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Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

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  • #31
    Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

    Yes, Im hoping not indeed. Im just using a citric acid solution at concentrations that were recommended to me a while ago... perhaps not the best option, but after checking out the mushroom I wasnt going to put it back in and use it without doing anything..heres hoping nothing is broken.

    And yeah, I figured the thing with the valve after reading your yellow writing again up a bit further. Im also following randys updated instructions, so hopefully wont make too much (more) mess.

    Cheers

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

      Good luck with it Sammus, post some pics of the mushie once youre done so we can see how well your descale concoction worked.

      JB

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      • #33
        Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

        woohoo 3rd time lucky, no more black flaky bits coming through the steam valve. Ive flushed about 3L of filtered water through there now and it still tastes a bit citrusy... getting better though. Heres hoping that does most of the boiler and I dont have to stand there holding that anti vac valve closed forever to do it thorugh the hot water tap too  

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        • #34
          Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

          OK, so after a looong time flushing and whatnot, I finally got it all cleared out and snapped a pic of the mushroom

          The lack of flash on my iphone isnt giving a great photo at this time, but you can see its much improved

          there is still some bits of white scal there, and the surface is now very rough - I imagine it was originally smooth. Not a great thing, I can imagine it would only exacerbate scale build up. I think this is OK for now, Ill get my hands on some proper descaler soon and do it again I think.

          Cheers for alerting me to this, I can now rest a little easier

          Sam


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          • #35
            Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

            Thats a bit better mate!, has that eaten the chrome away i guessing whats underneath is brass?, so what was the solution you used?

            Can anyone else comment on whether it is better or worst to use this solution rather than caffetto or the bombora descaler? in terms of eating metal, the reason i ask is that it seamed to take a lot longer to descale with Sammuss solution than it does with either of the two above mentioned solutions, im thinking its weaker and will cause less damage to internal components? I could be way off here, genuine question.

            cheers
            warren

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            • #36
              Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

              Originally posted by 6F6B4D5454514E5956380 link=1252582960/34#34 date=1253138986
              Can anyone else comment on whether it is better or worst to use this solution rather than caffetto or the bombora descaler?
              Significantly worse. Citric will mobilise scale in nice big plaques- so it can block other narrow areas of the machine- like gliceurs.

              If citric was perfect, bombora and cafetto wouldnt need to bother producing proprietory products :-?

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              • #37
                Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                Yeah I was worried about that when I saw how it came out. Everything seems to be function normal at the moment now, and my thermosython hadnt stalled overnight like it used to, and its actually idling at a much higher temp, like when it was new.

                Chris: do you know if those proprietary products would dissolve any flaky crap left behind by my citric acid mix?

                Furthermore; if it dissolves the build up so well, is it obvious when you use it if you have let it soak longer or not? With mine I just kept pumping it through the boiler till the little black bits stopped coming out.

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                • #38
                  Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                  cheers 2mcm, i thought there would be a logical explanation.

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                  • #39
                    Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                    Eek. Now Im too scared to look inside my machine...

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                      Can someone with knowledge of metals and coffee chime in and explain
                      1. if the exposed brass on the mushroom/machine is a concern/affects the coffee water at all?
                      2. Is the chrome plating purely an aesthetic thing on the mushroom or does it have a functional purpose?

                      Thanks in advance

                      Javabeen.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                        No issue Javabeen,

                        It all gets chromed so that you get bling on the bits of it that you can see  8-)

                        Chris

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                        • #42
                          Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                          Chris: do you know if those proprietary products would dissolve any flaky crap left behind by my citric acid mix?

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                            Originally posted by 4E7C7070686E1D0 link=1252582960/41#41 date=1253173686
                            Chris: do you know if those proprietary products would dissolve any flaky crap left behind by my citric acid mix?
                            Should do Sam

                            Chris

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                            • #44
                              Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                              Sweet. I just found out bombora is a 30s drive from my place in Newcastle, Ill be in there tomorrow to get one of those compact softeners set up with a flush kit, and some of that fancy triple action descaler.

                              Ill do another descaling with the proper stuff just to make sure

                              Hopefully I wont have such a shocking scale problem EVER again ;D

                              Cheers

                              Sam

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Re: Scale in my VBM Super - have a look, ouch!

                                Originally posted by 1D2F23233B3D4E0 link=1252582960/43#43 date=1253175744
                                Sweet. I just found out bombora is a 30s drive from my place in Newcastle, Ill be in there tomorrow to get one of those compact softeners set up with a flush kit, and some of that fancy triple action descaler.

                                Ill do another descaling with the proper stuff just to make sure

                                Hopefully I wont have such a shocking scale problem EVER again  ;D

                                Cheers

                                Sam
                                Theyre wholesalers Sam and dont have a retail outlet.

                                Many CS sponsors stock Bombora product...

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