Ph of source water

Medarius

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the DI water I use has a low ph so went to change in water chem page and noticed on water chemistry page that a change to the ph of source water, without changing any other parameters, only affects the overall ph by 0.01 from 8 -4.

source ph 8 to 5 = 5.53
ph 4 = 5.52
ph3 = 5.4
ph 2 = 4.2

is it me ? or is this a bit wonky?
TIA
 
to my understanding, pH of DI water doesn't matter because it has no buffering power one way or the other. I was told DI water is pH 7, but that only occurs in a pure environment. The water will absorb some CO2 in the air and drop the pH, and now I always just assume 5.75 of DI water.
 
That seems about right- the pH of the water has very little to do with mash pH. It's the alkalinity of the water, usually in the form of bicarbonate, that affects the mash pH. The interaction of the acidic malt and the bicarbonate of the water are what impacts the mash pH.
 
Source water pH isn't important, it's the ion content. It's showing pretty good predictions without using the source water pH, as far as I can tell.
 
That seems about right- the pH of the water has very little to do with mash pH. It's the alkalinity of the water, usually in the form of bicarbonate, that affects the mash pH. The interaction of the acidic malt and the bicarbonate of the water are what impacts the mash pH.

to my understanding, pH of DI water doesn't matter because it has no buffering power one way or the other. I was told DI water is pH 7, but that only occurs in a pure environment. The water will absorb some CO2 in the air and drop the pH, and now I always just assume 5.75 of DI water.

The reason for this question : the recipe I just brewed, Weizen 3 , when I checked mash ph(calibrated meter) it was about 5.0 but according to recipe and water calc should have been more in the 5.4 -5.6 range.
But I guess, as always must be just me .
Thanks anyways
 
The reason for this question : the recipe I just brewed, Weizen 3 , when I checked mash ph(calibrated meter) it was about 5.0 but according to recipe and water calc should have been more in the 5.4 -5.6 range.
But I guess, as always must be just me .
Thanks anyways

It would be odd to have a 5.0 mash pH, unless you added quite a bit of acid to the mash. You said your meter was freshly calibrated, but that would be the first place I looked.
 
It would be odd to have a 5.0 mash pH, unless you added quite a bit of acid to the mash. You said your meter was freshly calibrated, but that would be the first place I looked.

Recipe was followed exactly, no acid malt only additives were Ca/ Cl and gyp
again thx , no worries like I said must just be me
 
I assume that when you say DI water , that you mean Distilled water?

My experience professionally with true DI (deionized) water in nuclear applications, is that it will corrode a some metals. It will essentially seek out and leach ions from some metals. If your water is coming into contact with, in particular, aluminum, or copper, for extended periods of time, it could cause problems. RO, or Distilled water are likely better choices for brewing water.
 
I have a Deionization unit. Put the water in plastic car boys and add minerals. Never had it corrode any bottles. Water coming out of the ro is 2 tds. Water coming out of the DI resin is zero tds. I use it to dilute Chico water then add salts. Chico water has a rather high amount of bicarbonate. The DI unit is left over from my twenty plus year Reef aquarium hobby. Making beer is far more relaxing ;)
 

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