# Not descaled machine for 3 years and....



## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

I haven't descaled my espresso machine for 3 years, it's used daily at least once. Instead of tap water, I use bottled and this is how clean the boiler still is.

To me the water tastes better than tap water too so may be of interest to others. I only use 'Volvic' as did some research and this was judged to be the best water for coffee machine use.

Richard


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

That's very clean Richard

I use Volvic for filter brewing and also in the Bacchi too


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Certainly no scale issues there, I use reverse osmosis water in mine nowadays. The total dissolved solids in our water is ridiculously high at 450 from the tap, after my RO membrane it is around 30. You don`t want zero TDS though which is not good for you. I still descale once a month or so for peace of mind.

The Volvic must have a very low TDS to get such a clean boiler and element, not a cheap solution though.


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

I was surprised as thought bottled water would have at least some minerals but as you can see from my (rather out of focus) pics, the element is as clean as the day I installed it.. happy days. Just need to find a rotary pump now to replace the noisy Ulka







)

I guess the only draw back is the price but am happy to pay for bottled as my tap water tastes like tcp







(

The bacchi looks cool, now having a look at it online!

Richard


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

DonRJ said:


> Certainly no scale issues there, I use reverse osmosis water in mine nowadays. The total dissolved solids in our water is ridiculously high at 450 from the tap, after my RO membrane it is around 30. You don`t want zero TDS though which is not good for you. I still descale once a month or so for peace of mind.
> 
> The Volvic must have a very low TDS to get such a clean boiler and element, not a cheap solution though.


Could you send me deails of your reverse osmosis system, am curious as may be a cheaper solution compared to 2 - 3 bottles of Volvic per week..

Richard


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

I'd love an RO system. Prices are a lot more reasonable than I was expecting too.

Will hold out until we move and install in the next house though


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

My RO unit is from Osmotics- See here http://www.osmotics.co.uk/

I use mine for Espresso use before the de-ionisation stage of my unit (it is too pure after this stage for household use) and the deionised water is used for my marine aquariums.

For drinking water you would be fine with this unit http://www.osmotics.co.uk/products/3-Stage-50-Gallon-Per-Day-Reverse-Osmosis-System.html do budget for filter replacements every so often and membrane replacement every couple of years.

For a dedicated domestic drinking water system this one would be option http://www.osmotics.co.uk/products/Drinking-Water-Reverse-Osmosis-System.html

Hope this helps


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

I've considered this, but it really must be expensive.

I need to descale my machine, but there's no advice on the piccino online, and their engineers say "its too difficult to do at home as its a sealed unit".

I suppose i should take it apart and have a look but I'm scared lol.


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## HizerKite (Feb 25, 2011)

DonRJ said:


> My RO unit is from Osmotics- See here http://www.osmotics.co.uk/
> 
> I use mine for Espresso use before the de-ionisation stage of my unit (it is too pure after this stage for household use) and the deionised water is used for my marine aquariums.
> 
> ...


Very interesting and excellent price too, am seriously tempted. many thanks for sending, will now have to ponder this!


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

You don`t need to take your machine apart to descale it, Glenn no doubt has a guide somewhere to point you too and Fracino will know which descaler to use.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Cheers Don, but i gather its the stream boiler that's hard to descale (dual boiler machine). I'd imagine descaling the brew boiler would just require running it through like with a Silvia or classic.


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## DonRJ (Apr 3, 2010)

Ah yes, didn`t think of that.

This thread may help though.

http://www.home-barista.com/tips/descaling-double-boiler-espresso-machine-t15438.html

I guess it would be wise to use very low TDS water as the OP has been using, his boiler has no scale at all.


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

I have used a filtration machine for at least 12 years as generally, drinking tap water in Bangkok is not recommended even though it is supposed to be to the WHO standard.. This water I use for a French Press and pour over is boiled in a typical water heater, not a kettle. De-scaling is rarely needed but two types of filters should be replaced annually.

I'll check if domestic RO units are marketed here as one would make a rather nice upgrade to my old unit providing the price was sensible.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks for the link. I've read it before but it still leaves me confused lol. I'm not the most technical minded person, so would probably struggle working out what connects to what, and even what each component is. I have the exploded diagrams from Fracino, but I'm just nervous of breaking it. Don't fancy sending it back to Birmingham for a service though!


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Your machine is still too new to bother about descaling the steam boiler, unless you start to notice a drop in pressure.

If the engineers say don't try yourself then I'd be inclined to send it back in for a service.


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

Thing is, the part of London i live in has horrendously hard water. Its coming up to 6 months old so thought it could probably do with one. I suppose i could push it and wait for a year, then send it up for a full strip down service.


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