Who uses garden hose water to brew?

[USAFSooner]

I use a blue potable water hose from WalMart ran through a filter. My beer tastes just fine.

 

[signpost]

You're all doing it wrong. The only way you'll get a well developed hose and lead flavor in your beers is if you do a 45 minutes hose-stand after flameout. This will extract the most possible lead and that distinctive rubber hose character.

There are a couple different techniques you can use.

If you have pumps and all that, just recirculate your wort through the hose for 45 minutes after the boil has finished. If you can't do that, just submerge the hose in the wort after the boil is done. Be careful to put the hose in the kettle slowly, so you can make sure the wort fills the entire hose.

 

[Beernik]

That is damn funny: 45 minute hose-stand!

My housemate just offered me his old RV hose the next time he goes to his storage unit. So, problem solved.

 

[funnycreature]

I use the white "RV Camper" hoses with a copper shutoff at the end to get water from my laundry room to my garage for brew day...works like a charm and cheap also

What kind of shut-off do you have? I tried a couple of 3/4" valves from HD but none of them fit right. Using the RV stuff from Wally World as well.

 

[jhoyda]

regular garden hoses have lead in them, read the label. Get yourselves a RV/ Marine hose, they even say "Lead Free" on them. OBTW....lead is tasteless

I'm 95% sure the lead is contained in the brass ends of the hose. I'm an engineer in the rubber industry and can't think for the life of me why they would add lead to either a rubber or PVC compound.

PS, the majority of plumbing fixtures sold before March of this year also contain lead.

 

[masskrug]

California thinks everything has lead in it.

God. I went fishing last week and there was a lead warning on my sinkers. " I must wash my hands after handling the weights."

Even fishing is dangerous

 

[BadDeacon]

I'm 95% sure the lead is contained in the brass ends of the hose. I'm an engineer in the rubber industry and can't think for the life of me why they would add lead to either a rubber or PVC compound.

PS, the majority of plumbing fixtures sold before March of this year also contain lead.

I'm an engineer in the rubber industry: Insert pre-teen snickers....

 

[BadDeacon]

Seriously though. I use a well used hose for brewing. I have not noticed any major off flavors. If I'm measuring out specific volumes, I use a pitcher and fill in the kitchen.

 

[jhoyda]

I'm an engineer in the rubber industry: Insert pre-teen snickers....

I started out in product testing, wink, wink, nod, nod

 

[Beernik]

I forgot about the lead in the brass fittings.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

I use a blue potable water hose from WalMart ran through a filter. My beer tastes just fine.

lead is tasteless

 

[wilserbrewer]

Originally Posted by USAFSooner
I use a blue potable water hose from WalMart ran through a filter. My beer tastes just fine.

lead is tasteless

OK...But I doubt the "blue" or "potable" tastes bad???

 

[DirtyOldDuck]

regular garden hoses have lead in them, read the label. Get yourselves a RV/ Marine hose, they even say "Lead Free" on them. OBTW....lead is tasteless

I just make kids six and under sign a release before I allow them to imbibe any of my leaded homebrew since lead is a lot more harmful to kids in that age range than to beer drinking adults. Oh, I also make pregnant woman and nursing woman sign releases also, but unlike the kids they really shouldn't be drinking anyway.

I cannot imagine that you could get enough lead from a garden hose to cause health problems in an adult. Hell, we all drank water from hoses when we were kids and are still kicking. Half the products you buy in an auto parts store or anyplace selling cleaning solvents are known the the state of California to cause cancer. In fact, I find those warnings to be so ubiquitous, I pretty much ignore them.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Originally Posted by USAFSooner
I use a blue potable water hose from WalMart ran through a filter. My beer tastes just fine.




OK...But I doubt the "blue" or "potable" tastes bad???

blue tastes better than green

 

[uxo]

blue tastes better than green

yeah. I prefer wintergreen over mint also. : ]

 

[USAFSooner]

No hose water taste that I can detect.

 

[cavalrymsh]

any hose will get you 'hose water taste' if you let the water sit. I use a 6ft hose for brewing and I hang it up to dry after use.

The water from the hose bibb is the same water that comes out of your kitchen faucet and in your toilet.


I apologize if you already know this.

I have a whole house water softener inline. The water to the bibs does not go thru it and definitely has a (tested) different chemistry. That being said, ive brewed with both tap and hose water and cant detect a difference in the beers.

 

[Enoch52]

I have a whole house water softener inline. The water to the bibs does not go thru it and definitely has a (tested) different chemistry. That being said, ive brewed with both tap and hose water and cant detect a difference in the beers.

Yeah, but that's the water softener, not necessarily the hose. If you were to collect water from the hose, then remove the hose and collect water directly from the tap, I'll bet you'd find no appreciable difference.

 

[hunterlab]

"Wearing a rubber suit fighting crime for 12 hours , really locks in the flavor".

Haha had to quote from Batman-college humor

 

[smokinop]

Been using a garden hose for all my brews. I brew about 60 feet from my water source & until I run water to the area, I will continue to use a hose. I do flush the hose thoroughly before us.

 

[how1]

I don't even give my dog garden hose water (unless it's time to get a new dog).

 

[Stanleyjw]

I just use a RV drinking safe hose and run it through a standard filter you buy from the local brew shops. Works and tastes just fine.

 

[tagz]

It seems crazy to spend all the money to get a brewing setup and then use a garden hose for your water source.

 

[Ramitt]

Drinking water safe hoses are to cheap not to use in the big picture of what we spend on brewing.

 

[ObsidianJester]

I use mine to run the wort chiller!

However to the serious nature of the post, It appears that the health concerns are as follows:
1. Brand new hoses that have not had enough water running though them to leach out whatever chemicals are in there.
2. As in many things its not incidental contact, or a sip of water or occasional ingestion in small amounts that are the problem, it is questionable hoses that have long term ingestion/contact situations happening.
3. This would mean since much of this is heavy metal contact that is not boiled out of your brew that actually brewing with your garden hose could be something of a crapshoot. Could a few brews hurt you, not likely but long term the damage could be there.
4. You could get your water tested like many do from their tap to see the water profile if you want to use a hose and have a clear mind.
5. You could get a food safe hose and not worry about it. (This may be cheaper than sending your hose water off to a lab to check it.)
6. See what chemicals are found commonly in hoses particular to country of origin. Remember though heavy metals are very slow to be removed if at all from the body so the accumulation factor is what gets anyone.
7. Save empty gallon water/milk/juice jugs ahead of time and fill them with the desired water from the faucet to have available on brew day.
8 Relax, have a home brew or brew period after a riveting discussion I never thought I would have about garden hoses.

 

[tugbucket]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Element-...ater-Hose-ELMRV12025FM/100175856#.UdwQK5zd1X8

http://www.lowes.com/pd_429501-177-...uctId=4363615&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1


Same brand. Same specs. Just different color and price.

 

[tagz]

That's not your typical garden hose though... its marketed as "lead free" for "organic gardening."

 

[brick_haus]

rubber garden hose...

 

[JDGator]

i spoke with my grandfather last night on the phone and asked him about drinking from the garden hose. he said of course we did. we drank just about any water we could find when we were out terrorizing the neighbourhood. he said we never ran in the house to get a glass of water, cut in to our time. He then laughed at me after i told him about this debate. LOL he said that being worried about all the little things in life were going to kill me.

and yes i have always drank for the garden hose and will continue to.

 

[Gringo_Bandito]

http://www.bing.com/search?q=is lead tasteless&FORM=AGWBLB&PC=MAGW&QS=n

I'll take the word of the EPA over some random Bing results.

http://www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/lp-faqhealth.htm

Also, don't use Bing.