Water Filters - Pros / Cons / Recommended Brands

[Pratzie]

Ok so i'm looking for ideas on water filters for my brew set up. I've seen pictures of single tier and multi tier setups with inline filters mounted right onto the rigs. And I still find my brews to be "sub-par" for lack of a better word so I think this might be the best investment for my kit now.

So im looking for some input on the pros/cons and what kind of experience everyone has with different brands and setups. And im not interested at all in buying/carting around 10+ 1-gallon jugs each time I wanna brew so this is the path im interested in taking.

 

[Xpertskir]

Most of this filters you see are effectively the same. They are basically a whole house filter with a .5-5 micron carbon cartridge. All they so is remove chlorine.


Before you think about filters I would be reading a water report fr your utility to see what ion concentration ranges are and most importantly if they use chlorine and/or chloramime. These filter set ups will only remove chloramine with an activated charcoal cartridge. Camden tablets will remove both, BTW.

I have been using a similar set up you have been describing for 20-30 batches and I'm actually about to start buying water(distilled) or switch to an RO filter(and add the salts levels I want) because the sulfate level in my water is negatively affecting my beers.

 

[Wynne-R]

Filter makers rate filters in "microns". Microns are a size measurement of the pore size, so the smaller the number, the tighter the filter. CTO stands for "Chlorine, Taste, Odor" and means that the maker is saying only that the filter will remove chlorine and improve taste and odor. The filter might do more, but the maker isn't guaranteeing it. CTO-grade cartridges are usually about 10 microns in pore size. Five-micron filters remove more chemicals but will plug up faster if there is heavy particulate matter in the water. One-micron filters are for drinking water only. In general, they are too tight to filter large amounts of water without slowing the flow to unacceptable levels.

http://www.purewaterproducts.com/articles/carbon

The standard filters do a good job with chlorine, not quite as good with chloramine. There are catalytic carbon cartridges that are specially designed to remove chloramine. I still use Campden, just a lot less. The filter won’t get it all, and it doesn’t take much to wreck a batch.
.

 

[funnycreature]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Water-Filter-with-Hose/14504321

That's about what I got but I haven't installed/tested it yet. Is that thing OK to use? So far I've used my under-the-sink water filter but got tired running up and down the stairs.

 

[Pratzie]

Well thats why I was looking for filters... cuz I HAVE been using campden but im not sure why my batches taste like plastic/bandaid like. Its confusing me cuz I used 1 tablet and only used about 11 gallons total for strike water and sparge and went with 90 minute boils. So im thinking something else is up with my water.

 

[Xpertskir]

Well thats why I was looking for filters... cuz I HAVE been using campden but im not sure why my batches taste like plastic/bandaid like. Its confusing me cuz I used 1 tablet and only used about 11 gallons total for strike water and sparge and went with 90 minute boils. So im thinking something else is up with my water.

Before searching for solutions..you need to know what is wrong with your water(if anything).

 

[Wynne-R]

An RO filter would get all the chloramine because they’re so slow. But in your case the Campden should get it. A slow stir should be enough to mix it.

The bandaid taste is always chlorophenol as far as I know, so I’m looking for another source of chloramine. Do you rinse with tapwater? I always use StarSan made with RO water for my last step, then drain well.

Do you use bottles? Are they drained well?

Believe it or not, I know people that have gotten this flavor from using tapwater with their sanitizer

 

[Xpertskir]

bleach can also be a problem, do you use it for anything?

 

[bmckee56]

I use a 3 tier system and have my filter housing attached to the unit and I use a charcoal activated cartridge so I can fill my 10 gallon HLT the night before a brew session and add in my campden tablet to get rid of all the nasties my filter did not remove.

I set up my system with valve arrangements that allow me to redirect my water source to a chiller mounted underneath instead of my filter housing. I can also purge my system with compressed air or Co2 to remove all water from the housing. Overall it works well, but I still need to make some modifications to improve efficiency and brewing pleasure.

I also use my water filter and HLT to make up water supplies for cleaning and rinsing.

Salute!

 

[241]

I use this and love it:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064OGI9S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Has a hookup for a faucet already installed (which I attach to my sink) and some long tubing so I can weave it out to my brew station. I noticed no taste differences between beers I was making with spring water and beers I've made with the filtered water. I even blind taste tested the girlfriend between the water through the filter and the Brita water filter we use in the fridge. She preferred the water filtered with the above.

As for water chemistry, I still don't mess with mine and turn out pretty decent beers. I have heard though on the Jamil Show that perfect brewing water is the difference between 'decent' beers and 'great' beers. I'm just lazy and haven't messed with it yet.

Hope that helps..

 

[Pratzie]

Well I used Camden, stirred abit and brought a boil. Cooled a bit and used it as strike water. But looking back ive always used tap water for Star San. Figured the sanitizer would take care of any bad things. Think maybe that's it?

 

[Xpertskir]

No. Tap water for star San is fine.

 

[Wynne-R]

My concern for using tapwater in a StarSan solution is the chloramine. It seems to me that if you use it to soak plastic, you would have chloramine adsorbed into the plastic, especially with HDPE buckets.

Incidentally ,if you use StarSan with hard water it will turn cloudy. This is a reaction of the calcium and magnesium with the DDBA detergent. Think soap scum. Eventually it will precipitate out and form a sludge in the bottom. Five Star recommends that StarSan mixed with hard water be discarded at the end of the day.

 

[Pratzie]

Well I always make my Star San Solution with my bottling bucket. Never realized the chloramine would cause this many headaches, especially since ive been using Campden tabs to try and get rid of it. I also ferment solely in Better Bottles.

What if i was to take a five gallons in my bucket the night before i brew and crush up a campden tablet and stir til it dissolves. Do you think that would be enough to rid the water of chlorine/chloramines to make Star San for the next day? I don't think it would need to be boiled for the Campden to be effective, right?

 

[Wynne-R]

The Campden works almost immediately, as quick as it dissolves. You could use ½ a tablet for your strike and sparge and the other half in your sanitizer. No need to boil. It’s worth a shot.

I‘m out of ideas. I don’t know what else to suggest. I made up the part about plastic adsorbing chloramine. I don’t know that it does, but it seems reasonable that it could. Campden would eliminate that possibilty.

We have had people on this forum that had your problem and seemed to be doing everything right except the sanitizer had tapwater. When I point that out we never hear from them again. Generally no news is good news, but you never know.

 

[Setesh]

Here is a good read on the subject of chloramine removal:

http://www.iuhoakland.com/Chloramine.pdf

 

[Pratzie]

The Campden works almost immediately, as quick as it dissolves. You could use ½ a tablet for your strike and sparge and the other half in your sanitizer. No need to boil. It’s worth a shot.

I‘m out of ideas. I don’t know what else to suggest. I made up the part about plastic adsorbing chloramine. I don’t know that it does, but it seems reasonable that it could. Campden would eliminate that possibilty.

We have had people on this forum that had your problem and seemed to be doing everything right except the sanitizer had tapwater. When I point that out we never hear from them again. Generally no news is good news, but you never know.

Yeah i didn't evne think of the StarSan water being the problem but thats what im gonna do from now on, just split the pill and put a half in each to cover all the bases.

Here is a good read on the subject of chloramine removal:

http://www.iuhoakland.com/Chloramine.pdf

And thanks this was actually a really informative article. I didn't know anything about the Absorbic acid either.