Greetings all,
I am a new Mini Vivaldi owner and new to this forum.
My question is can a Mini Vivaldo be de scaled in the same manner an E61 machine can be? That is, pour some de scaling detergent into the water revservoir and run the machine?
I read Endo's detailed de scale procedure and its very helpful. I am just wondering if there is also an easy method without draining the boiler. I live in an area that has very hard water and this is one of my main concerns.
On that note, is distilled reverse osmosis water the best to use or is filtered Brita water ok?
Thanks for the helo
Tom
Beginner has a question about de scaling
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Endo
Re: Beginner has a question about de scaling
When you put descaler in the reservoir, it will be pushed into both boilers and mix with the existing water there, diluting the concentration of the acid and making it less effective. Since the brew boiler is small, it may work to a certain extent for this boiler, but then you also have the problem of running enough fresh water through it afterward to remove all aftertaste. This can often take longer the 1 min max on the vibe pump, so you might need to do it a several times.
The steam boiler is much bigger and so it it almost impossible replace all the water with scaler. You may say to use a more concentrated descaler so it won't become as diluted, but this can damage some components, like the chrome plating on the water inlet in the reservoir. You need to drain this boiler and add the solution through the vacuum breaker (very easy).
In any case, the liquid descaling is only of limited effectiveness. It will remove light scale film on the heating element but not any thicker buildup on the walls, so you would need to do it frequently to have any preventative effect.
Your best bet is to use a 50/50 mix of RO and tap water, a reservor softening catridge or best of all, a 10" undersink softener running to a mini sized tap next to your regular faucet. Regular Brita filters will drop the hardness by about 30% the first few weeks, but drop down to almost zero after a month since they have only a small volume of softener along with the charcol and fitler elements. The stock $25 BestCup reservoir softeners are best, but costly at $100 per year. I believe the Rancilio Silivia rechargeable softener at $20 may be the cheapest option (that's what I use).
Unless you go wih pure RO water (which is tasteless and causes corrosion), you will eventually need to manually descale. (Usually after 2 or 3 years max). It's actually a pretty easy task once you done it once. Only a few tools needed and about 1 hr of time. Just take it slow and read the online guide first to get familiar.
The steam boiler is much bigger and so it it almost impossible replace all the water with scaler. You may say to use a more concentrated descaler so it won't become as diluted, but this can damage some components, like the chrome plating on the water inlet in the reservoir. You need to drain this boiler and add the solution through the vacuum breaker (very easy).
In any case, the liquid descaling is only of limited effectiveness. It will remove light scale film on the heating element but not any thicker buildup on the walls, so you would need to do it frequently to have any preventative effect.
Your best bet is to use a 50/50 mix of RO and tap water, a reservor softening catridge or best of all, a 10" undersink softener running to a mini sized tap next to your regular faucet. Regular Brita filters will drop the hardness by about 30% the first few weeks, but drop down to almost zero after a month since they have only a small volume of softener along with the charcol and fitler elements. The stock $25 BestCup reservoir softeners are best, but costly at $100 per year. I believe the Rancilio Silivia rechargeable softener at $20 may be the cheapest option (that's what I use).
Unless you go wih pure RO water (which is tasteless and causes corrosion), you will eventually need to manually descale. (Usually after 2 or 3 years max). It's actually a pretty easy task once you done it once. Only a few tools needed and about 1 hr of time. Just take it slow and read the online guide first to get familiar.
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tommytt
Re: Beginner has a question about de scaling
Thanks for the info Endo
Much appreciated
Tom
Much appreciated
Tom
Re: Beginner has a question about de scaling
And keep in mind that most cleaner/detergent products like CleanCaf etc have virtually no descaling power. You'll need to use something like citric acid or vinegar.tommytt wrote: Pour some de scaling detergent into the water revservoir and run the machine?
good luck