Elektra Semiautomatica coating residue in water tank & boiler

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pwal555
Posts: 1
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by pwal555 »

Hey guys,

long term lurker, this forum has helped me on many smaller questions & repairs for my Semiautomatica in the past, but now I have a question I haven't found a (recent) answer or opinion to. So first time poster..: I have a 2018 Semiautomatica (very happy with it!). Where I live we have relatively hard water, so besides using a Brita filter, I also regularly de-scale my machine. After the most recent descaling I have noticed that the coating in the water tank is coming off -which seems to be somewhat common (I found the thread here and here). However, I found relatively large pieces of coating floating in the tank and am wondering about potential health hazard and also danger to the machine itself? Beyond that, I have also noticed reddish flakes when draining the boiler through the steam wand valve. Anyone experienced this as well?

I am kinda worried about slowly poisoning myself with the residue in the coffee, so wondering if you guys consider this safe or a problem? I assume the only fix for the water tank would be a replacement (~ 400 USD), not even sure what to do with the boiler except replacing the whole thing...

Would appreciate your guys opinion and experiences!

Cheers!
Patrick

Fairly large piece that was floating in the tank (around 1x1cm / .4"x.4")



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howard seth
Posts: 292
Joined: 18 years ago

#2: Post by howard seth »

I've had an Elektra Semi- Automatica in daily use since 2006. I have had to replace pressure stats many times. I also descaled the water tank once or twice - and removed the chrome from inside tank with citric acid - not what I wanted.

The espresso machine repair guy - I live near - suggested - about 10 years ago - NOT to use anything but Reverse Osmosis level quality water. Brita filter water is not good enough around here - hard water. I think he was right.

I like the Elektra - but it has it's finicky demands
Howie

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HB
Admin
Posts: 21971
Joined: 19 years ago

#3: Post by HB »

Before I sold mine, I used distilled water for the steam boiler and filtered water for brewing. Since the steam boiler is manually filled and I don't make a lot of cappuccinos, it wasn't a bother.
Dan Kehn