Diluting Spirit

[heggsy]

Hi,

I just got my T500 and my first wash is just about ready (very excited here ), but I have a couple of (probably daft) questions about diluting the spirit before filtering. We live in a very hard water area, and I'm guessing that probably isn't the best stuff to be diluting with. Would it be better if I distilled some tap water first? If so, can I do that with the T500 (and how?). If distilling the hard water isn't the answer, would it be worth putting it through the Z filter...or should I do that after distilling?

I'm sorry if these questions are really stupid, but I don't want to ruin my first attempt due to something as silly as using the wrong water.

Thanks in advance for any pointers you experienced guys can provide

[Capt-Cudellez]

I wouldn't bother firing up the boiler to distil water when you can buy litres of still water from the supermarket for pennies.

Some other folks have concerns with distilling water 100oC for long periods with that plastic cap on the column.

[heggsy]

If bog standard (if you'll pardon the expression) supermarket water is good enough, then that solves the problem. Thanks!

[MrCat]

I just use a Brita water filter for filtering the dilution water. Cheap to buy and simple to use.

And you can use the filtered water for making a top tasting cuppa tea too

You could use the Z-filter but would you want to filter your output through the carbon that has trapped the stuff that you don't want in your water?

[heggsy]

Now I have a decieion to make...I've just checked, and can get a 2L bottle of still (do they mean non-sparkling or for my T500? ) value mineral water for 17p at Tesco. Seems like a good deal. Will the Brita be good enough to make our (very) hard water usable?

[MrCat]

Will the Brita be good enough to make our (very) hard water usable?

From the Brita site

What is water hardness and why is it important to reduce it?

The overall hardness of water consists of permanent hardness and temporary hardness. Permanent hardness (caused by calcium and magnesium sulphates as well as chloride) does not influence the taste of water or the function of household appliances. Temporary hardness (caused by calcium and magnesium hydrogen carbonate) primarily affects the taste of food and other beverages prepared with hot water. It is also responsible for the scale deposits found in household appliances that heat water. Not least important, many plants and flowers flourish with decarbonised water.

The BRITA water filter cartridge reduces the temporary hardness of drinking water. The results of this reduction: better tasting water for hot drinks and cooked food and less scale build up in household appliances. Tea tests performed over almost 30 years have consistently shown that consumers perceive differences between the appearance and taste of tea prepared with BRITA-filtered water versus with unfiltered water. This difference is clearly more pronounced in regions with harder water than in soft water areas.

See if any of your neighbours use one and see what they think.

We are in a soft water area and we filter all our drinking water anyway. IMHO worth the cash

[Jimmy]

If you buy the 5 litre water bottles, they're about 80p from the supermarket but you can melt a hole in the lid with a bit of copper pipe or drill it through, then stick an airlock on and you have a nice 5 litre fermenter for experimenting with, making wine, etc.

[Admiral Toad]

Must admit I use a brit a too works well

[Almanac]

I fitted a Britta filter into the bottom of an old 25lt fermenter and use that to filter water directly into my boiler and for diluting too - works for me

AM

[homedistiller]

Is it ok to dilute with RO water?

[Capt-Cudellez]

I believe some members here do exactly that - if your happy with the water taste wise for drinking, use it.