Descaling Splendor

Cuir Beluga

Hi all, I figure it is about time to take the plunge and give the Splendor a descale.

Any how to/hints/tips brands of descaler anything like that would be appreciated.

Thanks .

Brett H

Yes.... Don't do it!  Use appropriately filtered water instead and let a technician check it over every few years with a service.  Unless you're electrically qualified overfilling the boiler is potentially messy and dangerous.

Cuir Beluga

Hmmm, thanks Brett, not what I was hoping to hear but I think then I will leave it to the experts and just get it done when it gets serviced. Although electrically I am covered with hubby being an electronic engineer and before that an electrician. Either way it still did look a bit daunting. I'm am using a Brita Maxtra filtering jug at present. Edit; How often is servicing recommended?

FreshCoffee2

Hi S, I am not a fan of descaling these type of machines unless it becomes necessary. The approach really is to feed it properly conditioned water and nothign else, to minimise the build up of scale in the first place. Do you know if your britta does scale inhibition? If not, then I would recommend you look into something that does scale inhibition. We usually attack scale only when its necessary, rather than do "descaling" as an arbitrary measure at arbitrary times. There is a lot of stuff written about descaling on the www, a lot of it horse poo  with people getting really worried by stuff that they shouldna oughta. Certainly you live in a location that is known for its water problems, but I can assure you it is far easier to apply a simple filtration system than it is to have to descale a machine. It could be as simple as, buying and fitting a filter bracket to the wall about your laundry sink, and running a flexible water line (with appropriate fittings) from the cold water tap to the filter, and just having a flexible pipe running out of the filter that you stick in a jug from which to add water to the reservoir of the machine...and of course it can be a lot more than that too. It can also be a useful drinking water fountain, to fill water jugs. And of course you can install something more technical under bench in the kitchen... Depends entirely on your brief but the point is, it can be simple and inexpensive. The filter needs to be so called "triple action". That is, it does, particles (obvious), odours (eg smell of chlorine) and scale inhibition. At an arbitrary interval, you unscrew the filter and chuck it in the bin, and screw a new one on. Its inexpensive and convenient enough, but there is not much point have a filter system that does NOT do scale inhibition, because that really is the point.... Hope that helps, and if you need any more advice dont hesitate to contact me 

Cuir Beluga

Thanks FC . This is the blurb from Brita. The filter material of the MAXTRA filter cartridge contains a mixture of ion exchange resins and activated carbon that has been tested to food grade quality. The ion exchange resin used reduces the carbonate hardness (limescale) and reduces metals, such as copper and lead, that can occur as a result of domestic installation. The activated carbon removes substances that may impair taste, such as chlorine and chlorine compounds (where present).

Brett H

Hi CB, I used this type of filter for my old Silvia and kettle.... It was not great and very expensive to replace monthly, comparatively.  Lots of stuff written about filtration but best bet is to follow FC's advice!  Spend a couple of hundred now on good water and save many more hundred later on repairs and replacements!

Cuir Beluga

Thanks Brett, it's always good to hear from others about these things. I'll have a look around to see what my options are. Thanks again .

FreshCoffee2

on 1457913407:

Thanks FC . This is the blurb from Brita. The filter material of the MAXTRA filter cartridge contains a mixture of ion exchange resins and activated carbon that has been tested to food grade quality. The ion exchange resin used reduces the carbonate hardness (limescale) and reduces metals, such as copper and lead, that can occur as a result of domestic installation. The activated carbon removes substances that may impair taste, such as chlorine and chlorine compounds (where present).

Aha. I dont know anything about the britta including what the on going cost of cartridge replacement might be over a period...say annually..., but here is what I do know: From the quote, "ion exchange resins" means it has water softening characteristics, which is good.  As they say, that reduces water hardness and therefore the amount of scale likely to form inside the machine. What you need to work out (from them), is how long the water softening properties of the cartridge are likely to last in your situation (ie your water). The ion exchange can only last until the resins become saturated, after which the water softening capacity of that particular cartridge is exhausted, at which point it needs to be ejected and replaced with a fresh one. What is the capacity / throughput of your water in litres through the britta cartridge, before it becomes saturated and the cartridge needs to be replaced? Same questions for any filter cartridge or water softener. Classic water softeners can be "recharged" or "regenerated" so they will go again and again, but the cartridge nature these modern things means they are a throw away jobbies. Wont go into "recharging" or "regeneration" here as it probably wont be relevant. Compare the capacity of your britta, to the capacity of some other type of triple action filter, the cost of replacement cartridges over a year in consideration of the capacity, and you will know which way to lean  oh I should have said: there are two ways to condition the water that you put into your machine, to lessen the amount of scale that will form: 1) is to use a water softener, which simply extracts the scale forming elements from the water before it is fed to the machine and 2) is to use a water filter that has scale "inhibititing" elements that are released into the water as it passes through the filter on its way to the machine, so the scale wont be formed there. \ Both have a finite life. The softener becomes saturated so cant continue (unless regenerated) to pull the scale forming elements from the water before it enters the machine...and the filter with scale inhibitor releases the inhibitor until it simply runs out of...inhibitor...after a certain throughput iof water. 2 separate ideas, same result, less scale in machine. Both need regular maintenance/replacement deoending on the quality of the input water from your area.

Cuir Beluga

Thanks again FC . The cartridges are good for 100 litres, they then need to be changed. I always keep 3 or 4 in the cupboard to make sure I don't run out. I'll get hubby to read your post when he has 5 minutes, it will probably make more sense to him. As a side we just had a look in our approx. 15 year old kettle and while there is some scale in there it certainly is minimal but hubby will have a better look at it once it is fully dried. I'm just trying to look at all options and trying to keep it as cheap as we can as we are currently without an income  :mad:.

Brett H

I use a single under sink cartridge system and some hardness test strips.  A quick eBay search reveals: http://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/182036936699 And http://www.ebay.com.au/ulk/itm/281214869742 I'd still get a plumbing shop or pool shop to test the water so you know what you're up against. I did the plumbing in of my unit ergo it would be a walk in the park for your tradesman husband.  You'll also get the benefit of filtered water from the filtered tap at a far cheaper price than your currently paying per jug!! A water filter also value-adds to your kitchen (or so I was told by a skanky real estate person).

Cuir Beluga

Thanks Brett, I've popped them on watch for hubby to have a look at .

Cuir Beluga

Hubby took these pics last night. It is the scale in my kettle of 15 years. It has never been descaled and I have only ever used water straight from the tap in it. Water indicator. Bottom of kettle. Proof of age  :rofl:.

FreshCoffee2

Looks pretty good, but I would still use the test strips to see what the water hardness index is like. Again I don't know thew diff in cost of running the britta VS a "conventional) triple action in line cartridge filter but I was at the office this morning and got some rough figures for the "small" set ups our workshop sells for under bench use. The kind of thing I described above that you could fit in your laundry (or even on the back wall of the house next to a garden tap) and just hook up to the tap when you want to use it (simplest / cheapest set up). Triple action filter, said to be good for "6 to 12 months". I would go the worst case scenario...you use little water (compared to a cafe set up) but say change the cartridge every 6 months to cover worst case water hardness, roughly $75.00 per cartridge. The cartridge is roughly 12 " long and 3" in diameter...possibly a lot bigger and with a lot more capacity than the Britta?). Head unit (screw to wall, filter se=crews into that) ...roughly, say $30.00. Comes with the in/out quick fit connectors. Say a meter of flexible hydraulic line to suit the quick fit connectors (say use 3/4 meter from tap to head unit, and 1/4 meter from the outlet that you stick in your jug to fill. Say, assorted fittings to connect hydraulic line to tap....roughly $25.00. Whatever that comes to...but remember after the first cost to set up, you only spend the $75.00 to buy a new cartridge every 6 months or $150.00 per year. How that compares to the Britta, I have no idea, and you could walk into your nearest water shop and price up something similar, given the local shop will have a fair idea what the local water is like... Hope that helps. 

Brett H

When I used the Maxtra filters it was about $150/year for cartridges and I needed to see scale my kettle and my Silvia.

Cuir Beluga

on 1458014422:

Looks pretty good, but I would still use the test strips to see what the water hardness index is like. Again I don't know thew diff in cost of running the britta VS a "conventional) triple action in line cartridge filter but I was at the office this morning and got some rough figures for the "small" set ups our workshop sells for under bench use. The kind of thing I described above that you could fit in your laundry (or even on the back wall of the house next to a garden tap) and just hook up to the tap when you want to use it (simplest / cheapest set up). Triple action filter, said to be good for "6 to 12 months". I would go the worst case scenario...you use little water (compared to a cafe set up) but say change the cartridge every 6 months to cover worst case water hardness, roughly $75.00 per cartridge. The cartridge is roughly 12 " long and 3" in diameter...possibly a lot bigger and with a lot more capacity than the Britta?). Head unit (screw to wall, filter se=crews into that) ...roughly, say $30.00. Comes with the in/out quick fit connectors. Say a meter of flexible hydraulic line to suit the quick fit connectors (say use 3/4 meter from tap to head unit, and 1/4 meter from the outlet that you stick in your jug to fill. Say, assorted fittings to connect hydraulic line to tap....roughly $25.00. Whatever that comes to...but remember after the first cost to set up, you only spend the $75.00 to buy a new cartridge every 6 months or $150.00 per year. How that compares to the Britta, I have no idea, and you could walk into your nearest water shop and price up something similar, given the local shop will have a fair idea what the local water is like... Hope that helps.

Thank you so, so much FC, that is brilliant as usual. I have some test strips on the way so we'll see what that tells us .

on 1458022775:

When I used the Maxtra filters it was about $150/year for cartridges and I needed to see scale my kettle and my Silvia.

Thanks Brett, at a guess I have spent around $110 ish so far including the jug. That is in approx. 9 months.