(That's water to the rest of us!) Beer is about 95% water, so if you want to discuss water treatment, filtering etc this is the place to do it!
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Wezzel
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by Wezzel » Sun Jul 21, 2013 3:59 pm
Okay, a bit off-topic here.
SWMBO has recently bought a very squiffy and expensive steam generator iron. As we have very hard water I have been buying distilled water from Hellfrauds to use in it.
Today a little light bulb went off in my head. Why don't I just treat my tap water with CRS and use that instead. Any reason why I shouldn't?
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Dave S
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by Dave S » Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:05 pm
Wezzel wrote:Okay, a bit off-topic here.
SWMBO has recently bought a very squiffy and expensive steam generator iron. As we have very hard water I have been buying distilled water from Hellfrauds to use in it.
Today a little light bulb went off in my head. Why don't I just treat my tap water with CRS and use that instead. Any reason why I shouldn't?
Can't think why not, and that gives me an idea too, as I have almost a whole bottle of CRS that I don't use anymore, (moved on to phosphoric acid).
Best wishes
Dave
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oz11
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by oz11 » Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:36 pm
Seems an expensive way to do it. I buy RO water from an aquarium/fish supplies shop and mix that with tap water.
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bob3000
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by bob3000 » Sun Jul 21, 2013 6:36 pm
tescos everyday water is RO
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oz11
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by oz11 » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:07 pm
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Eric
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by Eric » Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:24 pm
You can buy de-ionised water suitable for this purpose from Asda in the motoring section. From memory it costs maybe a pound for possibly 2 litres. CRS will convert temporary hardness in alkaline tap water to soluble salts at a cost of less than 2 pence per litre. However, you should remember that if you let the iron boil dry, those salts will deposited internally, although being soluable, will rinse out.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.
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Wezzel
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by Wezzel » Sun Jul 21, 2013 9:22 pm
I paid £3.99 for 5 litres from Halfords which I thought was a bit dear.
As I am going over to lactic acid and using Martins Bru 'n water my CRS will be redundant.
Perhaps I'll give it a go.
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Eric
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by Eric » Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:56 pm
Wezzel wrote:I paid £3.99 for 5 litres from Halfords which I thought was a bit dear.
As I am going over to lactic acid and using Martins Bru 'n water my CRS will be redundant.
Perhaps I'll give it a go.
Certainly worth a go and it will work and save you money. Keep some CRS handy though, if you've not tried lactic acid before and your water is a bit more than a slight tad alkaline, you could have an abrupt change of heart.
It won't necessarily be all bad news, you could always use the lactic acid in your wife's iron.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.
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Wezzel
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by Wezzel » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:51 am
Thanks. I spent last night playing with Bru 'n Water and I still can't decide which acid to use. My water is incredibly hard (London area).
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orlando
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by orlando » Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:54 am
Wezzel wrote:Thanks. I spent last night playing with Bru 'n Water and I still can't decide which acid to use. My water is incredibly hard (London area).
I use phosphoric, which on balance is a little easier to use and the most neutral.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"
Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer
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Wezzel
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by Wezzel » Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:52 am
Thanks, I haven't considered phosphoric acid and I see it is available from the Home Brew Shop too.
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Dave S
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by Dave S » Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:58 am
Wezzel wrote:Thanks, I haven't considered phosphoric acid and I see it is available from the Home Brew Shop too.
Yes I use Phosphoric too - works really well. If it's the Brupacs one you've seen, although it doesn't say on the bottle, I've had confirmation from one of their lab guys that it's 75%. I was thinking of trying sulphuric but I might be creating an unnecessary headache for myself.
Best wishes
Dave
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orlando
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by orlando » Mon Jul 22, 2013 11:55 am
Dave S wrote:Wezzel wrote:Thanks, I haven't considered phosphoric acid and I see it is available from the Home Brew Shop too.
Yes I use Phosphoric too - works really well. If it's the Brupacs one you've seen, although it doesn't say on the bottle, I've had confirmation from one of their lab guys that it's 75%. I was thinking of trying sulphuric but I might be creating an unnecessary headache for myself.
Headaches are the least of your worries
.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"
Fermenting:
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Drinking: Southwold Again,
Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer
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mabrungard
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by mabrungard » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:01 pm
The CRS is only helping to reduce the alkalinity. The hardness will remain. However, the reduced alkalinity will help reduce the tendency of the minerals to deposit as lime scale in your equipment.
The CRS should be useful in helping remove lime scale deposits you already have developed.
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Wezzel
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by Wezzel » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:26 pm
Thanks Martin. That pretty much confirms what Eric posted and helps to clarify my confusion between hardness and alkalinity.
Not a substitute for deionised water but preferable to using our very hard tap water.
As an aside, many thanks for the spreadsheet. I think I have more or less got the measure of it now and looking forward to brewing a pale ale with it next week. I'm going for a simple SMASH. Copper Dragon Golden Pippin using M.O. and cascade. In the past my pale ales have been a little astringent. I have high hopes for this one.
