Steam Boiler De-Scaling
Posted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 3:14 pm
My water softner stopped softening, and I didn't realize it. I found out what had happened when the steam boiler got noisy. I wound up de-scaling the steam boiler, which eliminated the noise. Here are some details:
I normally check the water quality at the beginning of each month. I forgot to do it a month ago. I began to notice noise when the steam boiler heater was on. The noise is a hard rapping/banging sound, as you might observe when a steam kettle is just getting up to a boil. I was pretty surprised that there would be a scale buildup in what must be less than two months of operation with hard water, but our water is very hard and it obviously happened.
I called Chris Coffee to discuss the problem, and talked to Jason. He was very helpful and gave me a very simple way to handle the situation. I got through to a competent tech in about one minute; it is so nice to have this kind of support!!
To de-scale, I took the top metal grate off the machine (one Phillips screw). I removed the overpressure valve, which is located on the top of the steam boiler. I needed a 20mm deep socket to get at it from the top. There are three sets of wrench flats on the overpressure valve assembly. I used the top flats and needed to apply almost no torque to remove the valve, as it is screwed into the boiler using teflon tape - there was no danger, at least in the case of my machine, of accidentally dis-assembling the overpressure valve by not using the flats nearest the boiler (which would only have been accessible with an end wrench, which would have required taking the covers off the machine). I siphoned the contents of the boiler, which amounted to a bit over 16 oz. of fluid, using a 1/2" O.D./3/8" I.D. clear, flexible plastic hose. Using a long-neck plastic funnel, I poured in a bit over 3 pints of a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar, which was near-boiling hot. I let it sit for a half hour. I siphoned and repeated the process two more times. (When I siphoned off the solution the second and third times, I notice a slight blue tinge to the solution, probably indicating that I was down to exposed copper. Presumably the heating element is made of copper - I couldn't see it using this de-scaling method. I don't know what else it would be, since the boiler itself is nickel.) I replaced the overpressure valve, re-applying teflon tape. I turned the machine on and flushed the steam boiler repeatedy until I got out all of the smell and taste.
The noise is gone, and it was a surprisingly easy job. I think that if I ever need to de-scale the brew boiler, it would be similiarly easy. There is what appears to be a plugged access hole right on top of the boiler. I think the procedure would be the same, except I would need a much smaller plastic hose.
I have new sofner elements coming from Chris Coffee. Jason told me that there is a description on their web site of how to re-generated the softner element and save some money. I cannot find it. Anybody here have a procedure for re-generating a softner element, or who can point me to the right part of the Chris Coffee web site?
I normally check the water quality at the beginning of each month. I forgot to do it a month ago. I began to notice noise when the steam boiler heater was on. The noise is a hard rapping/banging sound, as you might observe when a steam kettle is just getting up to a boil. I was pretty surprised that there would be a scale buildup in what must be less than two months of operation with hard water, but our water is very hard and it obviously happened.
I called Chris Coffee to discuss the problem, and talked to Jason. He was very helpful and gave me a very simple way to handle the situation. I got through to a competent tech in about one minute; it is so nice to have this kind of support!!
To de-scale, I took the top metal grate off the machine (one Phillips screw). I removed the overpressure valve, which is located on the top of the steam boiler. I needed a 20mm deep socket to get at it from the top. There are three sets of wrench flats on the overpressure valve assembly. I used the top flats and needed to apply almost no torque to remove the valve, as it is screwed into the boiler using teflon tape - there was no danger, at least in the case of my machine, of accidentally dis-assembling the overpressure valve by not using the flats nearest the boiler (which would only have been accessible with an end wrench, which would have required taking the covers off the machine). I siphoned the contents of the boiler, which amounted to a bit over 16 oz. of fluid, using a 1/2" O.D./3/8" I.D. clear, flexible plastic hose. Using a long-neck plastic funnel, I poured in a bit over 3 pints of a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar, which was near-boiling hot. I let it sit for a half hour. I siphoned and repeated the process two more times. (When I siphoned off the solution the second and third times, I notice a slight blue tinge to the solution, probably indicating that I was down to exposed copper. Presumably the heating element is made of copper - I couldn't see it using this de-scaling method. I don't know what else it would be, since the boiler itself is nickel.) I replaced the overpressure valve, re-applying teflon tape. I turned the machine on and flushed the steam boiler repeatedy until I got out all of the smell and taste.
The noise is gone, and it was a surprisingly easy job. I think that if I ever need to de-scale the brew boiler, it would be similiarly easy. There is what appears to be a plugged access hole right on top of the boiler. I think the procedure would be the same, except I would need a much smaller plastic hose.
I have new sofner elements coming from Chris Coffee. Jason told me that there is a description on their web site of how to re-generated the softner element and save some money. I cannot find it. Anybody here have a procedure for re-generating a softner element, or who can point me to the right part of the Chris Coffee web site?