# Boiler water - is it not heated over and over?



## Delfi

Recently I've noticed that any coffees that I make that I top up with hot water from the hot water arm taste a bit like bad socks...

This seems to be a result of the taste of the water coming out of the boiler. Which got me thinking - the water in the boiler - does it not just get heated over and over again? When I use a standard kettle I empty any old water out the then refill and boil. I wouldn't keep it full and then boil it all each time.

do people empty their boilers regularly or have I misunderstood how the Cellini works? (Or do I have some other problem)


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## MediumRoastSteam

Delfi said:


> Recently I've noticed that any coffees that I make that I top up with hot water from the hot water arm taste a bit like bad socks...
> 
> This seems to be a result of the taste of the water coming out of the boiler. Which got me thinking - the water in the boiler - does it not just get heated over and over again? When I use a standard kettle I empty any old water out the then refill and boil. I wouldn't keep it full and then boil it all each time.
> 
> do people empty their boilers regularly or have I misunderstood how the Cellini works? (Or do I have some other problem)


That's right. The water in the service boiler gets heated over and over, as the water for brewing is drawn directly from the talk/main and heated through a tube (the heat exchanger) which goes through the service boiler.

The boiler being made of copper, yes, you will get some old socks taste eventually.

DavidcUK, who I respect his knowledge and opinions very much, recommends that we don't use the coffee machine as a kettle to preserve the longevity and avoid scale build in the boiler. Some member here draw a cup of water every day or so to recycle the water from the boiler more often and I suppose avoid the bad socks taste.

If I want a cup of tea or a long black / Americano, I simply use the kettle.

I do draw a cup or so from the boiler every couple of weeks or so just to recycle the water eventually.


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## hotmetal

Mine's a db and I don't drink Americano so the water in my service boiler only gets used up by me steaming milk. I draw off a bit through the water wand every so often but don't really use the water arm apart from that, as DavecUK recommended. I know HX machines are different in this regard though. I would probably think that fresh water from the kettle would make a better Americano, even if that makes the water arm seem redundant. In cafes, the throughput of water and the practical advantage of having boiling water on tap makes it a much better proposition in a commercial setting than a domestic one. Kettle FTW.


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## espressotechno

For a cafe etc with a high tea demand, I always advise: Forget the 3 group espresso machine; have a 2 group plus a plumbed-in hot water boiler (eg Instanta,which has a stainless steel tank).


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## Phobic

I'm looking at my next machine purchase at the moment, isn't this true for most DB machines? or is it a peculiarity of the rocket?


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## MediumRoastSteam

Phobic said:


> I'm looking at my next machine purchase at the moment, isn't this true for most DB machines? or is it a peculiarity of the rocket?


Any DB machine will not use the water in the steam/hot water boiler from brewing coffee, neither will a HX machine use the water in the service boiler for doing so (read above).

Therefore, the water in that boiler will not recycle as often unless you draw some water from it now and again. Steaming itself does draw some water from it - hence why you hear the filling up pump going sometimes - but very little.


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## jtferraro

pessutojr said:


> Therefore, the water in that boiler will not recycle as often unless you draw some water from it now and again. Steaming itself does draw some water from it - hence why you hear the filling up pump going sometimes - but very little.


Make more Americano's.


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## MediumRoastSteam

jtferraro said:


> Make more Americano's.


Nope. I go as per DavecUK advice: The Coffee Machine is not a kettle.


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