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  • Time for a descale?

    Interesting article on descaling today...

    Personally, I don't. My machine is nearly 5 years old and has never been done. It doesn't need a descale.

    Best to use high quality filtration in the first place and avoid the scale before it gets there...

    Food for thought for the cohort who descale out of habit rather than necessity?

  • #2
    I haven't for a year or more I think. Been using filtered water so no need for more chemicals than I have to! Goodness knows what's in them and where they come from..

    Michael

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Talk_Coffee View Post
      Best to use high quality filtration in the first place and avoid the scale before it gets there...
      That's what I thought too. I use a water softener in my S24, recharging it in a saline solution every couple of weeks.

      About 2 months ago I thought, seeing as I hadn't done a descale for a while (about 6 months), why not descale to see how well the softener works. I almost fainted when I saw how deeply green the boiler water was, and how thick and milky the descale solution was from the group/HX.

      It'll be interesting to see which brands get named and shamed.

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      • #4
        Our guide to filtration for those interested...

        In my experience, most who tell me that they have filtration in place (fridge, pretty ceramic thingy et al) have drinking water filtration, not coffee filtration.

        We descale one or more machines pretty much every week. Owners will state that "my water is soft" because the local authorities told them so or "my plumber installed a filter for me" or "I have filtered water from my fridge". Invariably, most are unsuitable for an espresso machine.

        Look after your water (and your machines) guys

        Chris

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        • #5
          Ditto...

          One more thing to add to that, I believe anyway, is the necessity to regularly test the TDS of the water to and from, your filtering system. How else are you going to be sure that your filter system is still doing its job?

          In our case, I do this monthly and can pre-empt the need to order a new filter before it becomes a necessity. Additionally, a six-monthly inspection of your boiler innards can ensure that nothing is going undetected.

          Mal.

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          • #6
            This is a timely discussion as I'm about to buy an undersink system.

            Which is better for the final filtration - a softening filter or Polyphosphate scale inhibiting filter?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Talk_Coffee View Post
              Our guide to filtration for those interested...

              In my experience, most who tell me that they have filtration in place (fridge, pretty ceramic thingy et al) have drinking water filtration, not coffee filtration.

              We descale one or more machines pretty much every week. Owners will state that "my water is soft" because the local authorities told them so or "my plumber installed a filter for me" or "I have filtered water from my fridge". Invariably, most are unsuitable for an espresso machine.

              Look after your water (and your machines) guys

              Chris
              Hi Chris,

              I'm not sure whether my question makes sense, but....what is it that is included in the Brita underbench kit (e.g. C150) that is not included in their retail benchtop gear (e.g. Maxtra cartridge)? I've always fed my machine benchtop filtered water which then goes through the in-tank sediment filter, and maybe I'm just lucky with the quality of the local water (i.e. I've never seen any scale develop on a kettle etc....whereas when I've lived in London it's been scale city from about day 10).

              Cheers

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              • #8
                Hi Chris,

                Is the usage of water from filtration can help to avoid descaling in gaggia classic too?

                Also I want to ask about the Aquapro benchtop filtration system, the price is the cheapest compare to other filtration. Is there any significant difference in the quality or the performance?

                Cheers,
                Olivia.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Dimal View Post
                  Ditto...

                  One more thing to add to that, I believe anyway, is the necessity to regularly test the TDS of the water to and from, your filtering system. ....

                  What is the TDS level that is considered acceptable for coffee machine use in terms on inhibiting scale build up?

                  Cheers

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                  • #10
                    I just use rain water

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                    • #11
                      I have asked Bernard of Bombora to send me some info as some of these questions are beyond my knowledge.

                      For those on tank water, just make sure it still goes through a filter. We once had a boiler 1/3 full of silt!

                      Cheers

                      Chris

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                      • #12
                        Thanks Chris. No hurry at all on my account....taking the Bacchi down the coast for a week.

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                        • #13
                          Here are Bernard's thoughts:

                          "You are spot on - need to cover water coming in and descaling - AND mal is spot on also – must test.

                          Irrelevant of water quality – just about all of the water in Australia contains a level of Total Hardness (TH) that can form scale in a machine.

                          The action of heating and then cooling water creates a layering effect of scale....if your TH is low – it happens slower – if its high faster etc.

                          Testing the water will help you understand your TH and the in turn how long your filter should last. The filter should have a prefilter for sediment, carbon filtration for chemical and softening resin for TH. ( we can cover calculating another time). If you use a softening resin style filter you will definitely reduce the amount of times you will need to descale BUT not eliminate as nothing is 100% and there are other minerals that can effect your machine over time–so maybe only every few years........if you have the capacity to inspect you boiler annually then great BUT generally just looking for tell tale signs like – loss of steam pressure...poor water flow....hard to reach temperature etc ( nb – green boiler doesn’t mean scale)

                          Australia is quite advanced in terms of chemical cleaning – we offer some of the safest and most certified products in the world – it doesn’t surprise me that in Europe that people have been sticking some nasty stuff in their machine….and not cleaning properly. If you are worried about residual chemicals – use a liquid…to ensure dissolvency and do your homework.....always start with less chemical and ensure you rinse properly – better to repeat a light clean than go full throttle"

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                          • #14
                            Wise words from Bernard...

                            Thanks mate.

                            Mal.

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                            • #15
                              Continuing the descale theme...

                              I pulled my mushroom off (7 year old Bezzera, hasn't had a descale AFAIK. 5 years in Macaky, 2 years running on filtered water in Bris).

                              Can anyone have a guess on the internal condition of the machine based on this?

                              Click image for larger version

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