Avid reader, but first post here . Just got my first disaster of a maintenance bill for my Linea Mini, altho I am taking care of it like a baby cleaning it every week and I usually use it only once in the morning. Rust/salts were all over internal parts as you see it pictures, Maintenace guy said this is the first time I see a machine that bad and told me its most likely from the water I use, although I am using water within the La Marzocco TDS/Hardness range.

Machine is 3 years old. Attaching some pictures from replaced parts, any idea what usually causes this? I use no chemicals to clean the top, only wipe it with water from time to time. Really want to avoid going thru this again, any tips to avoid this mess?

Thanks!

Thing is unfortunately there's more to having balanced water than just TDS/hardness in some cases. I personally won't bother going the nerdy chemistry route and have no problem having great water from the tap in various locations for all the machines I've had over the years with very minimal tweaking needed. Definitely post pics when possible...

gooner wrote: Really want to avoid going thru this again, any tips to avoid this mess?

You can also look for an on-line water analysis from your municipality and post it on HB for opinions on what water filtration system to install.

I would also suggest opening up your machine a few times a year to take pictures of everything to have as a baseline reference and snoop around for anything that don't look right. That way you'll have a better shot at catching problems while they're smaller and less expensive.

Or start making your own water starting with distilled and use a tank system. Not having a surprise like yours is the peace of mind that provides so consider that if you want to avoid this again.

gooner wrote:Maintenace guy said this is the first time I see a machine that bad and told me its most likely from the water I use, although I am using water within the La Marzocco TDS/Hardness range.

Machine is 3 years old. Attaching some pictures from replaced parts, any idea what usually causes this?

Hard to tell, but as others point out your hardness and TDS numbers tell you little or nothing about corrosivity of the water. If you are in Arizona I think it's maybe a high chloride issue -- many water sources in Arizona are known to have high chloride concentrations. And if you use the steam wand and don't take care to purge or drain the steam boiler, the chloride in there can become increasingly concentrated over time.

You can contact your water authority for a good water report that includes numbers for chloride and for hardness and alkalinity, and use that to determine if and how you might treat the tap water for use in espresso equipment. But given your experience here I agree with simple advise to just quit using that tap water. Go with bottled, or a simple recipe water based on minerals added to purified water -- rpavlis* is a good recommendation.

*
Easiest way to make rpavlis water?
Poll: What DIY Water Recipes Do You Use for Espresso?

Thanks all! I knew water is high in chloride in AZ so i switched to bottled with a low TDS/hardness within LM range, but still had this issue.. Moved to a recommended brand of bottled water from the technician after I had this issue and will take it from there I guess.. Continue to drain/backflush once every 25days or so and hope for the best.

Also feels weird using my steam wand on 1.0 pressure after getting used to the 1.5 for that long

650$ isn't bad... I have had much more minor repairs for much higher prices.

With a machine like the LMLM, I would strongly suggest making your own water or getting a costly water softener + RO. Coffee will taste better and it protects the machine. Making water is just as cost effective a solution as bottled water, but added benefit of consistency and 100% assured knowledge that it is safe.

gooner wrote:Thanks all! I knew water is high in chloride in AZ so i switched to bottled with a low TDS/hardness within LM range, but still had this issue.. Moved to a recommended brand of bottled water from the technician after I had this issue and will take it from there I guess.. Continue to drain/backflush once every 25days or so and hope for the best.

Also feels weird using my steam wand on 1.0 pressure after getting used to the 1.5 for that long

Victor sorry I missed your location. I am in AZ too which is exactly why I did this:

Espresso Cart - Goodbye Plumbed In

Get your machine fixed for once and get off your city water. Don't think twice about it.
We use an RO in the kitchen for drinking water but I still use my tank for my machine.

gooner wrote:Also feels weird using my steam wand on 1.0 pressure after getting used to the 1.5 for that long

Even after it was fixed? Confused?