Well water

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BrewinBrian44
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Re: Well water

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

You could be fancy and install a whole house iron filter. It aerates the water, oxidizing the iron which then gets collected in resin beads, then flushed out of the tank every few days. It also removes hydrogen sulfide. My raw well water is extremely high in iron and sulfur. When I moved to my new house I panicked that my homebrewing and distilling hobby would really suffer. Plus my wife’s beautiful blonde hair couldn’t keep its tone and started getting brassy “MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM” haha good lord…

I bit the bullet and installed an iron filter along with my water softener that was already in use. Man, the water is so much better. No iron at all and the household appliances, and more importantly my wife, are loving it. Tastes great too!

Along with Saltmustflow, I also RO filter pretty much everything and add minerals back in just for piece of mind and consistency. The beers I’ve brewed with it have been some of the best I’ve ever made. Another plus for beer is knowing exactly what my mash ph will be every time. No need for my ph meter anymore. The numbers always come out the same per recipe. I use Bru’in water to calculate the predicted ph per grist.
Tworude
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Re: Well water

Post by Tworude »

shadylane wrote: Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:10 am
Tworude wrote: Tue Aug 02, 2022 11:43 pm
No herbicide or pesticides, my wife and I are the only ones on the lake. The owners of the other 6 cabins are seldom here. Fish and duck shit though.
Sounds like good water for making shine.
Maybe not so much for brewing beer. :lol:
Are you going to use wood to fire the boiler?
No, I'll use electricity.
Tworude
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Re: Well water

Post by Tworude »

BrewinBrian44 wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 5:20 pm You could be fancy and install a whole house iron filter. It aerates the water, oxidizing the iron which then gets collected in resin beads, then flushed out of the tank every few days. It also removes hydrogen sulfide. My raw well water is extremely high in iron and sulfur. When I moved to my new house I panicked that my homebrewing and distilling hobby would really suffer. Plus my wife’s beautiful blonde hair couldn’t keep its tone and started getting brassy “MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM” haha good lord…

I bit the bullet and installed an iron filter along with my water softener that was already in use. Man, the water is so much better. No iron at all and the household appliances, and more importantly my wife, are loving it. Tastes great too!

Along with Saltmustflow, I also RO filter pretty much everything and add minerals back in just for piece of mind and consistency. The beers I’ve brewed with it have been some of the best I’ve ever made. Another plus for beer is knowing exactly what my mash ph will be every time. No need for my ph meter anymore. The numbers always come out the same per recipe. I use Bru’in water to calculate the predicted ph per grist.
Interesting, what kind of iron filter did you use? My Ph is right in the middle of the scale, 7
Tworude
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Re: Well water

Post by Tworude »

captainshooch wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:38 pm I should have been more specific. The KDF filter I use is the KDF85-GAC, it has activated carbon as well.

"Our FI-KDF85 filter cartridges have superior taste and odor reduction capabilities. There are two types of media in these types of filters: the KDF media in this cartridge specializes in the reduction of iron and hydrogen sulfide and the activated carbon is effective against chlorine, odor and taste"

From ebay for +/- $30.00.
I'm looking it up now and will give it a try. Thanks!
1HardWoodsman
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Re: Well water

Post by 1HardWoodsman »

Tworude wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 11:26 am I'm 80 miles from the nearest road and about to get started distilling. My well water has about 3.3 ppm iron which is just high enough to turn a rusty color after it sits a while. It tastes like iron. For drinking we run it through a berkey carbon filter system and it's great after that. I assumed that I'd have to go through that time consuming process to have water for spirits but I'm thinking that there is a possibility that the minerals in the water will distill out and never reach the top of my column. I mean, you make distilled water that way, right? What do you guys think? Thanks
I have ran 3 batches through. I am on a well and run through a water softener. It can be done, but you have to make sure your numbers are right. Stillling it will get left in the boiler but you need to watch the Ph on fermentation. 5.2! "4.21 Jiggawatts!!!!"
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Ben
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Re: Well water

Post by Ben »

1HardWoodsman wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:56 am Stillling it will get left in the boiler but you need to watch the Ph on fermentation. 5.2!
No. Fermentation pH will change through the ferment and will end more acidic, usually somewhere in the 4's, yeast are very happy here. It can be even lower and work fine. Mash pH want's to be 5.2-5.6 but also works higher and lower. pH is praised as some sort of holy grail, fact is it's pretty forgiving and you can be way off and still have a fine ferment. It is a moderate concern in sugar washes, but easy to mitigate.

The pH meter is becoming the new pot still thermometer.
:)
BrewinBrian44
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Re: Well water

Post by BrewinBrian44 »

Ben wrote: Sat Sep 24, 2022 7:12 am
1HardWoodsman wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:56 am Stillling it will get left in the boiler but you need to watch the Ph on fermentation. 5.2!
No. Fermentation pH will change through the ferment and will end more acidic, usually somewhere in the 4's, yeast are very happy here. It can be even lower and work fine. Mash pH want's to be 5.2-5.6 but also works higher and lower. pH is praised as some sort of holy grail, fact is it's pretty forgiving and you can be way off and still have a fine ferment. It is a moderate concern in sugar washes, but easy to mitigate.

The pH meter is becoming the new pot still thermometer.
Unless you’re WAY off with something destined for the still, I completely agree with this sentiment. Chucking a bag of oyster shells in a wash seems about as technical we need to be for most things to regulate ph drop. I used to use my ph meter all the time for distilling, now I leave it aside since everything seems consistent. I can see value in using one as a troubleshooting tool if you encounter a problem with fermentations stalling out.

That said, mash ph is much more critical in beer. From my experience, it has a great effect on the flavor perception of the final product. An IPA made with a 5.6 mash ph will have a harsh bitterness to it and flat flavor. One made closer to 5.2-5.3 will be softer and have more perceptible flavor. Mineral profile of the water is also equally important to beer.
Bradster68
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Re: Well water

Post by Bradster68 »

I'm on a well. Same thing got some iron. Got some hardness.Not sure if it's the same amount as yours. I use two inline filters and a uv light and have no problem making a variety of beverages.
I drink so much now,on the back of my license it's a list of organs I need.
Daserpo
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Re: Well water

Post by Daserpo »

Use a sediment filter. About $40 dollars from a hardware store or home center for the housing and a filter element. They have replaceable cartridge filters that can range from 1 to 30 microns.
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Captn Jack
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Re: Well water

Post by Captn Jack »

I have a really nice well from an aquifer at my place it usually is about 10 ft down from the top it's hand-laid rock 30ft deep and around 4 ft wide and always has water in it. I used to use to fill up my 18000gal pool over 2 days with it.
I never used it since we have city water from the same aquifer 10 miles down the road. It kind of goes on how much rain we get over the months as to how high water is in it. I plan on using it for cooling water mostly and mashing water. It tested ok with no Iron or contaminants but was kind of high in calcium. Should I filter it when using it for mashing or just us as is?
Also, I have a 5 hp gas pump I use to draw the water out and when it got to 25 ft it would not draw anymore so I would let it fill up again till the next day.
I want to be quiet so I will be using an electric pump which I need to buy as yet but not sure what type of electric pump to use that is cheap and will lift at least from 10,15 to 25 ft according to the water level in the well. Suggestions?
Thanks.
Who is John Galt?
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Ben
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Re: Well water

Post by Ben »

If you want to use it for your mashing just make a batch with it and see how it goes, it's probably going to be great. As long as it acts fine and ferments dry no need to mess with it. Lot's of good booze has been made with bad water. If it gives you problems send a sample out for analysis and make a decision about what to add when you actually know what's wrong with it. A Ward labs test costs less than a decent pH meter and gives you way more info.

As for your pump problem, I would use the gas pump to fill a barrel, reservoir or cistern. Then when its stilling time you can use the electric to recirculate, as long as your reservoir is large compared to your batch size it shouldn't be a problem, or just use city water for cooling. No one is going to notice the tiny uptick in consumption.
:)
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