Effect of descaling solution on vibratory pump and OPV valve

AlfredB

I asked about this on HB, but I am really curious to hear what the folks here think.

As far as descaling a single boiler machine like the Puristika, one can go either of two ways. A traditional flash descale where you fill the water reservoir with prediluted solution and run the pump to fill the boiler with the descaler. The advantage - you get to disolve scale throughout the machine. The disadvantage - perhaps some seals are susceptible to being attacked by the citric acid.

The other way is to remove fittings atop the boiler and pour the solution straight in. There is also a drain valve on the bottom of the boiler that gets rid of the descaler without multiple rinse cycles. I don’t really feel comfortable taking the copper pipes atop the boiler off, so I am going to opt out for the flash descale.

However, knowing that citric acid also strips lubrication, I am concerned about the solution going through the vibratory pump. Not sure if the various parts of the pump that come into contact with the water are themselves lubricated and can be stripped bare? Also wondering the same thing about the adjustable OPV valve?

Any advice would be highly appreciated!

Cuprajake

Best way is to use water that doesnt scale

Dr pavliss recipe.

Ive never had to descale a machine because of this.

As for your questions, not a clue sorry

AlfredB

Cuprajake

Best way is to use water that doesnt scale

Dr pavliss recipe.

Thanks Cuprajake. Not a hassle I am willing to go through. I use filtered tap water and ECM branded in-tank softener. However, some scale might still be forming.

dfk41

AlfredB Hi, just my take on this matter. In June 2021 I bought a new coffee machine, a twin boiler. Unfortunately neither boilers had drain valves on. This meant I had 2 options. Being not mechanically gifted, put in tap water knowing that at least once every couple of years finding an engineer willing to collect my 50 kg machine, strip it down then remove both boilers then service and rebuild, or option B which was to buy a countertop Reverse Osmosis system.
I initially bought an Osmio Zero system which was British made and expensive. It broke after 3 years so I researched and bought this as a replacement
https://shorturl.at/nm5bs
They are a global company and the price fluctuates daily. It seems that £249.99 is the best price so if you go for it remember to check daily. This solution means that you can basically forget about ongoing water issues and the need to descale. You may be able to effect your own servicing. I could not, so for me it was a no brainer

Cuprajake

Ok then 😅 enjoy your descaling hassle 🤯🤷

DavecUK

I’ve not known descaling cause any problems with the pumps…I have certainly put citric acid descaler in the tank and pumped it through. It’s better to use water that requires no, or very infrequent descaling.

AlfredB

DavecUK

Thanks Dave!

Do you know if the OPV valve has lubricant inside? The reason I am asking is it felt harder to turn right (almost stuck) after the descale. However, this might be due to the fact that I hadn’t fiddled with it for two years or so. At the moment I am able to adjust the pump pressure with it.

AlfredB

DavecUK

It’s better to use water that requires no, or very infrequent descaling.

I might have pulled this off, actually - I use Chicago tap water (around 150 ppm and filtered of course) which I soften with the ECM in-tank softener pouches (I believe ECM no longer sells them, but it is probably a rebranded Bilt Oscar). That brings my water down to about 70-80 ppm.

Jason1wood

Purchased a Waterdrop on David’s advice and never looked back. 👏

DavecUK

AlfredB Do you know if the OPV valve has lubricant inside?

The expansion valve will have lubricant on the O ring inside which forms a seal to prevent water passing the twp sliding pieces of the valve when the valve opens to release excess pressure. This O ring of course is only required to stop low pressure water leaking, so it goes down the silicone pipe attached to the expansion valve..

AlfredB

DavecUK

Thank you, Dave 😊

Do you think I need to take it apart (have not done it yet) post descale and relube or it is not necessary?

Thanks again!

DavecUK

AlfredB Do you think I need to take it apart (have not done it yet) post descale and relube or it is not necessary?

usually not necessary because nothing passes that O ring to wash away any lube…is the expansion valve leaking at the point where the pieces slide?

AlfredB

DavecUK

Thanks Dave, really appreciate it!

I have not seen any leaks, however, I have not opened the machine, but I am sure a leak would eventually manifest itself through the bottom of the machine, if it were present.