep i do that as well.
SankePankey
Well-Known Member
I use steam to clean as a step in between PBW and Starsan. Need less water for thorough cleaning since the whole vessel is getting up to 212.
studmonk3y
Well-Known Member
No-Chill FTW
wyzazz
Well-Known Member
+1 If you want to conserve water the best way is "No Chill Brewing". Do a search and you'll find a HUGE thread with tons of info!
No chill wouldn't save me a drop of water. I use all the water for other purposes that would have consumed water anyway (when I'm not being lazy).
Low flow toilets of course. If you have old ones, they use 5 gallons. Huge waste. You didnt mention if you have modern toilets, so I'll just say you can buy dual-flush retrofit kits now that will fit any old toilet.
I only mean to say that saving water for brewing means saving water in every way. Dont use sprinklers. Use soaker hoses. Simple things like that add up big. Fix leaks. A drip drip leak uses hundreds of gallons of water over a year. Usually a screwdriver and a new washer is all you need.
Rain barrels would kick ass. Rain water has no chlorine in it as well as no PH buffers, and you can filter it through some clean tshirts for "large" particles. You'll be boiling it anyway. Try that.
I only mean to say that saving water for brewing means saving water in every way. Dont use sprinklers. Use soaker hoses. Simple things like that add up big. Fix leaks. A drip drip leak uses hundreds of gallons of water over a year. Usually a screwdriver and a new washer is all you need.
Rain barrels would kick ass. Rain water has no chlorine in it as well as no PH buffers, and you can filter it through some clean tshirts for "large" particles. You'll be boiling it anyway. Try that.
wyzazz
Well-Known Member
But if you were being lazy the potential to save water would be there. 
bja
Well-Known Member
Stop taking showers. I figure if your beer is good enough, people will still come around even if you do smell like ass.
CaliBrewin
Well-Known Member
what is your method for cooling hot wort Bobby?
I use my copper IC submerged in an ice-water bath to chill the wort (wort pumped through coil.)
I am considering saving that melted ice water at the end of the day and using it as my brew water the next time around. I just don't know how comfortable I am with my water sitting for 2 weeks in a bucket and then being used for a brew.
I am considering saving that melted ice water at the end of the day and using it as my brew water the next time around. I just don't know how comfortable I am with my water sitting for 2 weeks in a bucket and then being used for a brew.
billvon
Well-Known Member
Reuse cooling water for irrigation. Might have to let it cool in buckets first tho; plants dislike water above about 120F.
Most of my water usage occurs during cleaning/sanitation tho. Not many options to get around that.
Most of my water usage occurs during cleaning/sanitation tho. Not many options to get around that.
rico567
Well-Known Member
I collect my chilling water in buckets, and put the water on the hops or vegetable garden. Since we're on our own well, I confess I don't pay too much attention to it otherwise.
JarrodH
Well-Known Member
+1 I am watering the lawn every time I brew.
ghpeel
Well-Known Member
Just a warning, do NOT try to collect water from your roof unless you've got ceramic tiles up there. Shingles are incredibly toxic and water that's run off of them can't be used for anything that will ever end up in a human body. You can't even add that water to compost that will eventually be used to grow food in. Also, there are certain areas that have raccoons with very, very nasty parasites in their feces, which collects on roofs.
homebrewer_99
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If you use a chiller catch the hot water in another bucket and use it to clean your equipment with...
Oh, yeah, and read my avatar...
Oh, yeah, and read my avatar...
wyzazz
Well-Known Member
If you use a chiller catch the hot water in another bucket and use it to clean your equipment with...
Oh, yeah, and read my avatar...
I shoot the water from my plate chiller in to my daughter's pool, then I randomly "steal" the water back to water my hops!
Photopilot
Well-Known Member
- Water goes through the immersion chiller and into the washing machine.
- I reuse all water when rinsing, dump from one container to another to remove gunk then a fresh batch to rinse finally.
- The water I use for brewing and personal drinking comes from an artesian well.
- I have a bunch of 1,3 and 5 gallon containers giving me 20 gallons which is just enough for a 10 gallon batch.
- All heavy cleaning of carboys, sanke kegs, and cornys gets done with a carboy power washer that only needs 3 gallons of water to cycle through. I can usually clean 3 items per 3 gallons batch.
I do what I can to make up for the fact that SWMBO and I like to take long showers.
fezzman
Well-Known Member
It it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down. :cross:
I've only done one AG batch so far so I'm still working on figuring out the best way of reducing water in my procedures. I used well water for my IC. I figure it saves my water bill at least and is likely much cooler than city water.
I let it drain into the yard the first time. I may start collecting it to clean with though.
I've only done one AG batch so far so I'm still working on figuring out the best way of reducing water in my procedures. I used well water for my IC. I figure it saves my water bill at least and is likely much cooler than city water.
I let it drain into the yard the first time. I may start collecting it to clean with though.
KyleWolf
Well-Known Member
personally, I collect my chiller water and use it for cleaning the equipment.
I do not shower at my house much, I try to make sure I shower at the gym.
Large loads of laundry only.
couple of bricks (stone bricks...lets specify here) in the toilet basin
and I use a fairly powerful hose attachment, when I use a hose, to concentrate the water force to use less.
This one is nit-picky, but I turn off my ice maker unless I know I will be needing tons of ice.
I do not shower at my house much, I try to make sure I shower at the gym.
Large loads of laundry only.
couple of bricks (stone bricks...lets specify here
) in the toilet basinand I use a fairly powerful hose attachment, when I use a hose, to concentrate the water force to use less.
This one is nit-picky, but I turn off my ice maker unless I know I will be needing tons of ice.
Currently? An IC but I've used CFC and plate chillers before also. The plate chiller used the least amount of water. Depending on the tap water temp, it was not uncommon to use 30 gallons of tap to chill 10 gallons of wort. About 10 of that would be used to clean the brewery afterwards, then the other 20 went to laundry or watering plants (in the summer).
In the summer, I have to pump icewater to finish my chilling no matter what. My tap temp is creeping up to 85F right now.
