is this what i need to measure kh?

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:57 am

hi all, think i need to invest in this i started water treatment again after a break and its happening again i get really clear beer instantly after fermentation, the beer taste really good when young, then as soon as it's been conditioning for a month its bland and soft tasting like something wipes away the hop taste all you get is a really weird smoothing sensation in the mouth. i think i am overdoing something. so i am looking at testing the water every brew now see if that helps. i just want to make sure i buy the right thing!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALIFERT-CARB ... 2eb3eeff52

Skittlebrau · Post by **Skittlebrau** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:29 am

That's the one!

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:15 pm

got it today. anyone post a video of someone using if for homebrewing?

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:42 am

completely baffled. i work my water out @ 2.2 dkh so thats 0.79 alkalinity in meq/l so * that by 50 equals 39.5 alkalinity cac03?. do i put that in the alkalinity box on the water treatment calculator or in the hardnes box ???. and if the 39.5 cac03 goes into the alkalinity box what figure goes into the hardness box??. i am confused.com.

also when i did the test the water changed colour a few times the went back to normal water colour then 2 more drops of solution it changed to pink and stayed pink were do i take the reading the permanent change or the one were it changed pink then went back to normal water colour??

BeerEagle · Post by **BeerEagle** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 5:16 pm

The permanent change Is where you measure - the temporary is where you're getting concentrations of the chemicals in spots.

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:15 pm

can anyone tell me were i get my hardness reading?

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:21 pm

can someone explain a bit here. i am confused. were and how do i get a hardness test from this kit or cant i? . can someone explain the ins and outs of the grahams brewing calculator aswell. i need to know what residual alkalinity is also. i have all my readings for calcium, magnesium, sodium, carbonate, sulphate, chloride. also the reading i got today of 39.5 alkalinity? do i need to alter my residual alkalinity for every brew say for pales, stouts , porters, bitters? and if so were are the guidelines for them?. i have tried altering the residual alkalinity on the calculator but nothing at all changes?.

i am so confused now. i dont want to give up on water treatment i want to get it right for my next brew on sunday? also i have just bought a kilo of each epsom, gypsum, calcium chloride. also 700ml of crs. seems a waste for just a stab in the dark when i know i can get it right with a little bit of help

Post by **orlando** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:37 am

Hi Alfie,

Don't panic GW's calculator does take a bit of effort to get used too but is bloody good so stick at ti (I recommend printing off all the notes and reading through them, several times). A couple of tips: First of all go to the web site of your water provider and obtain a quality of water report. If you can't find it ring them up with a print off of GW's water treat calculator in your hand and ask them for Alkalinity, hardness, and check the figures you derived from the test for cations and ions. Make sure you fill in the second box on the top section which asks for which carbonate reduction method you are using. I boil as my water is really hard (pschopathically hard), I notice you have CRS solution so you can use this, when I do this the box for residual alkalinity changes to 20. This is a bit of a fudge which GW explains is necessary because there is no way of knowing exactly how much is left behind but there will always be some. Next choose which style of beer you are brewing in the target liquour drop down box. When you have done all that check to see if you have to click on the adustment buttons next to the warning box, text appears in the warning box saying which you have to press. When you have done that choose how many litres you are treating and then press the recalculate button and you should now have all you need. You only have to fill in the yellow sections and not all of them are absolutely essential as the software will take a guess at some of the parameters for you. The only information I lack for the calculator is the Suphate:Chloride ratio but again this is not vital but ask the water company whilst on the phone.

You appear to already have most of the info you need so get the other bits (hardness and alkalinity) and your away. The notes can be found at the bottom of the calculator where he highlights the word here in red.

alfie09 · Post by **alfie09** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:47 am

i have got alkalinity @ 39.5 i just need hardness. but the question i asked was can i get the hardness reading from the test kit here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SALIFERT-CARB ... 2eb3eeff52

Post by **orlando** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:31 pm

Blimey Alfie, I knocked my socks off answering your question, you don't need the kit, ring your water company they will tell you.

Bobba · Post by **Bobba** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:58 pm

Why do you want the hardness reading? You only need one or the other, and as you've got the kit to test alkalinity (and it'll be more accurate than what the water board will tell you) then you're sorted. For the other ions (Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4) you'll need to get those off your local waterboard

Post by **Aleman** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:22 pm

Bobba wrote:Why do you want the hardness reading? You only need one or the other

And the most important by far is Alkalinity which is a measure of bicarbonate ions in the water. I believe GW's calculator derives bicarbonate from the hardness reading (The sum of calcium and magnesium ions in the liquor).

If you have the alkalinity reading use that and leave the hardness blank.

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