Thread: Water filtering

I have a Brita jug, I just top the machine up when I switch the machine on to warm up. As long as there is enough water to run the boiler its fine

Gday Andbrews, I have just gone through the water filtration issue myself and I recommend buying a water test kit so you know exactly what your dealing with.

I'm in Perth and my water is very hard so I use bottled water from Coles $4 for 10 liters and I test each batch and they have all tested perfect.

If I knew I wasn't going to be moving any time soon I would get a Brita C150 under sink filter as I have tested a lot of drinking filters and they do little to soften water.

Originally Posted by andbrews

I've just upgraded to a machine that I care enough about to look into filtering the water I use.

At first I thought it would be as simple as get a (relatively) cheap Brita jug, some new filters every now and again - bam, sorted. No so apparently....

As far as I can tell, there are a couple of options:

• Under sink filter - can't justify as the only coffee drinker in the house
• Retrofit a countertop solution like an Aqua Pro - wife says no
• Do nothing and let the scale build up - not keen on this either

What I'd reaaaally like is a Brita jug type device that does soften water that I can fill and put in the cupboard and use when needed. Does such a thing exist?

Another thought I had was buying bottled water that is softer, but I don't even know if this is a thing. I can buy "Natural Spring Water" from the supermarket for ~$0.50 a litre, it'd be great if I could just use that.

Any thoughts from CS on this? Anyone been in a similar position?

Not sure if you have seen this from Talk Coffee, Filtration | Talk Coffee, worth a look. With the Aqua Pro you can put it in the cupboard when your finished and the wife's bench will be clear again.

Originally Posted by Logga

Not sure if you have seen this from Talk Coffee, Filtration | Talk Coffee, worth a look. With the Aqua Pro you can put it in the cupboard when your finished and the wife's bench will be clear again.

Or do what I did and attach the Aqua Pro to the Laundry tap (mains supply, not grey). This compromise resulted in Filtered water for coffee machine and drinking, and happy wife has a clear kitchen bench space. Win/Win

Cheers
Mal

I see Brita has a new product that mite work. AquaGusto | BRITA Professional

Originally Posted by K_Bean_Coffee

Stick the C150 under the kitchen bench, out of site. You can then go under and fill a jug at any time.

Yes, this is the way to go.

I second the C150 solution.
Had it at home for a couple of years now and it's been very good.

I notice it the most with our kettle. It's one with the solid base element that you can see through the glass.
When using regular water, I would need to descale with some citric acid every few months.
With the water through the C150 - have not needed to descale as yet.

Brett.

Thanks all for the feedback. The AquaGusto is interesting, I hadn't come across that before.

dodgy x - I had thought that the C150 needed to be plumbed in to a tap to work, do you have any links to how you're suggesting to use it without plumbing? Sorry, I can't see it in my head

Above sink - Blank on left, regular flickmixer in middle, C150 tap on right.
20160821_010511[1].jpg

Under sink
20160821_010059[1].jpg
Mine needed to be plumbed in, and it may not be possible for some people.
There is an above sink tap and goose neck that needed a slot in the sink.
Our sink has 3 slots and only the middle was in use. The other 2 were covered by blanks.
So the plumbing underneath the sink was just a couple of fittings that had to be put in (did it myself with instructions in the kit without any issue) and the tap took over one of the blank slots.
If you don't have a spot for the tap, then it might not be the right solution for you.

Brett.

Originally Posted by andbrews

Thanks all for the feedback. The AquaGusto is interesting, I hadn't come across that before.

dodgy x - I had thought that the C150 needed to be plumbed in to a tap to work, do you have any links to how you're suggesting to use it without plumbing? Sorry, I can't see it in my head

You should be able to use this one, Brita C150 Finest with PLV to plumb your machine | Talk Coffee, if you have a water out put under the sink, like a dishwasher and then put a tap on the end where it usually plumbs in to machine, then just fill jug and into machine, that's if you don't want to plumb it in.

When I say put a tap on it, I mean just a simple on/off tap and have it in the cupboard, If you don't want it on the bench top.

Thanks fatboy_1999 - pics are super helpful. I don't have any blanks on my sink though so it's not going to work for me.

Logga - I see what you're saying. I think the bit about the tap under the sink was where I was coming unstuck. It makes sense and given that I can't put something above the sink might be the best solution. Cheers!

You can get flick mixers that will dispense the normal hot and cold and also the c150 filtered water, all out of the same spout. You just replace your current tap with the 3 way one, filter etc under the sink as usual.

Cheers

I had a plumbed in filter at my previous house and the only issue i had was you never know when it needed to be changed apart from the shop sending you a reminder once a year.
At least with the Brita jug there is a LED indicator you can see every time you use the jug.

Originally Posted by mc111

I had a plumbed in filter at my previous house and the only issue i had was you never know when it needed to be changed apart from the shop sending you a reminder once a year.
At least with the Brita jug there is a LED indicator you can see every time you use the jug.

Brita doesn't soften though..

There is always a solution: Brita Purity C FlowMeter | Talk Coffee

Originally Posted by Talk_Coffee

There is always a solution: Brita Purity C FlowMeter | Talk Coffee

Alternatively, the good old fashioned "WRITE IT ON THE CALENDAR" ;D

Or...
Grab a decent titration kit and measure it for yourself...

Mal.

And there's the Brita Filtermanager app on Android and iOS. I uninstalled it after a minute, but some people gave it 5 stars.

Originally Posted by Logga

You should be able to use this one, Brita C150 Finest with PLV to plumb your machine | Talk Coffee, if you have a water out put under the sink, like a dishwasher and then put a tap on the end where it usually plumbs in to machine, then just fill jug and into machine, that's if you don't want to plumb it in.

The Talk Coffee link says that it comes with a PLV that limits to 350 kPa, or 3.5 Bar. My machine specifies a maximum incoming pressure of 2 Bar. Am I missing something?

Looking to upgrade my machine and want to sort out water filtration. Looking at the Aqua Pro as a solution, in the laundry (as recommended above). Unfortunately can't plumb it in and the Aqua seems like the most cost effective solution. Does anyone who has the Aqua have thoughts on it?

I've only had one for about 3 weeks, seems to work well. We don't have hard water here but we have it to filter chlorine and any other chemicals out of the water. It was easy to fit took about 3 minutes. We used a Brita jug for years with the previous machine and when we had it serviced it had very little scale in it, so little the technician said it wasn't worth descaling.

Originally Posted by Stan

I've only had one for about 3 weeks, seems to work well. We don't have hard water here but we have it to filter chlorine and any other chemicals out of the water. It was easy to fit took about 3 minutes. We used a Brita jug for years with the previous machine and when we had it serviced it had very little scale in it, so little the technician said it wasn't worth descaling.

Thanks very much Stan, it's great to hear some good feedback on it.

I've been looking at a way to install some kind of filter on my sinks, but there just isn't enough space to do it. I have tested my water and it is very soft, <25. In 8 years of living here I have not seen any evidence of scale building up on anything. Kettles, iron, taps, shower head etc. So, if my water is soft, and I don't really need to go for a softening filter. Is a Brita style jug the best option for removing chlorine or chemicals etc?

superblonk

I used a brita for 5 years for my Musica and as stated above it didn't have much scale at all when I had it serviced. The only reason I got an Aquapure is to gain some space on the sink. The aquapure only takes up about the size of. 6inch circle. You can convert that to cm

Great info in here everyone.

Ended up ordering a Brita C150 finest after reading the info in this thread so looking forward to seeing if there's any noticeable difference after install.

Just moved into a new place in WA, do you think she'll be right putting this water directly through my coffee machine
IMG_20170131_080449.jpg

Originally Posted by magnafunk

Just moved into a new place in WA, do you think she'll be right putting this water directly through my coffee machine
IMG_20170131_080449.jpg

Pumped straight from the Timor Sea.

Quick question for anyone with a Brita C150 purity.
I've just installed mine under sink and pull water from the small tap supplied with it but it seems to have a bit of a weird taste to it and a heap of small bubbles that don't dissipate? Does this settle down after a while, have drained about 4-5 litres through it so far and still looks like this (after about 5 minutes)

I'd be asking the vendor from whom you purchased the filter system...

In our case, no this did not occur and the only "taste" was of pure sweet water. Nothing funny...

Mal.

Cheers Mal,

Yep that was what I was expecting, I've emailed the vendor so hopefully they can sort it out for me quickly.

P.S should have read Brita C150 finest

Cheers
Jake

Ok, so I'm sick of buying distilled water for my Rancilio Silvia and I live in Perth, apparently the epicentre of hard water. I don't want to change my existing mixer tap and am relectant to drill a hole in my sink. Can I buy a Brita C150 kit with a tap and install it all (including the tap) under my kitchen bench top/kitchen sink? Which Brita C150 version do I need? Purity? Finest? Really appreciate your help! Apologies if this question has been answered previously.
Jenny

You can get severs styles of mixer taps now that also do filtered out of the same spout. Would be the "cleanest" way out.

You can then feed through a c150 or anything else really.

Under sink tap would be a pita I reckon, no drain down there to catch the drips etc.

Cheers

Thanks Paul and artman xx

Originally Posted by Coffeenooby

Ok, so I'm sick of buying distilled water for my Rancilio Silvia and I live in Perth, apparently the epicentre of hard water. I don't want to change my existing mixer tap and am relectant to drill a hole in my sink. Can I buy a Brita C150 kit with a tap and install it all (including the tap) under my kitchen bench top/kitchen sink? Which Brita C150 version do I need? Purity? Finest? Really appreciate your help! Apologies if this question has been answered previously.
Jenny

Just in the meantime before you buy a filter, be careful with distilled water - as much as hard water will scale, distilled water will corrode - so you do need some minerals in that water.

Given you're in Perth, and the water is particularly crap, you might want to find out the specifications of your local water supply before making a purchase.

Originally Posted by K_Bean_Coffee

Hi Jenny,
All C150 filters are great.
Here's a link: https://www.kbean.com.au/water-filtration/

Hey Paul, just bought the C150 complete kit from you. I'm gonna have a hole cut in the sink for the tap coz I reckon once I taste decent water I'm gonna wanna use it all the time (not just for coffee). ;-) Jenny

Originally Posted by K_Bean_Coffee

Thanks Jenny. Order received and courier is booked. Thanks again for choosing dodgy x
K Bean - Water Filtration

Wow!! Great service!!! Thanks Paul xx

Yes after I got mine the whole family uses for drinking water and also for cooking. Of course the coffee machine use was a secondary reason.....

Cheers

How about a Brita On Tap filter system? $56 + $8 postage. Nice 'n cheap, but does it do what we need it to do?

Commercial link removed as per Site Posting Policy

Originally Posted by SpeedBump

How about a Brita On Tap filter system? $56 + $8 postage. Nice 'n cheap, but does it do what we need it to do?

Commercial link removed as per Site Posting Policy

Nope, won't cut it at all. Doesn't reduce total hardness. It will pull out particulate that can collect in your boiler, but that's only a small part of what you need a filter to do.

Originally Posted by readeral

Nope, won't cut it at all. Doesn't reduce total hardness. It will pull out particulate that can collect in your boiler, but that's only a small part of what you need a filter to do.

Thanks, readeral! I'll be striking THAT from my Chrisy wish-list!

Received the kit. Does this bit connect inline with the water supply or should it connect into a t piece on the main water line?

I would say T piece otherwise you will lose one of your tap feeds!

Is that the PRV?

Best to install a T, then a tap, than this. Makes changing filter easy as you can turn off water at the filter instead of the mains.

Cheers

It's label says "dn5 multi function control valve - dual check back flow restriction". So sounds more like stopping backflow rather than pressure reduction. I have a tap under the sink to shut water off. This part is kind of like a t piece as there is a threaded hole currently blanked off by the black plastic bolt visible in the pic.

I wonder if it goes like this..?

I would get a T and run this just for the filter. Or ideally get a PRV and use that with a T.

Sorry, missed the taps in the pic!

Cheers

EDIT - just saw the pic above, yes seems you are correct. A bit weird having this plastic bit inline with the main tap feed but looks like that is what is it for?

You should easily blow from the mains to the sink tap labelled ends.

Originally Posted by artman

I would get a T and run this just for the filter. Or ideally get a PRV and use that with a T.

Sorry, missed the taps in the pic!

Cheers

EDIT - just saw the pic above, yes seems you are correct. A bit weird having this plastic bit inline with the main tap feed but looks like that is what is it for?

You should easily blow from the mains to the sink tap labelled ends.

Thanks for your help artman. I hope it doesn't reduce the pressure out of the kitchen sink tap.
Jenny :-)

If it is setup correctly it should give full flow to the sink and reduce it to the filter outlet.

Cheers

Anyone tried the brita aquagusto? Bought one to try as it sounds too good to be true