Iron

[oldgrouch62]

Well, the advice in the welcome center was to read, and I'd been doing that long before I joined and quite a bit since...but even with searches I'm not finding this answer. So if this is too empty-headed of a question, I apologize in advance.

I'm a long way from distilling anything, but I like to know all about something before attempting it and about 99+% of my questions, well the ones I know to ask so far, are already answered thanks to you folks. But one I can't figure out is about iron in water. I know too much is bad, but how much? I'm on a deep drilled well here so things like chlorine aren't an issue. I seem to recall a softener salesman once checking the pH and finding it in the 8-9 range (been awhile...) and I know we do have calcium in the form of dissolved limestone. I'm going to send a sample off for analysis soon so I know just what is there and how much. For now, there's enough iron to cause light staining on the fixtures and white clothes washed with bleach eventually turn yellow. I'd just like to know how much is too much to ferment with. I don't have a softener and have found that sediment and carbon filters don't seem to help. The water is OK to drink (IMHO) and plenty of suds in the washing machine, no trouble making lather, etc. Thanks.

[Jimbo]

Excessive Iron will inhibit fermentation. Whether you have too much is best determined by experiment. Just try fermenting up a batch and see if it runs without hitch.

Its more a problem in beer, since you'll taste the iron, but in a distilled beverage thats not a factor, as long you get good yeast activity

[DAD300]

If iron in your, I assume, well water is your biggest problem, don't get too worried.

I'd just try to proof the yeast you intend to use in a glass jar. Heat the water to about 85deg F and add some yeast. See how it does or doesn't do.

If that actually fails, set up something to collect rain water? Your going to heat the water either to convert sugar or cook grain, so rain water doesn't scare me.

[oldgrouch62]

Thanks for the replies, that puts my mind at ease considerably. I think I will be OK, I tried home-brewing a few years back, before I largely lost my taste for beer (I have no explanation to offer...) and while it didn't taste great, it fermented just fine, was very active. I realized then that the iron taste was coming through which had a lot to do with my giving up on that, along with the disagreeable taste buds. I've proofed yeast for baking with this water and it does fine with that. I was afraid it might cause some problems/contamination with distillation but I guess I ought to have used my head a little more on that one, it mostly ought to remain in the setback. I appreciate the input. The search for an affordable unemployed SS keg continues.

[DuckofDeath]

Iron taste also will come over in the distillation some. The basic rule is no iron is best.

[Prairiepiss]

I would say a good rule of thump is.

If its staining your clothes and or fixtures (sink, toilet, bathtub). You probably have to much iron in it.

And if it was coming through in your beer. Then you have to much.

Bottled spring water would be a good choice.

Filtering may it maynot help. I had a well down in AR. That was bad with iron. I tried numerous filters. Never found one that would work really good. But a good sediment filter and a good carbon filter. Mite improve your outcome? Maybe? An RO filter would. But very wasteful for large ferments. Since it takes like 4 gallons to make one clean one. But it would work. May need to add back some minerals removed.

[oldgrouch62]

I would say a good rule of thump is.

If its staining your clothes and or fixtures (sink, toilet, bathtub). You probably have to much iron in it.

And if it was coming through in your beer. Then you have to much.

Bottled spring water would be a good choice.

Filtering may it maynot help. I had a well down in AR. That was bad with iron. I tried numerous filters. Never found one that would work really good. But a good sediment filter and a good carbon filter. Mite improve your outcome? Maybe? An RO filter would. But very wasteful for large ferments. Since it takes like 4 gallons to make one clean one. But it would work. May need to add back some minerals removed.

Hmm, well I guess I'll just have to try it and see how it does. If it's a problem I could try filters. Other place I lived a few years back was lots worse filters didn't help at all. I wouldn't even have tried brewing there, it was so bad, and softeners put salt back in. I guess I could set up one of those under-sink RO filters and just stockpile water for when I mash/wash. Could put some chunks of limestone in the containers, the RO water I've encountered is pretty low pH so it should leach a little calcium and maybe magnesium back into it (lots of Dolomite limestone around here). I'm going to be doing this in the basement and that's where the pressure tank etc is so no problem adding to the plumbing at least. Neighbor was talking the other day about a green sand filter, I couldn't catch it all, crowd at the fire hall and he was talking to somebody else while another was yacking at me Guess I need to call him up and question him about that a quick Google seems to say green sand is for iron? Even if it turns out I don't need it, never hurts to know what works...it could always get worse. That's what happened at the other place, when I first moved in, great water, and over about 10 years it went to $hit in a big way. Same kind of deep drilled well, even put in by the same people.

[700G]

I run my well water through 2 filters for fermenting. The water passes through a 5 micron sediment filter first and then passes through a .5 micron carbon filter which cleans it up pretty good. Also, the water I use bypasses the softener.

[oldgrouch62]

I run my well water through 2 filters for fermenting. The water passes through a 5 micron sediment filter first and then passes through a .5 micron carbon filter which cleans it up pretty good. Also, the water I use bypasses the softener.

filters.jpg

I had something real similar at the other place. It unfortunately didn't help much, if any. I suspect you have suspended solids, if you're getting a lot of improvement from that setup. Mine (there and here) are dissolved and they're very hard to filter out.

I had a good talk with my neighbor a couple of miles over today about the system he put in. They wanted to put in a whole mess of stuff and charge him like six grand, but he did some homework and had his water analyzed through the state extension service and got the pure scoop on what was actually in it. He was fighting the kind of trouble I had at the old place, water you couldn't stand to drink, that stank to high heaven, and that turned stuff orange overnight. He had iron, a little manganese, and some H2S. Also had about enough limestone to make it taste good, and some other relatively harmless trace minerals. He let them put in a green sand filter with an ozone infuser upstream of it because that helps the process along and he doesn't need as much of the solution the things uses to regenerate (does not use salt). That took care of the iron, the manganese, and the H2S without bothering the dissolved limestone. Wound up costing him about $2k, but he had it installed and now he's in a contract. I didn't see anything about it that would need a "professional" to get hooked up so I think I could probably get away with it for around $1,400 and I am getting in the mind of just doing it and being done. She Who Must Be Obeyed was very interested in my report on it and since it would reduce her workload and so forth, is in favor of it. I'm going in and get one of the home sample kits he used Monday so I can find out just how bad the problem is. That'll help me select the kind of system I need, if and when.

So I guess my distilling fund is going to suffer a pretty significant setback, since that's where The Boss thinks the finances for this thing should come from. But since I really don't like sleeping on the couch and am always in favor of the gripe quotient declining, I'll just keep selling scrap and saving my pennies etc. Been waiting a lot of years to make my own hootch I guess I can wait a bit longer.