If you are one of those lucky ones that use tap water to brew, a TDS meter can be an dictation of a change in the water due to seasonal changes or other causes.
Thanks hopfenundmalz, I'm very lucky to use lake Michigan water, so if there is changes seasonally, how do you fix a problem. Fixing the pH is starting to make sense to me, so is there a "TDS for Dummies" document that can get me to better understand?
Thanks everyone for your reply's
tom
There is some variation in Lake Huron water that I have seen but it is not major. You might find monthly reports online for your Lake Michigan sourced utility.
TDS tells you what the amount is, but not what makes it up. I get RO water from 3 sources depending on a few things, the ranges I have seen are 3-7 ppm, 20-30 ppm, and 40-45 ppm. The last is cheap, and I use it for hoppy ales that will have a lot of salts added. The first is great for lagers that I am really trying to nail the style, but it is the most expensive.