Yearly Maintenance?

[jmcphail]

I'm nearing 1 year with my VII and wondering if there are any PM items anyone can suggest?

I have the filter setup in line with the VII, so I know I need to check them, but I'm not sure what to check for? My wife and I make 10 or fewer drinks per day with our setup.

Gasket? Oil change? Batten down the hatches?

I'm overdue to disassemble the burr set on my CMH and do a thorough brushing and vacuum and Grindz treatment, so that's something I can focus on, too.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[PBL]

Congratulations! I have also had my V1 for one year today.

I can't think of anything it needs other than to keep on using it to make great coffee. PS other than to keep it as clean as possible and to change the big rubber gasket now and then.

[JohnB]

Mine will hit the 1 year mark on 1/02/09 but I don't have much planned outside of changing the carbon & softener filter. When the machine was down last July getting the box upgraded I opened up the boilers & cleaned off the steam boiler element. Also back in October I installed the spare group gasket as I was getting a slight dribble unless I cranked on the p/f harder then normal. You might consider dropping the screen in the hot water outlet if you've never cleaned it out.

[MDL]

I believe that most folks replace the softener and carbon cartridges every year (regardless of the use). I also presume that you have been monitoring the hardness of the water entering your Vivaldi to assure the degree to which your softener is functioning as desired? Depending on the hardness of your input water and the use of your machine you can exhaust the softener before 1 year.

If you search for earlier posts of mine you will find the specifics of the hardness test strips and replacement cartridges that I have used. The test strips have a wider range of colors making it easier to distinguish the hardness value (compared to some other strips that I have tried) and they are relatively inexpensive. Replacement cartridges are also much less expensive when purchased directly from a water treatment supplier instead of any coffee dealer.

test strip site: http://www.diywatertesting.com/sofchekx3.html

cartridge supplier: http://www.wateranywhere.com/

Take care,
Mark

[chas]

I am in the midst of a 2 year once over on my machine. Initially, I thought I'd take an afternoon and do everything at once. However, I have ended up working on things piece meal. I changed out both my cartridges due to being about a year old. Nothing other than time was a factor. Hardness was still fine. My water is moderately soft to begin with so a cartridge lasts a very long time based on hardness tests alone.

I also changed my group gasket since it has been dribbling for a couple of months. I knew it shouldn't be cracked and dried out based on time and it wasn't. Turns out when I installed it I didn't get it in quiet straight and one edge had rolled under. It wasn't a matter of just putting it back on correctly since it had taken a set in that shape. The new gasket has resolved that issue.

I also plan to give it a full "cover off" inspection one day next week. I will check all the main electrical connectors, especially the spade lug crimp connectors, and replace any that don't look nearly perfect. I will check the steam boiler bolts to see if any are loose, as well as other bolts such as the one that holds the cap onto the motor. I am getting a little vibration noise that I hope is due to something being a bit loose.

The Steam arm is also dripping a bit around the nut that holds the ball joint. I could probably just tighten that and be done with it, but I think I'll take that joint apart, check for particles, and verify that the O rings and gaskets are still in good shape.

I will also blow out the inside with a can of compressed air and wipe everything down that I can easily get to. I do have a gasket for the steam boiler so I could pop the top and do a descale. Part of me is curious to see what the element looks like after 25 months of use. However, I have no symptoms indicating that a descale is required, so I can easily talk myself out of that step.

Lastly, I plan to drop the knurled nuts down inside the machine at least twice while trying to get the covers back on and curse liberally while doing so.

[Niko]

Lastly, I plan to drop the knurled nuts down inside the machine at least twice while trying to get the covers back on and curse liberally while doing so.

I'm already ahead of you on this one

[JohnB]

Lastly, I plan to drop the knurled nuts down inside the machine at least twice while trying to get the covers back on and curse liberally while doing so.

I forgot about that, it's probably a good idea to do this every time you have the covers off.

[Richard]

cartridge supplier: http://www.wateranywhere.com/

Thanks for the reminder about this source for filters and softeners. Sometime last year I ordered two softener cartridges and two 10-micron carbon block filter cartridges from wateranywhere (shipping for two pair is more efficient).

Yesterday it was time to change them. When I cut the sealed plastic bag the softener was in, the dank smell of a biology experiment gone bad was overwhelming. It had clearly been contaminated. The new softener and carbon block filter (unopened) went right to the dumpster.

I ordered replacements from Chris' Coffee, known to be a good albeit not inexpensive source.

Anyone know of sources other than wateranywhere?

[JohnB]

Richard - Sent you a PM

[Niko]

I've ordered from wateranywhere also, last year and recently but I haven't run into the problem like Richard.
That's kind of scary. I installed a pair back in August and another pair last month, the filters didn't smell or look bad in any way. That must've been a bad batch, did you call or send an email to the company, Richard? Maybe it's not worth the trouble since you needed filters fast and don't the time to deal with it - I know I probably wouldn't bother (out of laziness on my part ).

[MDL]

From my laboratory experience I can say that ion exchange resins tend to be hygroscopic and can grow nasty stuff (hence replacing the cartridge every year). I have had no issues with the cartridges that I have ordered from wateranywhere. There are other water treatment companies on the web that you can order from for less than any of the coffee suppliers. The coffee places need to buy the materials from one of the water treatment companies and they mark them up. I found wateranywhere using a google search; they are close to me and inexpensive, so I picked them. If you do a google search I'm sure that you will find alternative suppliers that you could try.

One thought given Richard's experience is that it may not be a good idea to stockpile these cartridges. Home Depot has a carbon cartridge for $12 that will fit our filter holders. I did not look for softener cartridges at Home Depot.

Good luck,
Mark

[Niko]

I didn't stockpile too many (just an extra set) - but they did keep for a year. No reason they shouldn't last but one thing I did note about a softener cart last year, it was damp and the paperwork was wet that was wrapped in the plastic. I used that filter first since I wanted to keep the dry one in storage. Luckily it didn't smell funky so it was installed right away.

[jmcphail]

Good suggestions everyone, thanks!

[JohnB]

From my laboratory experience I can say that ion exchange resins tend to be hygroscopic and can grow nasty stuff (hence replacing the cartridge every year). I have had no issues with the cartridges that I have ordered from wateranywhere. There are other water treatment companies on the web that you can order from for less than any of the coffee suppliers. The coffee places need to buy the materials from one of the water treatment companies and they mark them up. I found wateranywhere using a google search; they are close to me and inexpensive, so I picked them. If you do a google search I'm sure that you will find alternative suppliers that you could try.

One thought given Richard's experience is that it may not be a good idea to stockpile these cartridges. Home Depot has a carbon cartridge for $12 that will fit our filter holders. I did not look for softener cartridges at Home Depot.

Good luck,
Mark

I checked at Lowes yesterday but they only had the carbon filter. I also Googled & found a few other filter suppliers with better shipping deals but either they didn't carry the softener cartridge or their prices were much higher which canceled out the shipping savings. In the end I ordered 1 of each cartridge for the CC set up from Wateranywhere & stocked up on sediment filters for the whole house system.