@Rob1, what dose of Potassium Bicarbonate would you add to a 5 litre bottle of Ashbeck ?

  • MWJB replied to this.

    @PortafilterProcrastinator , it’s good practice to empty the service boiler regularly.

    When the service boiler is up to pressure, turn machine off and empty as much out of the boiler as you can via the HW tap, turn machine back on and let it come up to pressure again , rinse and repeat twice.

    This should help flush the solids from the boiler than can promote scaling.

    I do it monthly.

    Watching this thread with interest. I’ve got a Skuma RO water unit on order but won’t be delivered until June. Was planning on grabbing a Minima over the next few weeks but wondering whether I might be better holding off until I’ve got the Skuma.

      DavecUK Yes - I hadn’t considered them overrunnung on the schedule…

      I live near a Waitrose so can get hold of Lockhills, but live closer to a Tesco so use Ashbeck in the Bambino.

      Thing is the Bambino is starting to leak when tge steam wand purges and it is within warrantee period so timing wise if I get a brand new replacement I could sell it on quite easily which takes a big chunk off the Minima…

          Hmmmm. OK need to think about this carefully in that case.

          Might be a case of bittled water with bicarb until the Skuma comes

          Waitforme Ashbeck is about 20mg/l alkalinity, you want 40-50mg/l. Let’s call it 45mg/l for arguments sake.

          Sodium bicarbonate added to water gives a result of about 60% as alkalinity.

          So divide 25 (20mg/l you already have, plus what you need to hit 45mg/l) by 60 and you get 40mg/l of sodium bicarbonate, multiply this by 5l and you add 200mg to 5l of Ashbeck. Use 0.01g scales to measure this out.

              Thanks @MWJB .

              I’ll give this a go, I wonder if I’ll taste any difference 🤔

              Without hijacking the thread, you may also want to look at Rob’s excel

              MWJB Could you post your carefully researched and updated excel here as well please? You may also consider linking it to your signature!

                  LMSC There isn’t really much need for a spreadsheet when discussing bottled water for boilers. Use Waitrose Essentials Lockhills. If you can’t find it/it’s too inconvenient to source, use Volvic.

                    MWJB Waitforme Ashbeck is about 20mg/l alkalinity, you want 40-50mg/l. Let’s call it 45mg/l for arguments sake.

                    Sodium bicarbonate added to water gives a result of about 60% as alkalinity.

                    So divide 25 (20mg/l you already have, plus what you need to hit 45mg/l) by 60 and you get 40mg/l of sodium bicarbonate, multiply this by 5l and you add 200mg to 5l of Ashbeck. Use 0.01g scales to measure this out.

                    Topped up the machine this morning with Ashbeck + 0.2gm added to the Ashbeck 5l container.

                    I was amazed at how little 0.2gm actually is, I was thinking it’d be about a teaspoonful at least 😲

                      10 days later

                      Just seen Lakeland are doing this Zero Water Filter for a pretty decent price. If I’ve understood correctly using this with Waitrose Lockhills water should be fine as water for a Minima without the need to add anything else (whilst I wait for my Skuma RO unit)?

                      https://www.lakeland.co.uk/26312/ZeroWater-5-Stage-Water-Filter-Jug-with-Free-TDS-Meter-2.8L?src=gfeed&gclid=CjwKCAiAz--OBhBIEiwAG1rIOpP4iA1ah4gNAjOUDw9RMhiqdALO6jlyCQ8mBKOtJOUAZ1dqpAFeJBoC3kkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

                      Legend - thanks mate. That makes life very easy

                      I wouldn’t use a Zero jug & Lockhills. It makes more sense to use the Zero jug with harder water, like your tap water, then mx to get around 50mg/l alkalinity.

                        Do people generally use strips for testing their water or are there digital readers that anyone could recommend?

                          dutchy101 Do people generally use strips for testing their water or are there digital readers that anyone could recommend?

                          I believe Rob likes to look at a strip! 🤔

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