I finally decided to check my RO system which is made by Culligan. I wondered how effective it was - if it really was equivalent to distilled water. Here is what I just received:
pH 6.5
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Est, ppm 8
Electrical Conductivity, mmho/cm 0.01
Cations / Anions, me/L < 0.1 / < 0.1
ppm
Sodium, Na < 1
Potassium, K < 1
Calcium, Ca 1
Magnesium, Mg < 1
Total Hardness, CaCO3 3
Nitrate, NO3-N < 0.1 (SAFE)
Sulfate, SO4-S < 1
Chloride, Cl < 1
Carbonate, CO3 < 1.0
Bicarbonate, HCO3 < 1
Total Alkalinity, CaCO3 < 1
Total Phosphorus, P 0.09
Total Iron, Fe < 0.01
“<” - Not Detected / Below Detection Limit
Its a Culligan under the kitchen sink system. I have to start drawing water out of it the day before brew day because I only have a 3 gallon pressure tank. I usually end up setting my phone to beep every 40 minutes so I can go draw another gallon off. That gives it recharge time so that the pressure is good when I do.
Ah, no wonder. The ion levels in the raw water are already more than sufficiently low for brewing. Since the final water quality is a percentage of the raw water quality, the machine ends up producing very low ionic content.
Unless there is great variability in that raw water supply, I would be brewing with that and have saved the money from the RO machine and applied it to another toy!
That is just the issue Martin. My water comes from three wells, so it changes. Couple that with the need to remove chlorine and RO water it is! I like starting with a blank canvas as well.
I use the same Culligan RO system with satisfactory results. My wife hates it when I leave a 5 gallon bucket in the sink collecting water, but you can let it go for about 5 hours that way.
I picked up a cheap TDS meter from Amazon so I can periodically check the RO output, when TDS starts to go up, it’s time to change the cartridges.
Its a Culligan under the kitchen sink system. I have to start drawing water out of it the day before brew day because I only have a 3 gallon pressure tank. I usually end up setting my phone to beep every 40 minutes so I can go draw another gallon off. That gives it recharge time so that the pressure is good when I do.
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We are going to use RO for our commercial brewery, 10. Bbl. and will have to collect about 500. Gallon. That’s going to take awhile.
My little Village has a 10 bbl brewery now. The tap water here has high alkalinity. They have a smallish RO system and blend with the tap water. That is one strategy. One could look into a commercial RO system to supply all of the brewing water.