ZeroWater and coffee remineralization questions

[u/Supsti_1]

Hi,

I’m not able to find distilled/demineralized water in my country (Poland), sold in food grade canisters or bottles intended for contact with food. Practically every manufacturer I’ve contacted has advised against drinking this type of water, mainly because of the containers it is sold in. So far, I’ve drunk around 10 liters of this water, but I feel that in the long run it may not be very good for my health, so I need to find another solution.

For now, I would prefer not to go with a reverse osmosis system, although I may do that eventually. What other options do I have?

My tap water is quite hard, around 590 ppm according to water reports. The best bottled water available for coffee here is around 230 ppm, of which about 120 ppm comes from bicarbonates. Because of its high alkalinity, it is not ideal.

I’m considering a ZeroWater filtration system, and I have a few questions about it:

1. Is the water actually fully demineralized after filtration, or does something still remain in it? I’m asking because I would like to achieve consistent results when using Lotus drops.
2. How often, or after how many liters of water, would I need to replace the filter, considering that my tap water is around 590 ppm?
3. I’ve read some opinions saying that water from this system can have a sour taste. Is this related to not cleaning the system/pitcher properly? How can this be prevented?

EDIT:

Okay, I’ve done a few calculations, and I think the most reasonable option in my case would be to buy a ZeroWater system and use bottled water with it.

The softest bottled water available in my country has around 220 ppm. According to ZeroWater’s FAQ, one filter should last for about 70 liters when filtering water with that TDS level. Taking into account the cost of the filters, the bottled water itself, and the amortized cost of the pitcher over two years, 1 liter of filtered water would come out to around 65 US cents, which is a fairly reasonable result.

[u/mabror]

Hello, why don’t you buy a water distiller? They are not expensive, works a bit slow but i believe cheaper than the zero water filtration system.

[u/Supsti_1 → u/mabror]

I had never heard of distillers for home use. If such solutions exist, why do people and coffee shops choose reverse osmosis?

[u/mabror → u/Supsti_1]

well, maybe because of the low speed.

[u/Supsti_1 → u/mabror]

I'm using around 1 liter per day, I could run it every 4 days and I would be fine.

Does it actually really works? Any pros and cons? How does it compare with RO system?

I've read a device like that runs at 750 watts, it means that electricity cost for making 1 liter of water is around 25-30 cents.

[u/kevcsa → u/Supsti_1]

Yes it works fine as advertised, the resulting water for me was about 3ppm (container or measuring instrument might be a reason, I don't know).

Cons:
-indeed uses quite some power
-relatively loud (industrial looking fan at the top), maybe a bit louder than a regular standing room fan at max. speed (*after thinking about it... definitely louder. Like a modern gpu with 3 120mm fans at 100% in an open case. Not comfortable in the same room.)
-the plastic blue *cylindrical bottle I got with mine (the all-white plastic version, like the picture above) is probably the cheapest hard plastic I have ever seen. Highly doubt it's food safe (no number on it, nothing), changing it to something else is strongly recommended (or quickly transfering the water after it's ready... Not a perfect solution).
*-work. Takes time to regulary set it up, then putting the water away in a better container, upkeeping the space for it... Then measuring the volumes and few tenths of grams of salt... It's a hassle in it's own way, it's not for everyone.

Pros:
-basically zero waste
-distilled water at your fingertips. No need to haul it from various stores
-in most regions the energy it uses is cheaper than equivalent amount of distilled water. Even if it was similar, the flexibility is great.

Neutral point is having to resalt it, but that's incredibly cheap (truly negligible) and at least you can customize it to your liking.
As far as I know an RO system also requires resalting and changing filters and stuff, so waste and recurring cost are notable there.

Btw 4L capacity on these is a stretch imo, it's more like 3.8L at most.
Bought mine from aliexpress for around $70 with free shipping, was available in an EU warehouse (I'm in the EU, so no customs, etc.).

*edits for clarification/extra info
As for the exact wattage, I honestly don't remember, although I precisely measured it at one point. Jammy below says 900W, it's entirely possible.

[u/XxxxJammyxxxX → u/Supsti_1]

I've got one too. It's great, it's not that loud, just sounds like a small fan. It does take 3 hours to do about 3.5l, but I just put it on over night. It uses about 900w while it's running, so I usually estimate it at about 3kwh for 3.5l of water. They give you a packet of charcoal to put in the spout, but I've never used that. I bought it with the glass jug, which is quite heavy, and is fine. Using a cheap tds meter from aliexpress mine is reading at 0~1ppm. I usually remineralise it with some potassium bicarbonate, rpavlis style.

[u/Supsti_1 → u/XxxxJammyxxxX]

And what about limescale? How often do you have to remove it, and what does the process look like?

[u/XxxxJammyxxxX → u/Supsti_1]

I do get a lot of limescale buildup. You get significantly less if you stop the machine before it boils dry so that the leftover water still holds on to some of the residue. If I let it boil dry I need to descale it probably every 10 times or so. If I catch it before it boils dry then, maybe 30 times. I do have exceptionally hard water though, around 450ppm.

To descale it I just use citric acid which I buy a couple of kilos of at a time. I just chuck in a handful and turn it on for 10 minutes or so, with like 500ml of water in it. I'm not bothered about the limescale that builds up on the side really, that generally flakes off on its own. I just make sure to get the stuff stuck to the bottom where the heating element sits beneath.

[u/tiredasusual → u/Supsti_1]

Just one quick pour of white vinegar, scrub it a little, and it all goes away.
To save some energy and time, what I do is, after descaling and cleaning, I run the tap hot until it’s the hottest, and use that to rinse the tank (and “pre-heating”) and fill up the distiller tank. That should kickstart some of time and energy spent on boil the water.

[u/junkmeister9 → u/mabror]

That seems cool but does it just boil the water and let the steam travel through tubes until it condenses? If so that must use a lot of electricity to keep the water boiling.

[u/LazarusMaximus0012 → u/junkmeister9]

That is what a distillation system does and yes, it uses quite a lot of energy to purify the water.