RO vs Distilled
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:35 am
by atomicpunk
Is there an end difference? I know there is a process difference.
If I am diluting my tap water, which is very hard, does it matter if I use RO or distilled?
If I want to build up from scratch, which to use?
Re: RO vs Distilled
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 9:42 am
by JohnF
The ionic content of RO can vary as the filters will remove X% of ions so water with many ions run through an inexpensive RO unit may produce very different water than portland water run through a very good RO unit.
Other than that, they are both usable for building water for brewing. I am comfortable using 100% RO but might blend in some tap water if I used distilled because I would worry about some trace minerals.
RO water tends to be quite a bit cheaper and can be bought in bulk which is convenient.
Re: RO vs Distilled
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 7:37 pm
by beltbuckle
Either will work fine. RO / distilled / De-ionized water is all very similar. I have tested numerous RO water and they all tested less than 10ppm of total dissolved solids. That's close enough to zero to not really be a factor for brewing.