Water Hardenss

[logicfix]

I'm looking at water filtration and softening systems, so I took some water to a pool place to get tested for hardness. I was told that my total hardness is 58 ppm, so I'm wondering if I need a softening system at all. What do you think?

P.S. 58 ppm / 17.1 = 3.39 grains.

[Niko]

I would put one in anyway, it slowly builds up in the boilers in the long run. I have one installed on my machines and I have softer water than you.




BTW, it averages around 9-12ppm over here.

[MDL]

I agree with Niko. Although your water is not terrible it is not super soft and you will develop scale over time. You can assemble a system for very little money if you buy the parts directly from http://www.wateranywhere.com/. If you want to make life "easy" buy the filter/softener system from Chris' Coffee and then buy all of your replacement parts (softener and carbon cartridges) from wateranywhere for a fraction of the cost at any of the coffee dealers.

I like the following test strips:

http://www.diywatertesting.com/sofchekx3.html

which I buy individually wrapped so that they don't get damp and stay reliable and fresh. They are much cheaper if you buy the bottles.

Good luck,
Mark