Hot tap water for mashing?

[flanken]

So I just turned my kitchen faucet on hot and let it run with the thermometer underneath... Our hot water tank is up pretty high, I'm reading 170F coming out of the faucet.

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just put hot water from my kitchen sink directly into my mash tun, let it cool to strike temp, then dough in?

It would save me a bunch of time to not heat up the coldest possible water (like I usually do) using my propane tank / turkey fryer...

Does anyone just use hot house water?

 

[phug]

How old is your house? What kind of piping and solder was used. If you have pex or newer copper with lead free solder then I don't see why not

 

[Magnus314]

Let some cool and taste it. If it tastes good and is chlorine and chloramine free, try a batch.

You may find certain types of beer taste even better with that water. Or, you could run some off hot, send it to a water testing lab, pay a bit of coin and see what the actual report says...

 

[flanken]

How old is your house? What kind of piping and solder was used. If you have pex or newer copper with lead free solder then I don't see why not

House was built in 2001 and has all copper piping. We replaced the hot water tank last summer so that's brand new.

Not sure about the solder... I'm assuming lead free but you know what they say when you assume...

 

[flanken]

Let some cool and taste it. If it tastes good and is chlorine and chloramine free, try a batch.

You may find certain types of beer taste even better with that water. Or, you could run some off hot, send it to a water testing lab, pay a bit of coin and see what the actual report says...

See the chlorine part I think would be a problem. I've been filling my kettle from an RV hose and was about to invest in an inline charcoal filter for it, because the last Detroit water report I can get my hands on shows some in there.

Of course, I haven't treated any of my other brews and they've been OK...

 

[jmcquesten]

So I just turned my kitchen faucet on hot and let it run with the thermometer underneath... Our hot water tank is up pretty high, I'm reading 170F coming out of the faucet.

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just put hot water from my kitchen sink directly into my mash tun, let it cool to strike temp, then dough in?

It would save me a bunch of time to not heat up the coldest possible water (like I usually do) using my propane tank / turkey fryer...

Does anyone just use hot house water?

170° water is way too hot for a water heater. That temperature will scald people.

Also, water heaters corrode/rust and build up sediment in the bottom, which could get into your beer. These were the same reasons that we had to use cold water in the restaurants that I've worked in, and why I still do when cooking at home.

More importantly, that temperature is unsafe. If it's really coming out at 170° it can hurt someone. This could be especially dangerous if there are kids around, not to mention a liability issue if a guest comes over and gets hurt.

 

[DatsyukianDeke]

170? In my last apartment the hot water was somewhere near 140-145 and it was hot as hell.

 

[flanken]

Yeah it's hot as hell alright...

 

[mxstar21]

Are you sure the thermometer is accurate? 170 sounds pretty high.

I wouldn't worry about the solder type. The solder used on the potable water line will be fine for brewing.

 

[flanken]

I'll double check the calibration but it's a brand new ThermoWorks RT301 pocket digital thermometer... Should be good though

 

[20grit]

As an Architect, I'm going to tell you that your house water heater should absolutely not be set that high. Anything over 140° should be equipped with an ASSE 1017 thermostatic mixing valve.
If this isn't a tankless system, then you are needlessly over heating your water all day long.

 

[SleepyCreekBrews]

Wow, never heard of 170 degree domestic hot water.

Personally, I don't regard the water from the hot water tank as "drinking water" since it sits in there for extended periods of time exposed to the anode and the sediments in the tank. Maybe that's just me.

 

[flanken]

The dial is not even up all the way... I'll do an ice bath with my thermometer and re-test tonight.

So what's the hottest anyone is getting from their tap then? Have you tested?

 

[JonM]

Scald? Heck, 170° F will cause third-degree burns in less than .5 second - that's faster than your brain can process the information and move your skin out of the way.

Having the water that high is very foolish. You're going to get hurt and you're going to get sued when your guests get hurt.

Why the heck do you have it up that high, anyway?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

So I just turned my kitchen faucet on hot and let it run with the thermometer underneath... Our hot water tank is up pretty high, I'm reading 170F coming out of the faucet.

Is there any reason why I wouldn't just put hot water from my kitchen sink directly into my mash tun, let it cool to strike temp, then dough in?

It would save me a bunch of time to not heat up the coldest possible water (like I usually do) using my propane tank / turkey fryer...

Does anyone just use hot house water?

Thats sort of how some breweries mash in. X amount hot water + Y amount of cold water = desired mash in temp. At least thats the general idea. And while they do treat the water most of it still comes from the breweries water heater.

 

[flanken]

Scald? Heck, 170° F will cause third-degree burns in less than .5 second - that's faster than your brain can process the information and move your skin out of the way.

Having the water that high is very foolish. You're going to get hurt and you're going to get sued when your guests get hurt.

Why the heck do you have it up that high, anyway?

I didn't realize it until last night when I measured it... I'm going to double check my measuring process and adjust it so in the meantime let's just all take it easy and hold off on the judgements and name calling for now.

 

[bucketnative]

Safety aside, the cost of heating your hot water tank to that temperature probably outweighs any gains to be had in getting mash-temperature water from the tap.

Most sources will recommend 120-125 F for hot water. I tend to go to the high side of that range, and it is more than hot enough for showers.

 

[flanken]

Safety aside, the cost of heating your hot water tank to that temperature probably outweighs any gains to be had in getting mash-temperature water from the tap.

Most sources will recommend 120-125 F for hot water. I tend to go to the high side of that range, and it is more than hot enough for showers.

Good to know... I appreciate the insight.

I guess maybe I can get this train back on the tracks by asking in simpler terms: do you fill your MLT with hot or cold tap?

If not hot, why not?

 

[bucketnative]

If not hot, why not?

I treat my Philly tap water with a crushed Campden tablet the night before brew day. I do this to help remove chlorine from the water. Therefore, I use cold water, which I heat on brew day with my gas burner prior to mashing.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Safety aside, the cost of heating your hot water tank to that temperature probably outweighs any gains to be had in getting mash-temperature water from the tap.

This is a valid point. If you have an on demand heater it doesn't matter but with a tank that's a lot more money. OP your going to need that cash, in case you haven't heard your going to be sued by scalded house guests lmao.

 

[flanken]

This is a valid point. If you have an on demand heater it doesn't matter but with a tank that's a lot more money. OP your going to need that cash, in case you haven't heard your going to be sued by scalded house guests lmao.

I may have to delete all posts in this thread so the lawyers don't find them during the discovery phase of my imminent and pending lawsuit.

I wonder if they have wifi in the clink...

 

[jmcquesten]

Good to know... I appreciate the insight.

I guess maybe I can get this train back on the tracks by asking in simpler terms: do you fill your MLT with hot or cold tap?

If not hot, why not?

I always fill with cold water from the tap (not hose) and from the 5 gallon jugs that I refill at Walmart with RO. I don't use water from my water heater because there is sediment and rust in the tank. I have heard of breweries using tankless water heaters, and if I had a tankless, I might do that too.

 

[SEndorf]

Pour a glass of water from the hot tap, then pour another glass from the cold tap and compare the two. They rarely look alike. Water sitting in a traditional hot water heater storage tank changes... not the greatest for drinking, or beer making.
You could give it a try and see. However if you're hot water is hooked up to a water softening system, all bets are off.

 

[WarmGas]

I always fill with cold water from the tap (not hose) and from the 5 gallon jugs that I refill at Walmart with RO. I don't use water from my water heater because there is sediment and rust in the tank. I have heard of breweries using tankless water heaters, and if I had a tankless, I might do that too.

We are tankless and our hot water comes out at about 120 F. But we live in New Zealand so I don't know how relevant that is. I still do not use that water for mashing because I like to run all my brewing water through an activated carbon filter to remove the chlorine. (We get our water here from swimming pools it seems).

 

[normonster]

See the chlorine part I think would be a problem. I've been filling my kettle from an RV hose and was about to invest in an inline charcoal filter for it, because the last Detroit water report I can get my hands on shows some in there.

Of course, I haven't treated any of my other brews and they've been OK...

As in Detroit MI? I might pass on MI water my self, even if not in Flint.

 

[flanken]

As in Detroit MI? I might pass on MI water my self, even if not in Flint.

Dude Detroit water is excellent...

 

[phug]

The flint problems were because they switched off from the Detroit water.

 

[WaltG]

Not sure if anyone has said this but if you have kids turn it down. 170 is VERY dangerous.

 

[ocwo92]

170° water is way too hot for a water heater. That temperature will scald people.

It is true that the temperature may scald people. Many homes in my country have very hot water in their water heaters, but we're kind of used to being a little careful around hot tap water so very few accidents happen.

However, there are good reasons for keeping a high temperature in the water heater: certain dangerous bacteria thrive in stagnant, warm water but will remain at harmless levels if the temperature is high enough. It may scald people occasionally, but they'll survive.

 

[flanken]

We turned it down... Had it like that for over a year no problems, but it needed to come down.

 

[Jim311]

Yeah it really shouldn't exceed 150 degrees. 170 degree water will cause burns quickly. I think the paranoia about what's inside your water heater is probably unfounded. It gets flushed basically every day when you take a shower, and it stays hot enough in there that there's no bacteria. Filtering it is another problem though. If you have good non-chlorinated tapwater it would work fine I imagine.

 

[jddevinn]

How water from a tank I would say no. From a tankless, should be OK as long as it is located CLOSE to the faucet.

 

[flanken]

Yeah it really shouldn't exceed 150 degrees. 170 degree water will cause burns quickly. I think the paranoia about what's inside your water heater is probably unfounded. It gets flushed basically every day when you take a shower, and it stays hot enough in there that there's no bacteria. Filtering it is another problem though. If you have good non-chlorinated tapwater it would work fine I imagine.

I agree... I haven't seen or found any evidence to suggest it's dirty, especially since it's a brand new unit.

I ended up getting a Bayou Classic KAB6 so I'll be getting hot water quick anyway.

 

[thespiff]

I've never really given any thought to this before. I brew exclusively with water from the hot tap, because it saves me like 10 minutes of stovetop heating. My sink is about 15 ft from the hot water tank. I dunno, I think my beer tastes pretty good.

 

[Spartan1979]

I've always wondered why, if stuff settles out of your water while in the water heater tank, people think it will be re-absorbed into the water if you mash with it?

 

[Sir_niveda]

I'm kind of miffed at how quickly people are to judge someone by their water heater temps!

Do people actually sue their friends for turning only the hot water on and mindlessly shoving their booger hooks into the water?

In terms of water quality, considering mine has to run through 100ft of potable rv hose, only to be mildly filtered through a Home Depot whole house filter, and my beer turns out ok, I don't think that would be that much of an issue, however I would pour some, let it cool and taste it. I always run a little bit of water through before collecting, and it tastes just as good as right from the tap (I'm on well water in a rural area).

 

[kh54s10]

I wouldn't worry at all about the plumbing in any house less than 40 years old. Remember that unless you get your water by bottle it is coming through those pipes. It is just the hot water side or the cold water side.

If you don't have problems with chlorine, and you filter the water some, I would certainly go ahead.

I would look at turning the thermostat down on the water heater though.

 

[kh54s10]

What is all the negativity about water from a tank water heater. There may be sediment in the tank, but the outlet to the plumbing is on the side, not the bottom unless I am mistaken. So the sediment will stay in the tank, and not transfer to the mash.

Do you never fill a pot in your kitchen with hot water to cook with? Where do you think that water comes from?

I am sure there are phobes out there that will not use house water, but the vast majority do.

 

[jddevinn]

What is all the negativity about water from a tank water heater. There may be sediment in the tank, but the outlet to the plumbing is on the side, not the bottom unless I am mistaken. So the sediment will stay in the tank, and not transfer to the mash.

Do you never fill a pot in your kitchen with hot water to cook with? Where do you think that water comes from?

I am sure there are phobes out there that will not use house water, but the vast majority do.

No I don't. Hot water is typically not recommended to be potable. If you live in a newer house then it is safer.... but still not recommended.

 

[kh54s10]

No I don't. Hot water is typically not recommended to be potable. If you live in a newer house then it is safer.... but still not recommended.

Since when?????

This is the first I have ever heard this!!!!!

You boil water to make it safe!!!