I am a recent owner of a Quick Mill Anita and have a brief maintenance question about boiler refill and safeguarding the heating element.

I see the rationale for refreshing the boiler, especially when I see the water hardness of water from the hot water tap exceeding the hardness of the water going in. So, I bring the Anita up to brew pressure, turn it off, and open the hot water tap to drain the boiler as much as possible.

My question: do I need to observe any procedures/precautions when turning Anita back on to re-fill the boiler so as not to put the heating element at risk?

In a related question, if I draw off hot water (say, for tea) when Anita is up to pressure, can drawing enough water down then expose the heating element and put it at risk?

Thanks,

Brad

The heating element is exposed to air briefly when the boiler is empty and the machine is turned on. However, the incoming water soon covers it, and there's no overheating. If the autofill fails to run after draining the boiler, turn it off immediately. Finally, there's a safety system; either a thermal link or manual reset thermostat which will cut off the heat if the boiler overheats (i.e. if the heater runs while it's empty).

If you run the water tap; the autofill kicks in almost immediately. It won't quite make up the loss of water initially; but the cold water being pumped in will drop the pressure like a stone. So after a while, the boiler will cool off, water flow will slow down to a trickle, and the boiler will refill.

The autofill circuitry has been around in commercial machines for a long time, and its safety aspects are pretty well handled.

Thank you, Jim, makes perfect sense.

Brad

BradleyB wrote:In a related question, if I draw off hot water (say, for tea) when Anita is up to pressure, can drawing enough water down then expose the heating element and put it at risk?

Rotary pumps will catch up with the water drained from the tap in a few seconds. Vibe pumps have a slower water debit, so as a precaution, I pause a few seconds between draws when refreshing the boiler.

Hey Bradley;

I am also new to my Anita and M4 Stepless (doser). Got mine about a month ago.

I was JUST Wondering the same thing!

How often do you check your boiler water and what do you use to check it? I am using one of those aquarium test kits with the droppers and test tubes?

I was doing the same process as you, Let the machine come up to pressure, turn power off then open the hot water wand until no more water comes out. But I assume that is not ALL the water in the boiler? How do you get the rest of the water out, or do you just wait a little while for things to cool down, Turn machine back on and let the boiler refill and then repeat the process to slowly replace boiler water?

Also is it OK to test the water hardness with the hot water out of the boiler? Does the temperature of the water affect the reading of the test results?

Last time (Yesterday) I check by water hardness it was about 35 PPM or 2 grains. I assume anything under 3 grains you are pretty safe from scale?

-Craig

CyclingCraig wrote:How often do you check your boiler water and what do you use to check it? I am using one of those aquarium test kits with the droppers and test tubes?

Hi, Craig, hope you are enjoying your Anita. Others here are more qualified to answer, but here goes. Right now, I'm checking it weekly, just to get a handle on the water's properties. I hear the droppers are more reliable, but I have been getting by OK with the test strips. Apparently, you can also get electronic Total Dissolved Solids testers for c. $15.00, but I am not familiar with conversion to relevant hardness from TDS.

CyclingCraig wrote:I was doing the same process as you, Let the machine come up to pressure, turn power off then open the hot water wand until no more water comes out. But I assume that is not ALL the water in the boiler? How do you get the rest of the water out, or do you just wait a little while for things to cool down, Turn machine back on and let the boiler refill and then repeat the process to slowly replace boiler water?

Right. I think most of the water comes out and I've not worried about the rest. I just make a point of refreshing the boiler regularly. To check it, I pull water from the Anita's tap then let it come to room temperature. It's been instructive to compare its hardness level to the water going in. Water in the boiler has been significantly higher, from the steaming.

CyclingCraig wrote:Last time (Yesterday) I check by water hardness it was about 35 PPM or 2 grains. I assume anything under 3 grains you are pretty safe from scale?

That's the party line from Chris's, 40 ppm or less. But that's your reading for the water going into the tank or from the boiler's tap? Definitely need to keep an eye on what's in the boiler by checking the tap. By the way, keep in mind the instructions from Chris about filling the boiler: run the pump for no more than 30 seconds at a time, then power off for 5 minutes. This is to avoid overheating a possibly exposed boiler element.

Best, Brad

My Anita is starting to work out REALLY well for me now.

Just recently (Don't know what I did) started to get REALLY even extractions)(Only rarely though still).. no more donuts right at the begining. I think I am just started to get better at the "FEEL" of Distribution and Tamp. Those shots come out tasting REALLY Good.

BradleyB wrote:But that's your reading for the water going into the tank or from the boiler's tap?

That's the reading from the boiler's tap...(Boiler Water)..

My water going in (poured into tank) is sitting about 1 grain (17.9 ppm) usually. Then I have one of the hose softener that sits in the tank, that I recharge about ever 1.5 weeks.

-Craig

CyclingCraig wrote:My water going in (poured into tank) is sitting about 1 grain (17.9 ppm) usually. Then I have one of the hose softener that sits in the tank, that I recharge about ever 1.5 weeks.

Where does one get one of those? Is it the same one I see being sold specifically for Silvia? Or is there a Quickmill version?

-Josh

detritus wrote:Where does one get one of those? Is it the same one I see being sold specifically for Silvia? Or is there a Quickmill version?
-Josh

Hey Josh..

I purchased my machine from Chris's Coffee and they recommended this one: Water Softener Which they sell.

I have seen it on other sites as well, and I think something similar comes on the Expobar's (That is where I got the directions on how to recharge it)

CyclingCraig wrote:Hey Josh..

I purchased my machine from Chris's Coffee and they recommended this one: Water Softener Which they sell.

I have seen it on other sites as well, and I think something similar comes on the Expobar's (That is where I got the directions on how to recharge it)

Not sure how its life-cycle works. Is this softener unit rechargeable, or is it replaced at $17.95 a pop on a regular basis?

Thanks,

Brad