my experience with zero water filters is that they have a tendency to "air lock", which slows them down enormously. I have a 1.8 l jug that I empty into a storage bottle and then immediately refill. It takes 5-10 minutes to drain through. If I let the filter drain out before I refill it, then it can take hours to completely drain 1.8 l through the filter.
Hi Kat, big follower of your content. Was watching your video about the differences between natural and washed processing methods. I was interested in your views on the water usage/environmental impact in washed coffee, particularly if the processing occurs in an area with water shortages. How large is this water usage relative to the total water usage in coffee production overall? Would love to hear your views on this. Thanks
I’ve been making my coffee water using zero water filtration for years now, but I moved to the UK about 6 months ago and this insanely hard water chokes the zero filters in less than 3 weeks. It’s become an expensive solution to coffee/drinking water. Once this one is finished I’m switching to the 5 gal jugs and I’ll see if I taste a meaningful difference in my coffee. Wish me luck 🥴
If you have another filter try using that before the zero, it makes it last longer. Some people use an old zero filter before the new one for this reason.
16:23 I’ve been using Third Wave (light roast variety) for my coffee water for about a year now. I’m happy with the results, but would be interested in exploring other options.
Oh wow! I've been reading that these filters sometimes only last 1-2 months, so 6 months is a great lifespan. I'll see how long mine lasts. Thanks much!
That type of TDS meter is very much temperature dependent. I'm guessing your water was warning up while it was sitting there, that's why it kept increasing. The filters are incredibly slow - nothing wrong with yours - it's why i have two ZW pitchers 🤣 For the distilled taste thing - check out Coffee Chroniclers recent video. Distilled will actually increase acidity, because there's nothing to buffer that acidity. I also really like the taste of distilled, and coffee made with distilled... SO BRIGHT 😄
Great to see a new video! Hope you had a great holiday. When measuring your water, you’ll find doing it at room temperature is best. Cold water will produce lower results and hot water will produce higher results. Enjoy your new ZW filter, that’s exactly the one I use along with third wave water additive. 👍🫶
Awesome - thank you! Maybe that's why the TDS kept creeping up throughout the video - the water was coming to temp. Thanks for watching and I'll definitely be trying Third Wave water too.
Yeah it takes much longer than a Brita filter and sometimes just stops like that. With your 70ppm water the filter should last quite long. I have nearly 300ppm water which depletes the filter within a couple of months. I use a Brita before the Zero to help a little bit. Distilled water and Zero filtered water will be quite different or very similar depending on the water you start with and what you measure. It's pretty confusing.
Actually it is not slow at all and I have been using zero water for some time. I also use pur for drinking water and zw is much faster than pur. Problem is that it gets above 006 TDS very quickly. I'm also in Mebane NC and your tap water @kat is very good! At least as far as TDS goes. Your filter is going quite a bit slower than mine do.
Interesting. I hope it speeds up after I use it a few times and get those bubbles out. So far it is going a bit faster. I'll see how long mine lasts. Thanks for the input!
@@roasterkat don't let water level in container go below the bottom of the water filter, as this may cause an air lock, and diminish the speed that the water flows through the filter. if you are getting slow water flow, id suggest removing the filter and shake and squeeze it over your sink to remove any air bubbles that may be causing a slow water flow through the filter. also when you top up your water container, pour water DIRECTLY into the filter.
when their filters go bad they go really bad. As soon as you start detecting anything other than 0ppm, the water will taste really sour. I've used it on water ranging from about 20ppm, up to about 700ppm. Filter longevity very much depends on starting condition. A week or two at the worst. And the filters aren't cheap. I don't think it matters for culinary purposes, but cheap TDS meters don't actually measure all contamination, they only measure electrically active contamination. These filters neutralize rather than completely eliminate those electrically active particles. It's not the same thing as distilled water. It's probably just as good for culinary purposes, but for strict chemistry it would be unacceptable. My main problem is the filter longevity. If there was a cheap way to get water hardness down to the 100ppm range, then polish it with zero, that would be pretty appealing.
I appreciate your positive energy even when unboxing a literal box 😂 like 👍
Glad you liked it! Haha, I always try to have a good time.
Cool video, fun, informative and nicely done
Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!
I live in Oregon where our water is fairly soft, but I’m interested in that tds meter.
my experience with zero water filters is that they have a tendency to "air lock", which slows them down enormously. I have a 1.8 l jug that I empty into a storage bottle and then immediately refill. It takes 5-10 minutes to drain through. If I let the filter drain out before I refill it, then it can take hours to completely drain 1.8 l through the filter.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing and glad you’ve found a solution for now
Hi Kat, big follower of your content. Was watching your video about the differences between natural and washed processing methods. I was interested in your views on the water usage/environmental impact in washed coffee, particularly if the processing occurs in an area with water shortages. How large is this water usage relative to the total water usage in coffee production overall?
Would love to hear your views on this.
Thanks
I’ve been making my coffee water using zero water filtration for years now, but I moved to the UK about 6 months ago and this insanely hard water chokes the zero filters in less than 3 weeks. It’s become an expensive solution to coffee/drinking water. Once this one is finished I’m switching to the 5 gal jugs and I’ll see if I taste a meaningful difference in my coffee. Wish me luck 🥴
If you have another filter try using that before the zero, it makes it last longer. Some people use an old zero filter before the new one for this reason.
Good luck! I hadn’t thought about the difference between countries. Yeah that sounds like a frustrating and expensive situation haha
your distilled water maybe slightly acidic due to CO2 absorption and therefore acidic / sweetish?
Ahhh totally - I wasn't thinking about pH at all. Maybe that's the next test! haha
16:23 I’ve been using Third Wave (light roast variety) for my coffee water for about a year now. I’m happy with the results, but would be interested in exploring other options.
I have some of their packets laying around so I'm sure I'll play around with those at some point!
@ awesome! I’d love your opinion on other brands or options. I’ve actually considered making my own but don’t really know where to start.
The speed is normal. My water is about 120ppm most times of the year and a filter lasts me for about half a year.
Oh wow! I've been reading that these filters sometimes only last 1-2 months, so 6 months is a great lifespan. I'll see how long mine lasts. Thanks much!
It does take a while to filter!
Glad to know it's not just me haha
thanx! would be cool to check refractometer measurements either (not by you but somebody who has that filter and a refractometer:) )
I do have a refractometer - maybe I’ll check!
That type of TDS meter is very much temperature dependent. I'm guessing your water was warning up while it was sitting there, that's why it kept increasing.
The filters are incredibly slow - nothing wrong with yours - it's why i have two ZW pitchers 🤣
For the distilled taste thing - check out Coffee Chroniclers recent video. Distilled will actually increase acidity, because there's nothing to buffer that acidity.
I also really like the taste of distilled, and coffee made with distilled... SO BRIGHT 😄
Great to see a new video! Hope you had a great holiday. When measuring your water, you’ll find doing it at room temperature is best. Cold water will produce lower results and hot water will produce higher results. Enjoy your new ZW filter, that’s exactly the one I use along with third wave water additive. 👍🫶
Awesome - thank you! Maybe that's why the TDS kept creeping up throughout the video - the water was coming to temp. Thanks for watching and I'll definitely be trying Third Wave water too.
Yeah it takes much longer than a Brita filter and sometimes just stops like that.
With your 70ppm water the filter should last quite long. I have nearly 300ppm water which depletes the filter within a couple of months. I use a Brita before the Zero to help a little bit.
Distilled water and Zero filtered water will be quite different or very similar depending on the water you start with and what you measure. It's pretty confusing.
Actually it is not slow at all and I have been using zero water for some time.
I also use pur for drinking water and zw is much faster than pur. Problem is that it gets above 006 TDS very quickly.
I'm also in Mebane NC and your tap water @kat is very good! At least as far as TDS goes.
Your filter is going quite a bit slower than mine do.
Rad, thanks for watching and glad to know it's not just me!
Interesting. I hope it speeds up after I use it a few times and get those bubbles out. So far it is going a bit faster. I'll see how long mine lasts. Thanks for the input!
@@roasterkat don't let water level in container go below the bottom of the water filter, as this may cause an air lock, and diminish the speed that the water flows through the filter. if you are getting slow water flow, id suggest removing the filter and shake and squeeze it over your sink to remove any air bubbles that may be causing a slow water flow through the filter. also when you top up your water container, pour water DIRECTLY into the filter.
when their filters go bad they go really bad. As soon as you start detecting anything other than 0ppm, the water will taste really sour.
I've used it on water ranging from about 20ppm, up to about 700ppm. Filter longevity very much depends on starting condition. A week or two at the worst. And the filters aren't cheap.
I don't think it matters for culinary purposes, but cheap TDS meters don't actually measure all contamination, they only measure electrically active contamination. These filters neutralize rather than completely eliminate those electrically active particles. It's not the same thing as distilled water. It's probably just as good for culinary purposes, but for strict chemistry it would be unacceptable.
My main problem is the filter longevity. If there was a cheap way to get water hardness down to the 100ppm range, then polish it with zero, that would be pretty appealing.
I wish more Liberals removed TDS from their water.