I just got a new Fiorenzato Colombina espresso machine, which has been great. Good thing I'm familiar with the operation, as the one page instructions are pathetic. One thing I'm not familiar with is the use of a cartridge water filter that fits on the plastic line that is inserted into the water tank. Fiorenzato calls it a limestone filter & the particles inside are orange. It looked granular when dry and gel like when wet. Size is 1" x 2". Where can I find replacements, what is the internal material, what is it filtering (since I use filtered water to fill the tank) and can I just replace the particles inside by buying the bulk agent?
Jon

This is a small water softener that uses ion exchange, replacing calcium in the water (which causes limescale) with sodium, which does not. You need to recharge it once a week by putting it into a glass of brine, then rinsing it until the salt taste is gone. Change it once every two years or so. The replacements are sold by espresso machine vendors, search for water softeners. Their use is unnecessary if you live in a soft water area, or if you use bottled or purified water.

Jon, I checked our water test data base and found that we have a range of 119 ppm (7grains) to 255 ppm (15grains) hardness in San Jose, CA area. This is not exact this is only from our records. By this I would not call your area "Soft Water". Without a specific water analysis I could not make a recommendation. I agree with Jim.

Here is the water softening cartridge (or something very similar) that you have in your Bric:
http://www.1st-line.com/parts/other/4009010.htm
What would be VERY INTERESTING is to run some tests on the water FROM YOUR MACHINE with and without the use of this softening cartridge. I would run the tests on a cold machine - kinda tough without a little disassembly which is not called for here. Get some water hardness test strips from your local aquarium store and operate the pump for two 30-second cycles with a minutes rest between same PRIOR to sampling the water from the grouphead.

Not exactly a lab quality test but it could prove interesting.

I ran tests way back when on the Rancilio version of this type softener. They do the job, but are not terribly efficient -- the one I had reduced calcium from 120 mg/L to around 45 mg/L after a week from recharge when it was about 6 months old. On the other hand, they certainly produce much better espresso than bottled purified or drinking water with real low mineral content.