# Considering BWT Bestmax Premium filter - thoughts?



## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

I'm looking to replace my Brita P1000 under-sink filter system with something more 'beverage' focused and I've read a lot of good things about the BWT Bestmax system - in particular the Premium filters.

Does anyone have any good/bad/indifferent experiences they care to share before I make the call?

The Brita system is *OK* but I suspect there's more that can be achieved in this space.

(I've tried Volvic. I've not tried Ashbeck.)


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

BWT Bestmax are great. Have used them for more than 10 years

They are beverage specific. Here is what I use:

http://www.thewaterwarehouse.co.uk/BWTBestmaxPremiumCartridge/

I buy a new cartridge every 1st January


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi @lake_m We moved from a Brita Purity Quell 600 to a BWT Bestmax premium 2XL attached to the Londinium which we also draw off brew water for Coffee / fridge drinking water / kettle etc (pre L II ).

The change did make a noticeable difference, even allowing for age of brita, opening up flavours in the cup, so there is a "taste benefit" to the mg2+ that is borne out in the cup.

The only thing I would say is not to buy too big a one if buying a premium as you can end up with over conditioned water leading you to waste at least the internal contents of the filter as draw off flushing( if you don't you will notice this as a very muddled cup of coffee flavour wise, corrected by flushing). They do also specify if left for more than 2 weeks without water drawn off that may need to replace, not sure if this also affects the std Bestmax or just the Mg2+ premium.

We very rarely buy bottled water now as filter provides all our needs and last time did some blind testing of waitrose essential replacement / volvic / filter I was unable to pick out big enough differences to me to warrant buying in bottled by the trolley full. @ronsil v sized filter linked to above is probably ideal for annual machine only use as not too big a flush and reasonably cheap too just have a look on the BWT website to work out volumes of water good for based on hardness of water as will drop considerably the harder the water is to start with.

Hope of help and if you have a brita maxtra style jug at home you could try a side by side of BWT vs Brita maxtra to see if can pick out the difference









John


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## cambosheff (Jan 1, 2016)

What they both said ^^ I also draw off water for my pour over use and it's very good indeed.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

ronsil said:


> BWT Bestmax are great. Have used them for more than 10 years
> 
> They are beverage specific. Here is what I use:
> 
> ...


Thanks @ronsil. The V sounds ideal. Good price too - half the price of Bella Barista (why!?)

The physical size of the filters is actually a lot bigger than you imagine. Even the S is quite big compared to regular consumer filters. Sited vertically I'm going to need nearly 450mm head-space under the sink. Should be able to squeeze it in though.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

johnealey said:


> Hi @lake_m We moved from a Brita Purity Quell 600 to a BWT Bestmax premium 2XL attached to the Londinium which we also draw off brew water for Coffee / fridge drinking water / kettle etc (pre L II ).
> 
> The change did make a noticeable difference, even allowing for age of brita, opening up flavours in the cup, so there is a "taste benefit" to the mg2+ that is borne out in the cup.
> 
> ...


Thanks @johnealey - interesting comment regarding the comparison with bottled water. I was hoping for a bit better than bottled if I'm honest. I've only tried Volvic but I was underwhelmed.

Also good point ref size of filter. I can get the M for not much more than the V, but if you need to flush out the quantity equivalent to the filter volume every time then it seems a bit pointless. If one filter can last around one year with average home use (tea / coffee) then that would be ideal.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I'm looking at these as well, as my Brita C50 is due for renewal.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Better than bottled is a subjective thing in that my tastebuds different to yours etc etc what was pointing out was that the filter output to me was as good as recognised brew water options such as volvic etc.

The flush through is what you probably do already on your inline filter to get the water to run cold / new, the bigger the filter, the more at the start of the day only (as been standing in the filter getting overly conditioned, if that makes sense) you may want to run off, depends on your tastebuds.

The immovable bit though seems to be the if left for a number of weeks as suspect this makes the water inside unpotable in some manner be that bacterially or otherwise, and not even sure if this should be applied to all filter media, depends on the internal chemistry I suppose.

Key thing is buy one that suits your usage needs not oversize as would be better to buy 2 smaller v sized units a year than 1 big 2XL one (it suits us but even I can see will run out of time before we run out of conditioning effort)

Don't also get hung up on the vertical bit either as they can go horizontal as well, mine is laying flat, as was the Brita 600, on the bottom shelf of the Ikea Stainless trolley have the LII and Mythos on and even helps with stability. The tech specs discuss this and only difference I found is that the initial flush though seemed to be more than I would have thought (?)

The BWT heads fit all sizes of filter so you can chop and change sizes if you need to and have a rather natty feature of not having to shut off water supply when you change cartridges as contains a shut off valve.

Only other thing to bear in mind is that the fittings on the head of the BWT are 3/8" not 3/4" (normal washing machine outlet size) so you may need to factor this into your hose choices. Most plumbers merchants are oblivious to this need so need to factor this in when buying filter as supplier is most likely to be the one with the right fittings. Took me ages to find a 3/8 to 3/8 pipe which I did get in the end from Bella Barista (filter did not come from them) and utilised existing 3/8 to 3/4 that was on brita to LII from washing machine outlet to filter. Apparently you can get hydraulic fittings that will step down 3/4 to 3/8 but this may require additional searching.

Hope of help and hopefully covered off most queries in changing to BWT

John


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

johnealey said:


> Better than bottled is a subjective thing in that my tastebuds different to yours etc etc what was pointing out was that the filter output to me was as good as recognised brew water options such as volvic etc.
> 
> The flush through is what you probably do already on your inline filter to get the water to run cold / new, the bigger the filter, the more at the start of the day only (as been standing in the filter getting overly conditioned, if that makes sense) you may want to run off, depends on your tastebuds.
> 
> ...


That's really good information - thanks.

I'll be using the filter with a swan neck tap which is already installed (the La Spaz is tanked). Luckily the Brita tap already has 3/4" to 3/8" pipes going from the tap to the head unit so (in theory anyway) it should be off with the Brita head and on with BWT.

But as in most of the projects I take on, there will undoubtedly be something that isn't quite right, and I'll need to 'make it fit' (anyone with a Landrover will know what I mean)


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

As long as you got 3/8's at both sides of filter you will be good to go.









John


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

OK that's the order in. I'll report back once the gear arrives and I have it up and running.

Thanks for the comments - appreciated.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

johnealey said:


> Better than bottled is a subjective thing in that my tastebuds different to yours etc etc what was pointing out was that the filter output to me was as good as recognised brew water options such as volvic etc.
> 
> The flush through is what you probably do already on your inline filter to get the water to run cold / new, the bigger the filter, the more at the start of the day only (as been standing in the filter getting overly conditioned, if that makes sense) you may want to run off, depends on your tastebuds.
> 
> ...


i made the mistake of fitting a washing machine T piece to my cold water feed, and then found it to be too much faff to connect a 3/8 fitting.. I ended up fitting a standard compression fitting T-piece and going from there. Screwfix has compression fitting to 3/8" flexi braided pipe and normal 3/8" braided pipe, plus other bits and pieces like a pressure reducing valve and shut off valves so I can turn the filter feed off in case I want to remove the filter system completely etc.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I think if you have to pull a load of water through after letting it stand, then I'll just carry on with the Britta tbh.

At least it'll save mucking about changing heads over etc.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

I normally 'let it run' until it goes cold through the tap.

Direct plumbed in is different I guess and will need to be done via the machine or a separate run-off valve.

I still think it would be worth it though personally.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

If you feed a "filtered water" tap off the line post filter and don't buy too big a filter it is as easy as Lake M running the tap till cold, then you know no excessively conditioned water is in the line to the espresso machine. I sometimes forget to do this and most times don't notice then on the odd time I think I notice something it's subtle enough that I'm not sure. I think the cure for this is to as above and the right size filter.

The change in the cup from Brita to BWT Bestmax premium was enough that changing the full on big canister of the 600 and changing from 3/4 to 3/8 fell from memory very quickly









If your waters fairly boiler friendly there is always the option of the bestmin range.

John


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

My water is pretty hard. I'm running 20% bypass iirc. I've currently got a quell c50 but the addition of a filter tap for drinking water sounds like an idea.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

The one thing I noticed about the Brita Quell range was that they were brilliant at controlling scale bit seemed to do this at the expense of flavour for coffee at least whereas the premium seem to do both, a different starting point for the manufacturers.

I noticed this first on the brita maxtra jugs which the BWT Mg2+ cartridges fit into, seemed to take a harsh edge off and open up the flavour a bit after swapping to BWT.

In case it sounds like am advertising only one brand the Everpure that Dave had on the machines ( Sharkys L1P and my LII ) at the last rave day also was better than the Brita water, tasty cold too

John


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## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

Rhys said:


> My water is pretty hard. I'm running 20% bypass iirc. I've currently got a quell c50 but the addition of a filter tap for drinking water sounds like an idea.


Would mean you could use it for filter & syphon brews too.









Plus your la pav when it's not hiding scared in a cupboard!


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

ashcroc said:


> Would mean you could use it for filter & syphon brews too.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I use the hot water tap on my Speedster to draw water out, at boiler temp for brewing and mixed for syphon. The La Pav is fed Volvic.


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## tohenk2 (Oct 11, 2017)

I fed my Bezzera regular tap water and had some scaling problems. So I changed to tap water and Britta filters. The scaling was still there, but manageable and slightly less. I switched to a Vesuvius and immediately had what I'd call severe scaling problems. The company that sold me the V swapped the underpressure valve within two or three weeks for a more robust type and later on I put the V on a BWT+tapwater connection. Since putting that combo in place I had no extra scaling problems. The boiler water is clean as well now (before the BWT there used to be visible scaling in the water...).

And &#8230; I switched to the tap+BWT water without my wife knowing it. We talked about it, but didn't set a date or something. (So I knew she was not dead-set against it and she was away for the weekend, so I sneaked it in and made a bit of a mess when installing. Ripped out a cabinet to be able to drill a hole to the basement where I fastened the filter head to the ceiling. I repaired, covered up and cleaned up before she came back.) After a week she asked what had I done? Switched coffee or something? The coffee tasted better. So I told her. (She really hadn't noticed







until I pointed out the braided hose under the Vesuvius.)


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

tohenk2 said:


> I fed my Bezzera regular tap water and had some scaling problems. So I changed to tap water and Britta filters. The scaling was still there, but manageable and slightly less. I switched to a Vesuvius and immediately had what I'd call severe scaling problems. The company that sold me the V swapped the underpressure valve within two or three weeks for a more robust type and later on I put the V on a BWT+tapwater connection. Since putting that combo in place I had no extra scaling problems. The boiler water is clean as well now (before the BWT there used to be visible scaling in the water...).
> 
> And &#8230; I switched to the tap+BWT water without my wife knowing it. We talked about it, but didn't set a date or something. (So I knew she was not dead-set against it and she was away for the weekend, so I sneaked it in and made a bit of a mess when installing. Ripped out a cabinet to be able to drill a hole to the basement where I fastened the filter head to the ceiling. I repaired, covered up and cleaned up before she came back.) After a week she asked what had I done? Switched coffee or something? The coffee tasted better. So I told her. (She really hadn't noticed
> 
> ...


This is good. Positive blind test!


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Anyone know where I can get a T-Piece to put on the filter outlet to take two braided lines off? I fancy getting one, and adding a cold tap as well. Or has anyone plumbed in and added a tap as well, if so what did you use?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Rhys said:


> Anyone know where I can get a T-Piece to put on the filter outlet to take two braided lines off? I fancy getting one, and adding a cold tap as well. Or has anyone plumbed in and added a tap as well, if so what did you use?


If it's 3/8" BSP (I think it is, someone may want to chime in here) - one of these should do it.

All Female - https://www.asap-supplies.com/equal-female-port-tee-piece-connection-434102

or F/M/M - https://www.advancedfluidsolutions.co.uk/38-bspt-equal-brass-tee-mxfxm-6732-p.asp


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

The BWT filter and Besthead finally arrived. Took 10 minutes to remove the Brita and install the BWT - thankfully the Brita had 3/8" fittings already.

I've flushed it, but no time to make a coffee yet.

Will report back tomorrow.


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## iulianato (May 5, 2015)

Here is how I installed mine. It was a pain to find all the necessary fittings. The water meter is from amazon and all the fittings from eBay.










The meter side is the inlet and outlet is splitted to the V and to a three flow tap


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

iulianato said:


> Here is how I installed mine. It was a pain to find all the necessary fittings. The water meter is from amazon and all the fittings from eBay.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes I've ordered the flow meter as well. Just makes the filter change out more efficient.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

@lake_m when flushing for the first time check the water is absolutely clear then taste as can take a bit more water than the booklet states (saves having a face like a prune when you pull your first coffee







)

John


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

johnealey said:


> @lake_m when flushing for the first time check the water is absolutely clear then taste as can take a bit more water than the booklet states (saves having a face like a prune when you pull your first coffee
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Interesting. Thanks @johnealey. I couldn't wait to try it out so made an espresso tonight. Flushed quite a lot out of the brew boiler. I'd previously flushed 6 litres from the filter (It's M sized)

The coffee was OK but a touch on the sour side. I put that down to my lazy prep and not letting the machine warm up enough. Also I was at the bottom of my bag of Union so it could have been a tad stale.

I'll try again tomorrow when I've got more time.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

We had to take quite a lot of water off which for the 2XL was around 30L and the first lot we tasted was definitely not right, almost salty! Then drew off another 10L (your amounts will be less) the difference was night and day, sweet as anything.

John


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

After more flushing through of both the filter and the machine I'm very happy to report a noticeable improvement.

Concious I may have been suffering from PJD so I blind tested on my missus as well.

This what I was hoping for. Just that little something that was missing before that no amount of tweaking could get around. Good upgrade if people are considering.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Glad to hear there is a noticeable difference especially after flushing a bit more, I swear the people at BWT base the amount of flushing on water not much harder than a girl guide at a jamboree!

John


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

iulianato said:


> Here is how I installed mine. It was a pain to find all the necessary fittings. The water meter is from amazon and all the fittings from eBay.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's how I'd like to set mine up when I get one. Although I'm thinking of maybe connecting it to my normal tap and disconnecting it from the mains directly. 2 reasons really, firstly because my mains pressure is quite high and my tap is like a firemans hose.. (water everywhere) and secondly to be able to draw water off to flush and drink..

What was the outlay for this lot?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

johnealey said:


> Glad to hear there is a noticeable difference especially after flushing a bit more, I swear the people at BWT base the amount of flushing on water not much harder than a girl guide at a jamboree!
> 
> John


John I wonder if I could reopen this and probe you for more detail....

I've had a bestmax premium V for around 6 months now and recently I've become increasingly concerned that my water has become 'over conditioned' and/or 'too soft'. Some of my drinks are feeling a little flat and I'm getting a sense it could be the water - I want to rule that out.

I have an e61 HX so am doing cooling flushes though pretty small and I'm only really having 5-9 drinks per week, mostly adding water from the machine for americanos - so maybe around 150 litres a year throughout.

Most often there's a large time gap between drinks - 5 hours perhaps, and often 1 in a morning and then nothing until the next morning.

I'm thinking the V is therefore overkill for me? I wasn't worried about this until I started reading the draw-through flushing you mention on here.

Are you flushing, say, every morning? Perhaps even more after a long period during the day?

Would u say it's also true that the larger the cartridge, the shorter the time required for the water to become 'over conditioned'? I'm thinking I should be going for the smallest model.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi Kenny

depends on how much volume you have in the HX and pipework from the filter plus what is in the filter itself as to what you may need to flush if that makes sense.

Am led to understand this affects the premium versions more so than the regular blue bestmax ones as the MG2+ is only in the yellow premium ones and water left in overnight can become over conditioned. The only way to tell for sure when you have pulled through enough to in effect be dealing with freshly conditioned water would be to somehow test for constituent parts in the water but this is beyond me so guess the next best is to try and detect any taste difference in water pulled though the group at maybe 1L then 1.5L and try and narrow it down from there?

I would do this as soon after powering on as possible so temp not too affected and line a few cups glasses up or adopt a cupping method to see which one you notice and then work the volume back from this as to how much to pull through.

Having also re read your post above you may also have a reasonable reserve of potentially over-conditioned water in the brew boiler where am assuming your water for the americano comes from so may want to try some drawn off water from the filter (via draw off tap if fitted post filter once volume of filter refreshed) boiled in a kettle to rule this out as suspect this may also have an impact on flavour possible more so than the shot itself as the volumes are significantly bigger and exchanged less often (hopefully you following what am trying to explain







)

If after all the above it still tasting a bit soft than not entirely unlikely that you have got to the point with the filter where whatever is replacing the calcium with magnesium is less effective thus having a "less tasty" effect on the shot thus time to think of a replacement and possibly based on flush through volumes a change to the Small filter.

We use the drawn off water to feed pot plants / (indoor) Arabica plants which seem to thrive on it









Hope of help

John


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Thanks John - very useful info. Will try some of your suggestions.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I have one of those flush things on my filter, and fill my kettle with it on a morning. Makes a nice cuppa tea and also use it for brewing coffee.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

FWIW I've had both Premium and Standard versions of the Bestmax and didn't notice any difference in the cup, so if the Premium gives you more of an over-conditioned effect then you could try the standard.

Having said that, I would phone BWT and speak to one of the tech guys there. They've always been very helpful and offered me lots of advice when I first bought.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

I'm quite fortunate in that I can use the tap to run off a cartridge volume roughly before it goes into the coffee machine. Rhys's method of installing a flush valve is probably the way to go. Next move is to get the flow meter to know when the filter needs replacing.


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## rob177palmer (Feb 14, 2017)

lake_m said:


> I'm quite fortunate in that I can use the tap to run off a cartridge volume roughly before it goes into the coffee machine. Rhys's method of installing a flush valve is probably the way to go. Next move is to get the flow meter to know when the filter needs replacing.


Pls can you link to whichever flow meter you end up with?

I realised I have space behind my sink cupboard, so an in-line water filter could be an option for me


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

The BWT Premium carts create a sort of 'false sense' of great tasting water because what they put out is pretty far removed from what you would normally taste in treated water.


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

Scotford said:


> The BWT Premium carts create a sort of 'false sense' of great tasting water because what they put out is pretty far removed from what you would normally taste in treated water.


Oh and the extra Mg will act in the same way as scale after long enough. Stopped using them in the shop for that exact reason. That and the sludge was a PITA every change and blocked a couple too many flow restrictors on the PB.


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## rob177palmer (Feb 14, 2017)

Scotford said:


> Oh and the extra Mg will act in the same way as scale after long enough. Stopped using them in the shop for that exact reason. That and the sludge was a PITA every change and blocked a couple too many flow restrictors on the PB.


So are you suggesting standard better for longevity?

How has water become such a minefield???!


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

rob177palmer said:


> So are you suggesting standard better for longevity?
> 
> How has water become such a minefield???!


I've been getting much better milage out of an XXL at the shop for a year now (4 months instead of 2 on a Prem) and the year i used the Prems, I had to change flow restrictors on our machine 4 times (Vs zero with standard in over 2 years). I also ran an eco boiler from the same output and after 3 months it was pretty 'scaly' inside.

Not saying that it's necessarily better or worse, just different and has drawbacks.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

lake_m said:


> I'm quite fortunate in that I can use the tap to run off a cartridge volume roughly before it goes into the coffee machine. Rhys's method of installing a flush valve is probably the way to go. Next move is to get the flow meter to know when the filter needs replacing.


How often do u do that - every morning?

What's your typical machine usage profile lake?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> How often do u do that - every morning?
> 
> What's your typical machine usage profile lake?


Every morning or if it's been stood for a while. Not very scientific. I then fill up about 3 litres into the machine tank which normally lasts all day.


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

lake_m said:


> Every morning or if it's been stood for a while. Not very scientific. I then fill up about 3 litres into the machine tank which normally lasts all day.


I'm going to start making this part of my morning routine. 3 litres

I don't have a tap downstream from the filter so will do it through grouphead on my e61 HX - shouldn't be harmful to the machine should it?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Ditch that idea - the last thing I'm going to do is cool my grouphead right down after an hour trying to get it heated up.

Looks like I'll have to add a tap or swap the filter for a bwt one that just softens - Any recommendations?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

After fiddling at this game for a while i think my only requirement is to prevent machine scale build up and install a filter capacity that meets my usage profile and doesn't need flushing apart from hols etc.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

rob177palmer said:


> Pls can you link to whichever flow meter you end up with?
> 
> I realised I have space behind my sink cupboard, so an in-line water filter could be an option for me


Here you go.......

https://www.shopcoffee.co.uk/product/spares-parts/all-parts/bestmax-flow-meter/


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Installed water meter.









For anyone considering getting the BWT meter, don't forget to remove the end cap BEFORE you install the meter.

















In my defence it was not mentioned in the instructions!


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## Dougy Giro (Aug 8, 2017)

lake_m said:


> The BWT filter and Besthead finally arrived. Took 10 minutes to remove the Brita and install the BWT - thankfully the Brita had 3/8" fittings already.
> 
> I've flushed it, but no time to make a coffee yet.
> 
> ...


Hi - just looking through an old post, are you connected with braided hose or plastic? Hard to tell on the pic. I need to do a 10ft run from the sink to the opposite side of the kitchen (underground in the cellar), but unsure if you can get braided hoses that long


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

You can daisy-chain the 3/8" braided hoses using 3/8 x 3/8 adaptors. But plastic hose is easier, especially if going round corners/through walls.

Remember to put in a shut-off valve at each end.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Dougy Giro said:


> Hi - just looking through an old post, are you connected with braided hose or plastic? Hard to tell on the pic. I need to do a 10ft run from the sink to the opposite side of the kitchen (underground in the cellar), but unsure if you can get braided hoses that long


It's plastic hose reused from my previous Brita setup.


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

kennyboy993 said:


> After fiddling at this game for a while i think my only requirement is to prevent machine scale build up and install a filter capacity that meets my usage profile and doesn't need flushing apart from hols etc.


What settings did you go for?


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

Setting 3 - just used the table in the manual in the end.

Seems fine


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## kennyboy993 (Jan 23, 2017)

kennyboy993 said:


> Setting 3 - just used the table in the manual in the end.
> 
> Seems fine


Or is it setting 1 - can't remember which is the lowest setting now.


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

lowest is zero I think


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I was given a test kit by BWT and set mine via that. If there's chance of scaling I'll probably change it to the standard filter as mentioned earlier. My machine comes on via a timer, so don't draw off water on a morning..


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## Dougy Giro (Aug 8, 2017)

espressotechno said:


> You can daisy-chain the 3/8" braided hoses using 3/8 x 3/8 adaptors. But plastic hose is easier, especially if going round corners/through walls.
> 
> Remember to put in a shut-off valve at each end.


Thanks for the info


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## Dougy Giro (Aug 8, 2017)

One more question from me, what would the ideal setup be if you were starting from scratch, and still confined to an under kitchen bench type of set up?

Assuming I am conneceted already to mains and machine via braided hose, would it be:

On/Off valve

Aquameter

Filter Head

Flush valve if head does not have one incorporated (BestMax)

Pressure regulator (if machine recommends 2 BAR limit for example) -

On/off valve

Thanks again


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Sounds good, I'd probably skip the last on/off valve


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Aquameter after the filter but before the flush valve is how mine set up so that you are measuring all the output (although in theory makes no difference to measurement could last longer as no / little scaling of moving measurement parts ?)

John


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

For the last 3,5 months the kettle on the right was fed tap water only and the other one with filtered water with the head at bypass setting 3


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## Stanic (Dec 12, 2015)

Another thing going on currently is that when I pour water from the tap I have for the filter, it does smell stale - I need to flush at least 0,5 litre of water

Having the tap will be handy when plumbing in a machine, allowing me to flush the cartridge in the morning


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

Old thread, and an update..

Water Warehouse it appears don't sell filters anymore so went on Amazon and bought a Bestmax V for £66 inc shipping. There were Premiums for £85 shipped from Germany through Amazon (easy to find them both) but after re-reading this thread I decide to give them a miss due to the faff of having to draw water off every morning, which I can't as I have my machine to start on a timer plug before I get up.. A bit cheaper than other places, especially one that sells Premium Vs for over £150..

The prices from specialist shops are daft considering my old Bestmax Premium V came as a kit with head, bestflush and fittings to connect to a tap all for £119 (from Water Warehouse)..

I'll update further when I get and install it. See how much difference it make to the Premium.


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Yep. Got the Premium V for £75 delivered from Germany via Amazon. Far better value. ?


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

lake_m said:


> Yep. Got the Premium V for £75 delivered from Germany via Amazon. Far better value. ?


 It's £85 now. I've already ordered the standard Bestmax as I don't want the faff of having to draw water off it every morning, which I can't as my machine will already be switched on via a timer plug.

The last few times I've used my machine to make some herbal tea for my other half, the tea smelt fusty. She thought it was the t bags but making it via my kettle and tap water showed that it wasn't the tea but the machine..


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Hi @Rhys

Have found no "in normal use" taste difference between the Bestmax and Bestmax premium or not anything I can objectively pick up and now on my second Bestmax std which we use for both plumbed in L2 and drawing off water for tea / kettle use etc.

What we do notice is a distinct lack of faff in daily use as having to keep drawing off a couple of litres (we had the 2xl premium) prior to use really adds to the reduction of lifespan thus cost.

The other point of note in fairness though is that in putting a new std in place of a premium all you realistically compare is one at the end of its useful life with one that is "fully charged" so invariably unable to compare like for like. The slow drop in best performance of the premium (in household use over a longer period) probably does not help with this as tastebuds accommodate this subtle change which I suppose lends weight to the "best for commercial use" of the premium where throughput / length of time in use will be both higher and shorter. When new I recall there being a marked difference between the previous Brita purity quell 600 and the premium but suspect this also a change of brand / how the filter works / medium etc

I recall @Scotford posting something about changing to std over Bestmax premium as well a while back for his outlet in South London.

John


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## Scotford (Apr 24, 2014)

johnealey said:


> Hi @Rhys
> Have found no "in normal use" taste difference between the Bestmax and Bestmax premium or not anything I can objectively pick up and now on my second Bestmax std which we use for both plumbed in L2 and drawing off water for tea / kettle use etc.
> What we do notice is a distinct lack of faff in daily use as having to keep drawing off a couple of litres (we had the 2xl premium) prior to use really adds to the reduction of lifespan thus cost.
> The other point of note in fairness though is that in putting a new std in place of a premium all you realistically compare is one at the end of its useful life with one that is "fully charged" so invariably unable to compare like for like. The slow drop in best performance of the premium (in household use over a longer period) probably does not help with this as tastebuds accommodate this subtle change which I suppose lends weight to the "best for commercial use" of the premium where throughput / length of time in use will be both higher and shorter. When new I recall there being a marked difference between the previous Brita purity quell 600 and the premium but suspect this also a change of brand / how the filter works / medium etc
> ...


Yeah we switched out premium as the extra Mg content doesn't play well with flow meters in our machine. Overall taste is basically the same but with slightly more clarity.

Commercial filters should really be used in places that get commercial use or you'll end up wasting up to 10L a purge. We plough through a 2XL in about 3months. That's about 500l a week on a tight bypass.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

BWT gifted one Bestmax S to me at this trade fair lst week. Met the guy today in the bank, he was like, oh so you're paying in your millions now? - Said I, sure am... and that's just because I didn't have to pay for the filter


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Hmm I might give this a go then. Due a change soon and would like to think the cheaper filter would not impact taste. Worth a go, will revert and report.


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## tj893 (Apr 17, 2020)

@fluffles

@Inglorious Alf

@Rhys

@johnealey

@RobW

Hi all, hope you don't mind me tagging you here! Feel free to ignore! Whilst researching BWT and making the decision of what cartridge to go for I noticed you were considering or had already made the switch from premium to standard.

I installed a bestmax standard V cartridge to a drinking tap a week or 2 back. Primarily for a Gaggia classic to avoid scaling but also to use for drinking water.

I understand the premium is marketed as the one with more pleasing taste, but do any of you use the standard for drinking water as well? I've found for me that at bypass 1 it's not a nice taste and it doesn't seem a good idea to use water that isn't great on its own to make coffee! Basically it's sour/salty- like the flavour you get with carbonated water. It's obvious and not just a subtle background.

At bypass 2 the flavour is much better with a hint of the above taste in the background which I can deal with.

Great then, but what about scaling? Looking at my bypass 2 results below I think I'm right in saying KH = 5deg/89ppm is on the high side with scaling in mind? Maybe the answer for me is to choose bypass 2 for better flavour and then just descale every 6 months, but I'm wondering if I should have gone for the premium where perhaps I could have got the KH lower whilst retaining a decent flavour.

Any of this sound familiar for your experience? Or maybe you've managed to get the KH low enough whilst drinking water still tasting fine...

API GH/KH drop test:

- Pre-filter:

GH: 22 German degrees / 392 ppm CaCO3

KH: 15 German degrees / 267 ppm CaCO3

- Bypass 1:

GH: 4 German degrees / 71 ppm CaCO3

KH: 3 German degrees / 53 ppm CaCO3

- Bypass 2:

GH: 6 German degrees / 107 ppm CaCO3

KH: 5 German degrees / 89 ppm CaCO3

The manual suggests that I should use bypass 2 because of KH=15 although KH=16 is bypass 1 so I'm just on the edge.

Waffling on, sorry!

An aside:

Strangely in the manual for bestmax standard the bypass tables use the "carbonate hardness" (I guess KH) as reference to choose the right setting, versus the premium cartridge manual which uses "total hardness" (I guess GH)...This would make the capacity massively different for me- standard cartridge 1490 (KH 15 and bypass 2) and premium cartridge 665 litres (GH 22 and bypass 1). Part of me wonders if it's a mistake but what do I know! Might contact BWT on Monday to check this.


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## Martin R (May 2, 2020)

An easier option is to use John Guest tubing and fortunately available now on e bay or Amazon but a cheap pipe cutter at same time and plumbing made near and easy.

I have sold and used both Brita and BWT both are great carbon and ion exchange filters ideally test your water source before deciding on which to go for and setting appropriate bypass. Remember no filter should be left regardless of water volumes longer than 12 months the activated silver in the carbon looses it anti bacterial properties over time. If left to long you can have more bacteria out of your filter than went in (remember chlorine is added by water authority to prevent bacterialogical growth and the carbon traps the chlorine and allows chlorine free water out ), the ion exchange resin can cause increase in chlorides which can just eat stainless steel or anything it comes into contact with the water becomes super aggressive.I

There is a calculation that can be done to establish how aggressive your water is and measure it on a Langlier index.

38 years of commercial experience is what I base these observations on


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## Martin R (May 2, 2020)

Blooming predictive text buy a cutter and plumbing becomes much easier


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## Martin R (May 2, 2020)

Ps BWT Filters do not have to stand vertical they are quite happy in horizontal position, if cupboard height an issue.

I use a Bestmax XL in a standard under sink cupboard to supply my brew bar at home Profited 700 \ Lelit Bianca \ LFPP Crem One and various pour over machines. All very happy on BWT


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## Martin R (May 2, 2020)

Profitec 700


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## tammma (May 27, 2019)

lake_m said:


> If it's 3/8" BSP (I think it is, someone may want to chime in here) - one of these should do it.
> 
> All Female - https://www.asap-supplies.com/equal-female-port-tee-piece-connection-434102
> 
> or F/M/M - https://www.advancedfluidsolutions.co.uk/38-bspt-equal-brass-tee-mxfxm-6732-p.asp


 @lake_m thank you, I've been hunting for a 3/8 MMF t piece. The best I could manage at b&q the other day was a 15mm T which was clearly useless.

This way I can take the cold supply and send it to a 3 way kitchen tap (cold, filtered, hot), all with minimal additional fittings. Brilliant!

Cheers!

Tammma


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

tammma said:


> @lake_m thank you, I've been hunting for a 3/8 MMF t piece. The best I could manage at b&q the other day was a 15mm T which was clearly useless.
> 
> This way I can take the cold supply and send it to a 3 way kitchen tap (cold, filtered, hot), all with minimal additional fittings. Brilliant!
> 
> ...


 Have you tried Screwfix? Think I got the majority of my fittings from there.


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## tammma (May 27, 2019)

Rhys said:


> Have you tried Screwfix? Think I got the majority of my fittings from there.


 Rhys - that is my next port of call on the weekend.

Looking at their website, their range is wider than B&Q, however all the Tee's they seem to stock there are in metric sizes. I found one that had a metric/metric/half inch outlet.

Fat lot of good that is to me when I am trying to plug in a 3/8 imperial tap fitting. I am almost 100% certain that the current coldwater braided flex hose from the tap is a 3/8 connection, meaning that the cold water supply must have a 3/8in male end attached to it.

I had no idea these imperial T pieces were so hard to source. Unfortunately the tap I bought did not supply a T piece with it.

I am not even trying to plumb a machine in. All I am trying to do is put in a bypass to a filter so that I can get a 3-way (Hot/Cold/Filter) kitchen tap going. My machine is on a island benchtop so its easier to keep refilling via the water tank...

I appreciate the screwfix suggestion though. If I get nowhere with that I will have to try the website that lake_m suggested. I am hoping that will do as it makes returns easier should the parts be incorrect etc etc.

Tammma

PS: I posted this pic last month in another thread and was advised that the shutoff valve is likely a 15mm (metric), not a 3/8 connection. That confused me somewhat, as presently I am almost certain the braided hose is a 3/8ths... (3/8F on the hose, 3/8M on top end of the valve fitting), as mentioned above.

Also those valves are nigh on impossible to turn with a flatbladed screwdriver to shut off. Any ideas anyone?! Thankfully there is a second (smaller) shutoff further down the cold supply. BUt unfortunately I still need to turn off the hot in order to replace the existing kitchen tap...

View attachment 49781


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## Northern_Monkey (Sep 11, 2018)

Might be easier to just get a new tee fitting with isolator above your current one and switch to push fit plastic for the filter head?

Thats what I did with mine.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-machine-valve-tee-15mm-x-15mm-x-/60723?tc=QA2&ds_kid=92700055281954514&ds_rl=1249404&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx7fIxbaW7gIVV4jVCh0o2AJcEAQYASABEgK_DPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/Mobile/en/John-Guest-38PF-x-34F-BSP-Straight-Adapter---CI321216FS/m-m-4300.aspx?PartnerID=22&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwaaeoreW7gIV2OFRCh1GCgn1EAQYBCABEgIrqfD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom


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