GC water - new water needed!!!

Water analysis, treatment, and mineral recipes for optimum taste and equipment health.
boldstep
Posts: 88
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by boldstep »

Hi
Been using global customized water additive for some time now in my linea mini. My machine stopped functioning only to find significant dark grey build up in my boiler that clogged the gicleur. I'm looking for a off the shelf water that's awesome. Any suggestions? Unfortunately I can't do RO with an additive because the high sodium content of our well water isn't completely removed by the RO process.

Thanks
Jason

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sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#2: Post by sweaner »

I use 1 gallon of distilled water + 400 mg potassium bicarbonate. Very easy.
Scott
LMWDP #248

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Ciaran
Posts: 98
Joined: 6 years ago

#3: Post by Ciaran »

boldstep wrote:Hi
Been using global customized water additive for some time now in my linea mini. My machine stopped functioning only to find significant dark grey build up in my boiler that clogged the gicleur. I'm looking for a off the shelf water that's awesome. Any suggestions? Unfortunately I can't do RO with an additive because the high sodium content of our well water isn't completely removed by the RO process.

Thanks
Jason
It may not remove all of your sodium, but it should remove enough for remineralization. Or your RO needs repair. Another name for an RO system is a desalinator, as these are specifically designed to desalinate seawater for irrigation. RO excels at removing sodium more than any other free ion. Most home RO systems can desalinate brackish water up to a couple of thousand TDS, when properly installed and maintained. The major ion limitation for RO is generally calcium hardness (CaCO3). 10gpg/170ppm is the maximum safe limit for most domestic membranes.

F1
Posts: 699
Joined: 13 years ago

#4: Post by F1 »

boldstep wrote:Hi
Been using global customized water additive for some time now in my linea mini. My machine stopped functioning only to find significant dark grey build up in my boiler that clogged the gicleur. I'm looking for a off the shelf water that's awesome. Any suggestions? Unfortunately I can't do RO with an additive because the high sodium content of our well water isn't completely removed by the RO process.

Thanks
Jason
That was my experience with GC water last year. That thing is poison for an espresso machine.

pcrussell50
Posts: 4010
Joined: 15 years ago

#5: Post by pcrussell50 »

sweaner wrote:I use 1 gallon of distilled water + 400 mg potassium bicarbonate. Very easy.
This ^^^

Fleshing it out a bit

We're talking really tiny amounts here. So much so that it might be hard to measure precisely 0.40 g. So you can make up a concentrate. Put 10g of K-bicarb into a small jar, then add distilled water until it weighs 100 g. Then you will have 100 ml of concentrate. Now when you buy your gallon of distilled water, add 4g of concentrate to it. Done.

Also, you can use sodium bicarbonate. And you can use less of it, too. Like 300 mg per gallon.

Both of these formulae:
1) add enough solids to distilled water that your machine's sensors will work right
2) will encourage the growth of a thin protective oxide layer over any copper and brass
3) will have zero chlorides (not to be confused with chlorine)... chlorides cause corrosion
4) will have zero scale... scale causes all kinds of damage (you probably already knew this)
5) discourages microbial growth in the tank and your gallon jug in case you don't use it for a long time (the boilers get hot enough that it's not a worry inside the boilers)

HTH

-Peter
LMWDP #553

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sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#6: Post by sweaner »

I use a 0.01 gram scale, so it is not that hard.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0.01g+digita ... b_ss_i_2_4
Scott
LMWDP #248

hard_six
Posts: 9
Joined: 4 years ago

#7: Post by hard_six »

sweaner wrote:I use 1 gallon of distilled water + 400 mg potassium bicarbonate. Very easy.
This! :D

Previously, I was using an Oscar pouch with CG water but recently switched to this method and its very simple. Bought a $10 mg scale from amazon and now I'm keeping several gallons of distilled water on hand. Good to go.

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boldstep (original poster)
Posts: 88
Joined: 8 years ago

#8: Post by boldstep (original poster) »

Thanks so much everyone. Very helpful. So I made up the solution and will try it. Question - it seems to come out with a TDS around 50ppm. Is that what others are getting? If so, isn't that kind of low and non ideal? Thanks