javaboost wrote:Oops. My mistake. Thanks for the correction.

No worries. Just giving credit where credit is due

I, too, experienced the overflow issue when descaling my VBM. I opened the hot water valve before turning on the pump, but water still came out of both the hot water wand and the boiler pressure relief valve. What I ended up doing was to let the pump run until a little water came out of relief valve and then shut off the pump. Water would continue to drain for a while, albeit slowly, from the hot water wand. I repeated this cycle five or six times, but the process was slow. Am I doing something incorrectly? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Kevin

kbsmith33 wrote:I, too, experienced the overflow issue when descaling my VBM. I opened the hot water valve before turning on the pump, but water still came out of both the hot water wand and the boiler pressure relief valve.

rewritten 7/2 - I was reminded by Admin that I took some things for granted in the oroginal text of my post, so I have completely rewritten it below:

Descaling agents are strong acids. If during the descaling process the pressure safety valve opens in the VBM Ds (or in most any such machine) the agent may be sprayed, under pressure, inside the machine. Even if it just dribbles, the acid creates the possibility of cause damage to metal parts over time if left in the machine (not to mention that it would be nasty if it sprayed in your eyes). The parts most likely to be damaged are the electrical connections. Other exposed metal parts can become stained or damaged as well, but these would be more cosmetic problems than functional problems.

If the user wishes to lessen or eliminate long-term problems it is best to get the aid out of the parts which were exposed. The only effective way that I know how to do this is to rinse the parts with water.
- UNPLUG MACHINE
- Allow machine to cool
- Only pure water should be used with distilled or reverse osmosis being preferred. Use a spray bottle or irrigation bottle or similar to thoroughly rinse as necessary. Do not spray directly into the control boxes or other sensitive electronic parts. It these are affected by the acid it is best to remove them for cleaning or allow a technician to deal with it.
- After thoroughly rinsing the parts, use compressed air to thoroughly blow out all traces of water.
- Leave machine open and allow to dry (at least 24 hours) before plugging it back in.

There are two possible ways to avoid this situation: The first would be to temporarily put some sort of hose or tubing on the valve in question so that if any liquid is expelled through it, the hose could carry it away from the machine. Alternatively, a rag might be used over it. Place then so that the hose does not direct acid to an unwanted area and so the rag cannot touch any electrical connections. Be sure to remove either after the job is completed.

The second way would be to follow the instructions- whenever the boiler water level's sensor wire is not connected, never run the pump without the hot water valve being fully opened to give the pressure in the boiler a place to escape. Removing the spray-head from the hot water wand, and opening the steam valve as well when the poump is run will also go a long way towards avoiding the situation.

Thanks for the tips, Randy. Next time, I'll see if opening both valves with alleviate the problem (as opposed to just opening the hot water valve).

-Kevin