I have now drained my boilers from the second recipe containing a questionnable amount of chlorides. I took the time to properly clean the brass actuator from the E61 group and descale if needed. I found out that the brass part was actually chrome plated before, and all the coating is pretty much gone






The stainless steel mushroom had a white film on it (I assume calcium related) but no sign of corrosion. It appears blue on some of the photos but it's because I had a flash on.





My steam boiler drain water was clear. I tasted it when it cooled off and it was okay, not the best but drinkable.

Next step: try 1gal Pavlis water then see if it makes a difference in taste. I may add some hardness minerals back if I am not satisfied.

Thanks for your help, I will report back.

I filled up my boilers with RPalvis water yesterday.

After my daily HWW flush, I checked the water for any signs of corrosion/scale.

I found out tiny black particules that are attracted to a magnet. It could be magnesium deposit or any other magnetic metal (chromium, iron, etc.).



Should I be worried?

In your photo....there is one little black spot at the 4 o'clock position. Is that all there is?

It doesn't seem like a lot because of the photo quality. There was many tiny particules. This is the 2nd flush. I didn't take a photo of the first one because I wasn't sure if my cup was clean or not.

I will make 5gal of RPavlis water, flush every spro session and see where it leads me.

What are you doing when you HWW flush? Also, how do you find the taste of RPavlis water to make your espresso? And finally, how do you like the Synchronika?

1) I flush about 60-80ml every time I use the steam wand. More if I steam a bigger drink. I removed the HWW tip this morning and checked for brown speckles. There was some, but they did not seem to be attracted to the magnet like the other photo

2) I haven't tasted a spro that I'm used to yet. So far, the espresso is fine for my taste buds. I tried a Brasil anaerobic and it was delicious!

3) The synchronika is a BEAST! So quiet, easy to open the chassis and maintain it. I went from an ECM HX (Mechanika Slim V) to this one and it's the end game of spro setup.

I will make 5gal of RPavlis water, flush every spro session and see where it leads me.

So, where has this lead you? Does the RPavlis water do well for your machine and your tastes? Have you checked on the mushroom etc. to see?

UPDATE ON RVAPLIS WATER 4 MONTHS LATER:

Good news! No signs or corrosion. I mean, compared to the first photos I posted here, it's night and day!



What it looked like before switching to RPavlis water:



TASTE:
-Overall, I get good-great espresso from this recipe.
-I feel like I could get more from a little more variety of minerals in water (like calcium, mg, etc.). I tested water recipes for pour overs and I could detect an edge for recipes that had minerals other than potassium carbonate.
-Next up: i'll test Amaro spring water (from Quebec) and see if I can taste a difference. I might run a cycle of distilled water once in a while to help descaling too!

Simon...that is good news!

Next up: i'll test Amaro spring water (from Quebec) and see if I can taste a difference. I might run a cycle of distilled water once in a while to help descaling too!

I am not a water expert....but I think if you were to use a cycle of distilled water by itself....that would be harmful to your machine.