I may well have copied one of Dave’s comprehensive guides off here but here’s what I have on descaling:
DESCALING THE VESUVIUS V10
Dec 17, 2017#9
Most manufacturers don’t recommend descaling, unless done by professionals in the workshop. They get around it by saying boiler safe water or filtration should be used. The Vesuvius like all modern machines is a bit tricky as manufacturers have learned NOT to take the steam boiler water directly from the base of the boiler, for obvious reasons.
This makes the steam boiler much harder to descale as you cannot heat it up, turn off the machine, open the hot water tap and drain it fully. So any descaler you do get in there by filling the tank with it and allowing the boiler to autofill with descaler, is quite difficult to flush completely away. read about 12 litres of clean water to clean it all out!
With the brew boiler it’s extra tricky on all dual boiler systems, simply because you have to put the descaler in in short bursts (with a wait in between) and allow it to mix to get a concentration, and again flushing out in short bursts (and a wait in between) with clean water in the tank to get rid of it.
You can of course remove the heating elements as they are o rings and not the horrible teflon washers, re-lubricate them and re-tighten the heating elements (not to tight), however you would want to have a spare set of O rings from ACS (or elswhere) before you try that!
The other way is to open fittings on the top of each boiler and push a thin tube down into the boiler and use a large syringe to draw the descaler out.
A procedure that will eventually descale without tubes, syringes and removal of heating elements is below.
Descaling the Brew Boiler & Brew Pathway only
This is very simple to do and should not be neglected as you will get problems.
· Ensure the Steam/Hot Water boiler is switched on, but not calling for water!
· Dissolve about 20-30g of citric acid in 500ml of warm water
· Run this through the group in 15 second bursts, waiting 5 seconds between each burst. This ensures good mixing in the brew boiler and the whole brew pathway. Leave yourself about 100ml of descaler
· Load blind filter and perform a backflush, releasing the pressure very gradually
· SWITCH MACHINE OFF
· Leave the machine for 30 minutes.
· Switch the machine on, allow to warm up and run more descaler through the group and SWITCH MACHINE OFF
· Refill water tank with clean filtered water, place feed pipes back into tank.
· The brew boiler and brew pathway will need to be flushed through with clean water, until no descaler remains. The best method for this is to flush with clean water for 20 seconds and wait for 10 seconds and repeat until all traces of descaler have gone.
· Reload the blind filter, perform a couple of clean water backflushes, empty/clean the drip tray make an espresso and throw it away….and your ready to make coffee.
Important Note: If you do not use the machine as a Kettle, the water in the Steam boiler should be periodically replaced/refreshed. This can easily be done by occasionally running 300-500 ml of water from the hot water tap on a weekly or 2 weekly basis (it does depend on how much you steam). This is because gradually the electrolyte level in the steam water becomes more concentrated, plus the water becomes stale.
Descaling
Always use filtered water, as these only reduce scale you still need to descale often in hard water areas, and as/if required in very soft water areas or houses with a water softener. Descaling these machines is an easy process, to descale both the steam boiler and the brew boiler (pathway): With the machine at normal operating temperature and both boilers on, SWITCH OFF, place a 2-litre container under the hot water outlet (I use a cheap plastic cooks’ measuring jug) and open the hot water tap. This will drain 80% of the water in the tank (about 1 litre).
1. Keep about 900ml of the hot water you drained and add 50g-60g of Citric Acid Crystals, stir until dissolved (never add water to the crystals always add crystals to the water)
2. add another 600 ml of cold water to the container
3. Support container and insert the feed pipe into the container instead of the water tank (use the waste descaler to soak filter basket inserts (not the portafilters) when you have finished descaling.)
4. Switch machine back on and wait while boiler refills with descaling solution (opening the steam wand temporarily while the boiler is filling can speed up the process, remember to close it again though)
5. Allow machine to warm up for a few minutes (monitor pressure gauge carefully, if pressure goes into red open steam wand) and then draw about 50cc of hot water through the hot water outlet, to get some descaler in there
6. Run the rest of the descaler through the group in 15 second bursts, waiting 5 seconds between each burst. This ensures good mixing in the brew boiler and the whole brew pathway. Leave yourself about 100ml of descaler
7. Load blind filter and perform a backflush, releasing the pressure very gradually
8. SWITCH MACHINE OFF
9. Leave the machine for 30 minutes.
10. Switch the machine on, allow to warm up and run more descaler through the group and SWITCH MACHINE OFF
11. Wait 10-15 minutes, switch machine on and when at normal operating temperature (5-10 min), SWITCH OFF, place a container under the hot water outlet and open the hot water tap to drain tank.
12. Refill water tank with filtered water, place feed pipe back into tank.
13. Follow the steps for descaler in 11. but with fresh water in the tank (and no need to wait, because your not waiting for descaler to work). Repeat as necessary until no smell or taste of acidity remains.
14. The brew boiler and brew pathway will need to be flushed through with clean water, until no descaler remains. The best method for this is to flush with clean water for 20 seconds and wait for 10 seconds and repeat until all traces of descaler have gone.
15. Reload the blind filter, perform a couple of clean water backflushes, empty/clean the drip tray make an espresso and throw it away….and you’re ready to make coffee.
NB: Never let the water/descaling solution run out; otherwise, you may damage the pump (if it runs dry). Ensure all splashes are wiped down with a damp cloth to avoid damaging the finish.
Hopefully the above will help and ALWAYS lubricate the group cam and cam follower pins after descaling (make sure they are completely dry before lubricating and don’t over lubricate. Every part of the machine (with the exception of the group and thermosyphon pipes) are either PTFE or stainless including the solenoid valves. Even so regular descaling should be avoided, use boiler safe water.