DannyW wrote:I was having trouble getting the math to work out with that chart, so I forwarded the link to John Palmer and he had this to say about it:
John Palmer wrote:The short answer is that that water table you refer to is just dead wrong. Perhaps some of the numbers for Ca and Sulfate are appropriate, but it really falls down on the Carbonate. The authors obviously didn't know about alkalinity or residual alkalinity (and back in 1991, I didn't either). Carbonate IS frequently near zero in many waters of pH less than 8.5, but then the dominant alkalinity ion is Bicarbonate, which is probably between 100-200 in most cases, and THAT is the missing piece of information that is giving you trouble with the RA chart.
So I quit using that chart
Well shit, ain't that just fine and dandy. So, I can take it that most of the chapter on water in this book is basically null and void. If they misunderstood alkalinity, thats going to affect every aspect. I never really used this chart as the only tool in my water but I have to admit I did use it as a quick reference instead of running the numbers and doing the math, my mistake. I will have to look at the chart in bugs link as I am more of a range person also, get close and tweak from there. I haven't ever put much stock into trying to match a specific cities water as they were basically force to style by what water they had.
So, don't anyone tell me that the water calculator in pro mash is shit, or I am going to be really bummed.
I do appreciate the information, thanks.
Barry