5 years w/o descaling?

[Bossman]

Hello,

I am in the process of buying a 5 year old V2. The pictures make it look like the machine has been taken very good care of, even the inside and the boilers look brand new - on the outside. The guy I am buying it from has has it hooked up to the filter and softener setup from Chris' Coffee the whole 5 years. He said he had to replace the heating element about a year ago and there was only a small amount of white fuz like scale on the element.

I am new to this, is it possible that a machine can go so long without a descale with that filter/softener setup? Should I plan on cracking it open and checking out the inside of the boilers before I use it? I am not very handy, so taking it apart and doing a full descale will be very difficult for me. I was not going to go the used route, but in my price range the V2 would destroy anything I could afford new.

[MDL]

It is possible that the boiler is just fine. It all depends on how it has been used. If the water was always softened and the owner flushed water from the steam boiler regularly it could be fine. My VII seven years old, has always been run using the CC softener system and the brew boiler has never been descaled and is doing fine.

When I first started to use the machine I did not regularly flush water out of the steam boiler. The steam boiler became very noisy when heating (a sure sign of scaling) and I descaled with white vinegar. After that time I have regularly flushed water through the steam boiler and it holds up just fine.

The answer to your questions is therefore "it depends on how the original owner has used the machine". I would think that your are in great shape is the steam boiler heats up without making loud clunking sounds (indicative of scale). Even if the steam boiler is scaled you can quite easily descale it.

Good luck...

[Bossman]

Thank you very much! I figured he knew more then me. :P

[peter]

@MDL; when you write "and the owner flushed water from the steam boiler regularly" are you referring to using the hot-water spout, or something different?

[MDL]

Yes, I mean running water out of the hot water spout. I run some water out of the spout to heat my cups every time I make a shot. In addition I use the hot water spout to fill the pitcher when I soak my portafilter, baskets and dispersion screens in Cafiza.

[chas]

This effect is largely due to the steam. Water with at least a small amount of minerals enters the boiler, steam aka distilled water exits. The minerals get left behind. So over the long haul you end up with a large mineral load in the boiler regardless of how soft the water that enters. The way to slow this effect way down is to pull a couple of cups of water from a plumbed unit or 1 cup from a Mini on a regular basis. If you make tea or obtain hot water for other drinks - or even oatmeal like I do - on a regular basis that is probably good enough.

[goodboyr]

In nuclear plants the boilers are demineralized the same way. Its called "blow down".

[Ch83]

I have a lot of steam that comes out with the water after a couple oz when I do that. Gets all over lol

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[bluesman13]

I purchased my Vivaldi in the early 2000s. I have never descaled and I have never used a water filter. Today, I installed a water filter from CC. I hardly use the steam boiler, but use the brew boiler everyday. I'm wondering I should descale? Suggestions?