Water Treatment help

[DaveGillespie]

I've been supplied with some information on my water report, as follows:

Alkalinity (HCo3) – 110mg/l
Chloride – 22mg/l
Sodium – 18mg/l
Sulphate – 71mg/l
Total Hardness – 55mg/l

I've input this data into the calculator (http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water/water.html) as follows:

- Enter Alkalinity (110), as HCo3
- Enter Hardness (55), as CaCO3
- Choose CRS as Carbonate Reduction Method
- Enter Sulphate (71), Chloride (22) and Sodium (18)

For 30 litres of water set to a General Purpose treatment this has given me the following:
- CRS 9ml
- Gypsum 3.98g
- Calcium Chloride 2.73g
- Epsom Salts 0.44g
- Salt 0.15g

Are these amounts sane or have I done anything obviously wrong? Also, with very small amounts (eg. the 0.15g of Salt in this case) do I bother adding these and if so how can I measure? I have no hope weighing those with my current scales.

[Matt12398]

Those figures don't look excessive but it will depend on what style of beer you are brewing and your grist will play a huge factor in whether your mash pH will be correct based on those additions. I use Bru'n Water to calculate my salt additions. Some people love it and some don't but it works for me. It has a pH prediction built into it which I've found fairly accurate so far and it allows you to adjust your salt additions based on your grist to predict the mash pH.

If you Google Bru'n Water you get Martin Brungard's website where there is a free version and a paid for version which he updates occasionally and sends to subscribers.

For scales, myself and several people on the forum have a set of these.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-Digital- ... 3cda6e9464

Just search jewellers scales on ebay and it will come up with loads of cheap options.

[DaveGillespie]

So is the expected process to set up bru 'n water (or whatever), dough in, measure mash pH then enter that into bru 'n water to calculate additions then add whatever you need to the mash?

[Dave S]

I've been supplied with some information on my water report, as follows:

Alkalinity (HCo3) – 110mg/l
Chloride – 22mg/l
Sodium – 18mg/l
Sulphate – 71mg/l
Total Hardness – 55mg/l

I've input this data into the calculator (http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water/water.html) as follows:

- Enter Alkalinity (110), as HCo3
- Enter Hardness (55), as CaCO3
- Choose CRS as Carbonate Reduction Method
- Enter Sulphate (71), Chloride (22) and Sodium (18)

For 30 litres of water set to a General Purpose treatment this has given me the following:
- CRS 9ml
- Gypsum 3.98g
- Calcium Chloride 2.73g
- Epsom Salts 0.44g
- Salt 0.15g

Are these amounts sane or have I done anything obviously wrong? Also, with very small amounts (eg. the 0.15g of Salt in this case) do I bother adding these and if so how can I measure? I have no hope weighing those with my current scales.

Your existing water profile looks pretty good for a dry stout or porter as is. I agree with Matt regarding B'nW. Worth having a look at.

[Dave S]

So is the expected process to set up bru 'n water (or whatever), dough in, measure mash pH then enter that into bru 'n water to calculate additions then add whatever you need to the mash?

No, you do it all in B'nW first and it predicts your Mash pH. As Matt said it really is quite accurate. The things I watch for are the alkalinity level and SO4/Cl ratio, and of course the predicted Mash pH as I add the salts in the spreadsheet.

[DaveGillespie]

Having a look at B 'N W - doesn't seem to have anywhere I can input Total Hardness, looks like it needs separate Calcium and Magnesium figures? Have I missed something?

[Dave S]

Having a look at B 'N W - doesn't seem to have anywhere I can input Total Hardness, looks like it needs separate Calcium and Magnesium figures? Have I missed something?

Yes, the total Hardness is calculated from the Ca and Mg levels. You need to have both values. If you have one of them you can calculate the other from the Total Hardness value. Formula is:
((Ca/20)+(Mg/12.15)) x 50 = TH, (apparently )

[mabrungard]

It doesn't look like you will be able to use that water data as-is. It is not complete enough. The Total Hardness value is needed, but to figure out what its components are, you would have to have either the calcium hardness or magnesium hardness.

Total Hardness is generally equal to the sum of Calcium Hardness and Magnesium Hardness. The ultimate goal is to have calcium and magnesium concentrations and they can be calculated from those hardness values. But in this case, we don't have a way to get both values.

Any calculator that uses only a Total Hardness value is making some sort of assumption as to the ratio of calcium and magnesium in the water. It might not fit your particular water. The best bet is to obtain a water test from a place like Murphy's.

[WallyBrew]

It doesn't look like you will be able to use that water data as-is. It is not complete enough. The Total Hardness value is needed, but to figure out what its components are, you would have to have either the calcium hardness or magnesium hardness.

I've been supplied with some information on my water report, as follows:

Alkalinity (HCo3) – 110mg/l
Chloride – 22mg/l
Sodium – 18mg/l
Sulphate – 71mg/l
Total Hardness – 55mg/l

The total hardness figure given is most probably expressed as Ca so if you want it as CaCO3 multiply it by 2.5

The reason I suggest it is as Ca is that you would need a lot of something else (such as 75mg/L of potassium) to balance everything and it then would not be regarded as potable.

[Dave S]

It doesn't look like you will be able to use that water data as-is. It is not complete enough. The Total Hardness value is needed, but to figure out what its components are, you would have to have either the calcium hardness or magnesium hardness.

I've been supplied with some information on my water report, as follows:

Alkalinity (HCo3) – 110mg/l
Chloride – 22mg/l
Sodium – 18mg/l
Sulphate – 71mg/l
Total Hardness – 55mg/l

The total hardness figure given is most probably expressed as Ca so if you want it as CaCO3 multiply it by 2.5

The reason I suggest it is as Ca is that you would need a lot of something else (such as 75mg/L of potassium) to balance everything and it then would not be regarded as potable.

I thought that total hardness figure was low too, but waddo I know

[mabrungard]

Sorry, mis-spoke. I should have said that the Total Hardness will not give you the information needed unless you have either the calcium hardness or magnesium hardness.

[DaveGillespie]

Yes sorry gents, the info comes directly from someone working for the local water board - Total Hardness is Calcium and Magnesium in this case and the town I live in borders directly on Lough Neagh so the water comes straight from the Lough via a treatment plant. The water authority only test for Total Hardness, not Calcium or Magnesium separately.

Looks like I'm off to Murphys.