Chicago water - please confirm my solution

#1: Post by **bbender716** » December 27th, 2020, 3:03 pm

I'm purchasing a double boiler in the near future and looking at plumbing in with a basic filter in between, but want to make sure I don't need RO vs just a basic bestmax setup.

Key metrics:
pH = 7.8
Alkalinity = 102 ppm
Chloride =17.9 ppm
Calcium Carbonate / Hardness = 136 ppm
TDS (total) = 160 ppm

So if I understand the numbers correctly can anyone confirm that the main issue is the hardness and maybe a touch of the alkalinity. Seems like I can get by with some basic softening/charcoal filtering?

December 27th, 2020, 11:42 pm

The chloride is not good (any chloride may be corrosive) but you can live with that, especially considering your alkalinity numbers.

The alkalinity is at the high end of conventional wisdom about best tasting coffee, but that applies mostly to brewed coffee. Espresso can tolerate much more alkalinity in the water without the dulling of brightness and acidity that some tasters report in brewed coffee with that level of alkalinity.

The alkalinity and calcium hardness together will cause scale deposition in the steam boiler, probably also the brew boiler. If it were me I'd use a conventional softener and a charcoal block filter with this water. The conventional (sodium or potassium exchange) softener would drop the calcium hardness to non-scaling levels and you would keep that ~100 mg/L alkalinity to help alleviate potential corrosion risk from the chloride.

P.S.
The bestmax is not a conventional softener - it's a WAC resin, decarbonizing softener that reduces alkalinity along with hardness. It would do a good job of reducing scale potential, but would not be my choice with this water. I prefer keeping the higher alkalinity and pH, and not worrying about chloride and corrosion.

#3: Post by **Sideshow** » December 28th, 2020, 8:16 pm

I just use R Pavlis water and don't think about it anymore.

December 28th, 2020, 11:49 pm

Um, for the last 20 years I've been using it it straight, descaling my machine every two years or so. It is, more or less, at neutral hardness, although it gets a little harder in the winter, like all natural water. For the brew path or brew boiler, there is almost no scale formation. For the steam boiler, I flush through distilled water every few weeks (at 1 cappa a day). Scale does form at the group jets and bell, regardless of water hardness, as well as the vacuum breaker, since there is evaporation. How much of a problem this is varies by machine, For the E61, the mushroom needs a check up every year or so.

People are too afraid of descaling and use overly soft water. This is particularly true for the lighter roasts, which taste dramatically better when the water has enough minerals for a balanced equilibrium pH (aka Langelier index).