Chlorinated water
George
municipal water supply. The water doesn't taste bad but, after 20 years
of not smelling chlorine in my water, this stuff really stinks! The
chlorine smell does not go away regardless of how long I draw the water
prior to use. Recently, due to a frozen pipe, I stored about four
gallons of this water in a loosely covered stock pot and after four days
it still reeked of chlorine. I haven't brewed with it yet so I don't
know what to expect.
Is there a way to remove chlorine (and its' smell!) or do I just have to
switch to bottled water?
Thanks
George
Ecnerwal
George <mattol...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Boil it.
--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Andy Davison
> Is there a way to remove chlorine (and its' smell!) or do I just have to
> switch to bottled water?
Sodium Metabisulphite/Campden Tablets. Use between half and one tablet
per 10 gallons. You may have water treated with chloramine rather than
just chlorine and boiling alone won't be enough to get rid of it.
--
Andy Davison
andy [ at ] oiyou [ dot ] ukfsn [ dot ] org
Tom Biasi
"George" <mattol...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:D7GdnTUjVrFLCbfW...@scnresearch.com...
remove 99% of chlorine.
Tom
barn...@ureach.com
change a water source, after I have adapted to it.
We used to have well water where I live in Houston, good for brewing.
City water now from lake, too much chlorine and water smells fishy, no
good for drinking or brewing. I use bottled water.
Roger
Ben Crowell
> On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:30:13 -0800, George wrote:
>
>> Is there a way to remove chlorine (and its' smell!) or do I just have to
>> switch to bottled water?
>
> Sodium Metabisulphite/Campden Tablets. Use between half and one tablet
> per 10 gallons. You may have water treated with chloramine rather than
> just chlorine and boiling alone won't be enough to get rid of it.
Seriously, some cities use chloramines? I wouldn't want chloramines in
my drinking water. Chloramines (not chlorine) are actually the chemicals
in swimming pools that cause eye irritation, etc.
George
> Do you still have access to the well water for brewing? I hate to
> change a water source, after I have adapted to it.
>
Nope, my well is gone. Most of my neighbors are still on well water
that is probably from the same source that I was tapping. It would
probably be easy to get water from one of them.
George
George
> Andy Davison wrote:
>> On Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:30:13 -0800,
>> Sodium Metabisulphite/Campden Tablets. Use between half and one tablet
>> per 10 gallons. You may have water treated with chloramine rather than
>> just chlorine and boiling alone won't be enough to get rid of it.
>
> Seriously, some cities use chloramines? I wouldn't want chloramines in
> my drinking water. Chloramines (not chlorine) are actually the chemicals
> in swimming pools that cause eye irritation, etc.
Is there a simple way to know which process is used or is that something
that I will have to ask the people at the water dept.?
George
rb
It's all a matter of perspective.
I would presume that the concentration of chloramines in pool water
exceeds that found in drinking water.
Too much ethanol in you will cause irritation or worse, too much water
in you will cause irritation or worse, too much oxygen in you will cause
irritation or worse, too much uranium in you will cause irritation or
worse......
rb
Joel
>Is there a simple way to know which process is used or is that something
>that I will have to ask the people at the water dept.?
The simple and accurate way to know is to ask the people at your
local water company (or check their website if they have one).
In fact, if you're serious about brewing I think it's a good idea
to get a complete report from them; many water companies/departments
(in the US at least) publish water quality reports peridocially.
It's nice to know what's in the water you brew with. It helps you
decide if you will benefit from acidification, mineral additions,
etc.
--
Joel Plutchak
"New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any
other reason but because they are not already common." - John Locke
Joel
>Is there a way to remove chlorine (and its' smell!) or do I just have to
>switch to bottled water?
I use the belt and suspenders approach: run the water through
an activated charcoal filter and add a campden tablet per twenty
gallons of water. Recently I skipped the latter step and got five
gallons of chlorophenolic blond ale. (Time to change out the
filter cartridge!)
Bob F
> George <mattol...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Is there a simple way to know which process is used or is that
>> something that I will have to ask the people at the water dept.?
>
> The simple and accurate way to know is to ask the people at your
> local water company (or check their website if they have one).
> In fact, if you're serious about brewing I think it's a good idea
> to get a complete report from them; many water companies/departments
> (in the US at least) publish water quality reports peridocially.
> It's nice to know what's in the water you brew with. It helps you
> decide if you will benefit from acidification, mineral additions,
> etc.
The water report my utility sent me was amazingly detailed.
You might find it online.
alebrewer
Oh, I miss my Houston well water. I moved from Spring, Tx, to Brazos
County. I'm still using "well water", but the aquifer it comes from
must act like a natural ion exchange resin; no calcium, but high
sodium and high alkalinity, as if it has been through a water
softener. I've seen water chemists refer to it as the worst they've
ever seen for brewing. My first batch after moving got an
embarrasingly low conversion (something like 6 gallons of 1.035 wort
from 8 Lbs of grain. In Spring, I'd expect 1.040-1.048 from the same
grain bill).
I went to bottled water, but realizing that I didn't know what was in
it, I thought that I was just trading a known problem for an unknown.
So, I installed an RO system (great bonus points from the spousal
unit). It does a great job, but I have to weigh out and add a
colledtion of CaCO3, CaSO4, MgSO4, NaHCO3 adn CaCl2 salts to my
water. Calcium is needed for the mash (which I think was the cause of
my low conversion) It's a bit of a hassle, but it does give me
control over the Chloride to Sulfate ratio (higher ratio for the malty
brews and smaller ratio for the bitter brews).
But, I admit I have very problematic water. If I had the well water I
used in Spring, I doubt I would do anything other than boiling it to
drive off the chlorine. It never gave me any problem and I made lots
of beer with it. I wish I had it back.
ab
barn...@ureach.com
distilled water for my (all-grain) pilsners, and only add a couple
grams CaCl2. I figure that the beer will get enough minor elements
from the malt. DeFalcos also told me not to use distilled water - but
I don't understand why not
Roger
MDixon
> Seriously, some cities use chloramines? I wouldn't want chloramines in
> my drinking water. Chloramines (not chlorine) are actually the chemicals
> in swimming pools that cause eye irritation, etc.
Many do...
Cheers,
Mike