Alkalinity, Testing Your Tap Water

(That's water to the rest of us!) Beer is about 95% water, so if you want to discuss water treatment, filtering etc this is the place to do it!
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Graham

Re: Alkalinity, Testing Your Tap Water

Post by Graham » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:35 am

DaaB wrote:I was recently shown a method for testing the alkalinity of my tap water, probably the most important step in water treatment. It avoids the uncertainty of water reports and the test is quick, simple and very cheap.
Bugger! Beat me by hours

Yesterday:
Graham wrote: I have come up with a simple method for a brewer to determine his or her own water alkalinity using CRS itself as the reagent, thus not having to rely on inaccurate water reports. I'll have to get it peer reviewed by better chemists than me though, preferably by Murphy themselves. The method might require the ownership of a pH meter. It can be done with pH papers, but it might be greedy on them. This might eliminate the inherent disadvantages of amateurs using CRS.
Great minds think alike, so they say.

My method, developed for the books, relies on either Brupaks stocking the indicator, or the ownership of a pH meter.

steve_flack

Post by steve_flack » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:50 am

What's the indicator? Phenolphthalein?

Graham

Re: Alkalinity, Testing Your Tap Water

Post by Graham » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:51 am

DaaB wrote: We've been playing around with this for a while now and a few people have already tried it. The main cost will be postage, everything else is reasonably cheap if bought in bulk which I can only do if enough people are interested.
It does make you wonder why no one has thought of it before, though. CRS has been available for years.

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Andy
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Post by Andy » Tue Apr 22, 2008 11:52 am

DaaB very kindly sent me some of the indicator and at the weekend I followed the process. I didn't add enough indicator to my tap water sample and so missed the change to red tint (the water went clear again) but I did detect a change at 12ml of added CRS/water mixture giving me an alkalinity of 216 as CaCO3. I need to repeat the test using a bit more indicator.

DaaB - the webpage doesn't show the final calculation i.e. multiply the amount of CRS solution added by 18 to give the alkalinity.
Dan!

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Andy
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Post by Andy » Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:01 pm

OK - it's just that the webpage you've linked to doesn't have a link to the word doc with the full instructions ;)
Dan!

Seveneer

Post by Seveneer » Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:18 pm

Very interested. Please put me down for a kit.

Thanks,
/Phil.

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Post by Andy » Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:18 pm

Seveneer wrote:Very interested. Please put me down for a kit.

Thanks,
/Phil.
I was going to volunteer to test samples of NH brewers tap water using the kit but as it's being released then gets me off the hook :lol:
Dan!

Graham

Post by Graham » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:04 pm

steve_flack wrote:What's the indicator? Phenolphthalein?
bromcresol green-methyl red is what I used. Came as part of an alkalinity test kit that I bought in an aquarium shop.

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Mashman
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Post by Mashman » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:26 pm

I'll have a kit Daab if it comes off, just what I need and good value :wink:
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Post by Andy » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:30 pm

Oh, according to the label the indicator was Methyl Orange
Dan!

Graham

Post by Graham » Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:51 pm

Andy wrote:Oh, according to the label the indicator was Methyl Orange
Might be the same stuff as I used then. Probably got lost in translation from the German. The instructions on my kit are written in a sort of Deutschlish.

It is certainly what the M stands for in the Palintest indicators.

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Post by WallyBrew » Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:50 pm

Bromo cresol green mixed with methyl red is the indicator specified in the MEWAMS series for total alkalinity on water. If you are blue/green/red colour blind it may be difficult to use as I understand.

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Post by Aleman » Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:30 pm

Although I use the Palintest M kit to check that my alkalinity isn't over 50 . . . . (Or 25 if I double the volume of water in the test sample ;) ) . . . . I would be interested in measuring it once in a while so please put me down for a 'kit' . . . . . IMNSHO Testing your water for alkalinity is the most critical thing you can do to start water treatment . . Water companies / Reports are next to useless for brewing

GTOrichie

Post by GTOrichie » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:03 pm

put me down please DaaB.

Graham

Post by Graham » Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:21 pm

DaaB wrote:btw I think I should clarify this isn't my test, this was devised by another forum member who was kind enough to explain the method and theory behind the test to me and who was also kind enough to supply the indicator solution. They have however ticked the box for 'no publicity for the time being' :D
Unfortunately, for the anonymous member, it doesn't take a scientific pocket-calculator to put enough two-'n'-twos together....

Great shame that he wishes to remain anonymous. He has just made a major contribution to Brewerkind. The blighter beat me to it, but there you go; such is life.

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