Any pictures for us? I just emailed my dealer and asked if they had received the new wand. Did they also send a new monting block for the hot water wand?
I had the opportunity to talk to the Franke/La Marzocco tech specialist last week and asked if he thought this would be a free upgrade. His reply was, "I can't imagine that it would be," but he had no actual information.
I use city water softened and filtered by the system that Chris Coffee sells. I have an Astra Gourmet, and after about 3 years the gasket between the boiler and the heating element needed replacing. I was able to check out the heating element and the interior of the boiler--no scale at all! So, if you use good water you'll be in good shape. I presume I will never have to descale my machine. Rob
Rob, Thanks for posting this info about the softener/filter from Chris Coffee. I have the same and it's good to know that it works well. I do test my water every month and so far so good. I'll probably change out the filters at the recommended time though. Another good reason for plumbing an espresso machine (GS/3 or whatever). I think it's a much better long term solution for keeping the "innards" clean.
For me, plumbing my espresso machine was the best thing I ever did. I am no plumber, but Chris Coffee walked me through every step. The fittings that they sell are so easy to use that I was done running the 14 ft line from my under sink cold water supply through the filters to my GS/3 in less than an hour. I had a Silvia for a while and refilling the reservoir got to be a pain and I was always skimping on using water for cleaning because I didn't want to refill so much. Now, with the plumbed GS/3, I can use water out of the group and the water dispenser with reckless abandon. Recently, I have been using 18oz. from the water dispenser for press pot coffee.
When my GS/3 was installed, the technician was kind enough to test the water from my filter system as well as the Crystal Geyser I had been planning to use exclusively based on the insanely long water faq. As I recall, the filtered water was at ~180 (don't recall the units but assume hardness) and the CG ~50 and he recommended mixing them about half and half, which I have been doing since that recommendation.
I received a Hach 5B kit yesterday and tested the Crystal Geyser from 2 separate bottles and both registered 8 grains/gal which I think converts to 137 mg/l. I tested the filtered and the tap water and they were the same, 10 grains/gal (171mg/l).
Doesn't a hardness level of 8 gr/gal seem a little high for CG? I suppose it varies from lot to lot but am a little surprised to find this. I am concerned that I have been accumulating a significant scale buildup and am worried. I think I will have to begin mixing it with RO water.
Doesn't a hardness level of 8 gr/gal seem a little high for CG? I suppose it varies from lot to lot but am a little surprised to find this. I am concerned that I have been accumulating a significant scale buildup and am worried. I think I will have to begin mixing it with RO water.
I think you want to shoot for 3 gr/gal and no more. Which means that you add just enough tap water to RO water for the color to turn from pink to blue on the third drop. Make sure you swirl the test tube well with each additional drop.
I received a Hach 5B kit yesterday and tested the Crystal Geyser from 2 separate bottles and both registered 8 grains/gal which I think converts to 137 mg/l. I tested the filtered and the tap water and they were the same, 10 grains/gal (171mg/l).
This sounds close to my situation. I have very hard tap water too. Somewhere around 250 mg / L. I only need to add 12 ounces of tap water to an entire gallon of RO water to get to the 3 grains / gallon. If you have 10 grains / gallon, then that means each .1 gallon has 1 grain. So you only need to add a little less than .3 gallon to an entire gallon of RO water. What I would do, is to be on the safe side, and also figuring that your actually only mixing 1 gallon at a time, not 1 + .3, mix the following and see how it tests.
.75 gallon RO water, to .25 gallon of tap water.
If that doesn't work try going down or up on the amount of tap water depending on what the test shows.
I set aside sturdy 1 gallon containers that are going to last. The RO water source probably sells them. They have a big mouth opening and threaded cap like the 5 gallon jug. This makes it easy to put some tap water in first, and then pour from the big 5 gallon container. But it definitely takes strength to manually pour from the 5 gallon container. Some people have those 5 gallon jug stands that have the spout and all, but I don't. But the 5 gallon container will easily last all week or maybe more. And their only $1.25 to refill.
BTW, the GS3 has a massive reservoir and perhaps I don't know what I'm missing to have it plumbed in, but I only refill the reservoir perhaps each evening and sometimes I skip. I also use plenty of water to clean the portafilter after each use and haven't found it to be a problem. The water reservoir has lots of water.
It is also nice that although the water warning might say refill, I noticed that the GS3 will not shut off the brewing in the middle of a shot. So if you forget to refill the reservoir, it won't cause you to waste a shot.
Recommendations from anyone (including me) who has already invested significant money in their own machine should always be taken with a grain of salt. We have pride as well as cash invested in our decisions. People rarely admit they made a mistake when it comes to major purchases...before you make a final decision, I suggest you have a candid talk with several established dealers who handle multiple lines/ranges of commercial machines and ask them what their experience has been selling and servicing the GS3.
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