Mini Maintenance

[Endo]

I didn't see any instructions in my Mini Vivaldi owners manual for backflushing and descaling. Can someone provide guideance in terms of method and frequency?

[Niko]

La Spaziale does not recommend backflushing or descaling. You can follow the same procedure we do for the S1 on backflushing. The manufacturer supplies those hideous BBQ style wire brushes for scrubbing the group and screens at the end of each day
I wouldn't get within 10m (33 ft ) with that contraption!

Backflushing is a must for me, just plain water (about 3 times) daily until the grinds disappear out of the blind basket. Detergent once a month or 6 weeks is good for home use depending on your usage. Cafiza every 120 shots (or so) does the trick for me.

[Endo]

I used to do water backflushes every couple of days on my old Silvia. I would do a detergent backfush (Cafiza) and then a screen and diffuser removal evey two weeks or so. I'd do a descaling (Dezcal) every 6 months on my Silvia (the water is very hard in my area).

Since the Mini Vivaldi is a pour-over, has a 3-way valve and sealed boiler (just ike the Silvia), why should I not use my same backflushing and descaling routine. I'm confused.

[Niko]

You should use the same routine as you did with Miss Silvia
Everybody on this forum backflushes their machines, I don't think anyone uses that wire brush.

[Endo]

I'm OK with the water backflushes since I can't see any harm it would do as long as you are careful not to go too long (I use about 5 seconds or so). I figure it's a good way to flush the 3-way valve clean.

The detergent backflush every few weeks should not be too bad either. It'll flush out the coffee oils not cleaned out by the water flush. This should be no different than the Silvia.

I'm more concerned with putting descaler in the resevoir which will pull it into both boilers. I haven't heard of anyone doing this before with a Vivaldi, but since it's only citric acid, I can't see it doing much harm.

I'll ask over at CoffeeGeek and see if the wider audience has any experience with double boiler descaling.

[JohnB]

Since the group boiler will easily come apart why not just add the descaler solution directly to the steam boiler. Remove a couple fittings on top, pour it in through one while the other bleeds off air. Personally if I was going to have to regularly descale that machine I would add a drain plug or drain valve to the lower side of the boiler. Check out the nice drains in the pics of Andy's new Speedster on H-B.

As far as detergent backflushes go you will find that once ever 4 weeks is often enough.

[zoey]

My routine:

Every Monday I pull the screens/brass diffuser and scrub them down (Not with the BBQ brush). I also wipe out the group, empty and wash the water reserve/drip tray. Once a month I use Cafiza to back flush. I back flush with water (5 times) about every third day.

I have extremely soft water so I don't deal with descaling.

[Endo]

Zoey,

I used your exact routine for my first cleaning and water backflushing. I like the easy screen/brass diffuser removal for cleaning. I'll do a Cafiza backflush in a month.

I'm not sure what I'll do yet when it comes time for descaling. I guess I'll deal with that when it arrives in 6 months.

[MDL]

I would urge you to check the hardness of your water and then to soften appropriately so that you can essentially avoid the need to descale. We have not seen a post stating the cost of a mini steam boiler, but I am going to guess that it costs enough that you want to avoid having to buy one. Since it is inconvenient to descale the next best thing would seem to be preventing the need, or at least making the interval as long as possible.

I have a VII that I bought in April '07. The machine runs off a softener system that I bought from Chris when I purchased the machine. I have no indication of scale and have not descaled.

Good luck,
Mark

[Endo]

Mark, that sounds like very good advice. I'll look at buying some softened water.

Still, in 6 months (or perhaps a year) I'll need to decide if I want to pour some Dezcal in the resevoir or just skip it all together.

[zoey]

Just an FYI~ I talked to the folks at Chris's about using Cafiza and they indicated that it should not be used more than (at most) once per month. My Palm Pilot reminds me to do it

I resolved my water issue by cranking up the house water softener. I'm running about a 1 right now It's so soft that when you wash your hands, it still feels like you have soap on them after rinsing.

[Endo]

That's the plan. I'll do the screen/diffuser removal method every day or so as recommended by LaSpaziale. This works well and seems to be the recommended method from the manufacturer. I'll also do a water backflush once a week or so to keep the 3-way clean.

I'll hold off on the chemicals for now but I may do a Cafiza backflush in every couple of months and soak my screens/diffuser and PFs at the same time.

I'll avoid using tap water and try to find a soft water source (8L jug for the fridge with a tap on the front). I plan on going to the wine/beer making store. They seem to know lots about water, they have testers and distilled water (if I need it).

I won't descale but put the money I save on Dezcal towards a new boiler in 10 years.

[chas]

That's the plan. I'll do the screen/diffuser removal method every day or so as recommended by LaSpaziale. This works well and seems to be the recommended method from the manufacturer. I'll also do a water backflush once a week or so to keep the 3-way clean.

I don't have a Mini manual handy at the moment. However, if the above is what it says about cleaning the screen and diffuser that often, then they must have lifted the text straight from the "Maxi" manual. LaSpaziale designed the original S1 for light commercial use which is why they recommend the cleaning method and schedule that they do. However, the S1 found its niche in even lighter home use. To me cleaning that often makes no sense and even more so with the Mini.

I only drop my screens for a cleaning every couple of weeks and, while it needs cleaning at that point, it's usually not too bad. Of course, that is probably due to the other part of my cleaning regimen. After every shot or series of shots, if I am pulling more than one back-to-back, I do a forward flush while running a Pallo brush vigorously over the shower screen and around the gasket. I have programmed the Single Cup button for a full 4oz and use that for this procedure.

[Niko]

Same here.
My VII has over 10,000 shots pulled on it, yes I am insane for keeping a shot count but I do it for maintenance reasons.
I drop the screens every week for a Cafiza bath (30 minutes) and I install the second set while that's happening, I bought a another diffuser so there's no down time
I brush the screens between each and every shot pulled, my Pallo brushes have a lot of miles on them.
I don't plan on descaling either machine, that's what the softeners job is - to keep this from happening. Also, you'll know when an S1 or Mini needs descaling by the sound alone. I will try and upload a video clip of how a scaled up S1 sounds, trust me it's reted "R" for violence.

[chas]

I have one of those room humidifiers that boils the water to produce steam. I can tell when it needs descaling about the same way as on the Vivaldi. It goes from very quiet when boiling with a clean element to being a gurgling fool when the element is clogged with minerals. My original S1 was in that state when I sold it after 3+ years. So far, my VII is still quiet after 25 months.

[JohnB]

I resolved my water issue by cranking up the house water softener. I'm running about a 1 right now It's so soft that when you wash your hands, it still feels like you have soap on them after rinsing.

Yum! Sounds tasty. You can use up to 50PPM & still keep the machine happy. I run around 80PPM through mine as I prefer the taste.

[Endo]

Hey !

Dave from the UK wrote up a great article on descaling the Mini (Thanks Dave).

http://coffeetime.wikidot.com/s1-mini-vivaldi-descaling

It's a bit more work since it's a sealed unit with no drain, but it's not too bad.

[JohnB]

You don't have any choice as far as descaling your Mini but I'd never use the same method he links to for descaling the S1. The S1 boiler is easily removed & disassembled so why would anyone do a hit or miss acid descale. The first time your Mini needs a descale remove the tank & have a welding shop install a threaded fitting so you can add a drain plug. Descaling will be much easier after that.

[zoey]

Yea, I hear you about the taste being affected by super soft water. But, I'll suffer a little to keep the machine as safe as possible.

FWIW~ I have found that when I use larger amounts of coffee in the PF, more grinds will build up in the screens (around 19.9g). In a commercial setting I could see the need to clean the screens on a daily basis. For home use, cleaning daily is unnecessary.