I have been trying to collect data in order to find the right filter to plumb-in my newly ordered GS/3. The water company only has the following contaminants report: https://www.aquaamerica.com/WaterQualit ... 460073.pdf

I used the API GH/KH it and got:
KH - 6 drops - 107.4 ppm
GH -11 drops - 196.9 ppm

I have a Tylor K-2006 kit for my pool I used to measure:
PH 7.4
Alkalinity 90

Is there anything else I should find out/measure?

I was hoping to use a 3M ESP124-T under-sink, or a similar/better under-sink option.

Lastly, the GS/3 spec sheet says 2GPM flow rate (https://lamarzoccousa.com/wp-content/up ... -jun21.pdf) - I am assuming that it is "up to" and a 0.5GPM filter would work?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

It would be good to know the chloride level.

Here the test kit I have: https://www.chemworld.com/Boiler-Chlori ... /m8517.htm

katkat wrote:Is there anything else I should find out/measure?

Yes. You need to know if you have high chloride ion. You might get this info by contacting your water utility. The La Marzocco test strip kit can be used, but is inadequate for reliably measuring low chloride levels. La Marzocco advises that you make sure that you have less than 30 - 50 mg/L chloride. (Most of their newer manuals, and the water spec from LaMarzocco USA advises that you keep the chloride below 30 mg/L, using RO and remineralization if it's above that.) You can get drop titration kits from Hach that will measure chloride ion at the levels you are interested in. (See The skinny on chloride testing? )

katkat wrote:I was hoping to use a 3M ESP124-T under-sink, or a similar/better under-sink option.

That's a reasonable choice. It is a conventional softener that will lower hardness dramatically without acidifying the water nor reducing the alkalinity. It has an 1100 grain (19000 71000 mg CaCO3 equivalent) capacity, so with your 200 mg/L hardness would treat up to 95 350 liters* of water before needing to be replaced.[* I corrected those two numbers (used wrong factor ). A grain is equal to 64.8 milligrams. A grain per gallon (gpg) is equal to 17.1 mg/L.]

katkat wrote:Lastly, the GS/3 spec sheet says 2GPM flow rate (https://lamarzoccousa.com/wp-content/up ... -jun21.pdf) - I am assuming that it is "up to" and a 0.5GPM filter would fit?

I think La Marzocco is saying that it should deliver at least 2 GPM, which is higher than most cartridge systems' spec. I don't know why they recommend such a high GPM and can't guess whether you can get safely away with less without risking pump damage. There's a little discussion related to that here: Water input flow and pressure for La Marzocco GS3 and Linea Mini .




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Edit addition: Also, furthur along in this thread see this March 9 2022 post: Water advice before plumbing - collecting data...

On a side note - La Marzocco's tech support confirmed that while the specs of the GS/3 call for 2GPM, 1GPM would be enough.

Many popular cartridge systems, including the BWT bestmax, indicate a nominal flow rate of 0.5 GPM (per https://optipurewater.com/wp-content/up ... f_2017.pdf).

homeburrero wrote:I think La Marzocco is saying that it should deliver at least 2 GPM, which is higher than most cartridge systems' spec

P.S. There may be a big difference between the cartridge's spec flow rate and the rate that it can deliver when under high demand. Maybe other 3M Cuno users on HB can weigh in about that.

Rich and Pat - thank you so much for the reply!!!

I will contact the Water company and try to get the Chloride level or get a test kit. In the meantime (hoping that the Chloride level is in check) I looked at filters some more and it seems that Homeland HCWS has a bigger capacity (1700 grains) and a flow rate of 2GPM...

[Edited] I am trying to figure out the math... a 1700 grain filter, given my 200ppm total hardness (=11.7 gpg), would treat 145 gallons, I think.
Even if I use .5 gallon/day, I would be at 90 gallons at the 6 month mark. I'd be OK replacing a filter every 6 months, but did I get it right?

If your chloride is not too high, a whole house softener and carbon filter would do the trick for you for a very modest $ investment. The rest of your water utilizing appliances and supply fixtures will thank you too.

katkat wrote:[Edited] I am trying to figure out the math... a 1700 grain filter, given my 200ppm total hardness (=11.7 gpg), would treat 145 gallons, I think.
Even if I use .5 gallon/day, I would be at 90 gallons at the 6 month mark. I'd be OK replacing a filter every 6 months, but did I get it right?

Exactly right. At 6 months, which they advise as the max service time for that filter, and only 0.5 gallon per day you would be playing it safe and have some unused softening capacity.

Thank you SO much. Working on finding out my chloride level.

I got a response back from Aqua, the water company... They said that right now, Chloride spiked to 150ppm, but typically the value is around 100ppm. They attribute the spike to road salt that finds its way to the water.

Thoughts? Makes sense?

While I understand La Marzocco's strict guidance, I have had my La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi for 12 years and never had scale or corrosion issues when using:

- Non filtered tap water with BestCup filter in the reservoir for the first 9 years (https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... -m-package)
- Tap water filtered with a simple carbon filter + OSCAR pouch in the reservoir for the last 2-3 years.

Yes, it does make sense. That chloride spike due to road salt is very common. Thanks for reporting back - looks like Philadelphia needs to be added to the list of cities where chloride is may be a major water treatment issue.

Your chloride level of 100 ppm is not down in the 5 - 80 ppm that we often see as the borderline about considering RO to reduce chloride. There's no clear level where you can confidently say that chloride will cause corrosion, But 100 mg/L is above the level where most manufacturers suggest RO treatment. ( See Chloride in Water - Recommended Acceptable Ranges )

I'm always cautious about corrosion because of seeing reports and first hand experience of pinhole corrosion in boilers and fittings of used espresso machines, and from reading the advice about that from the late Dr. Pavlis with respect to chloride catalyzing brass and copper corrosion. (One example: Elektra Microcasa a Leva boiler leak problem )

Your experience of not having seen a problem is a valid data point here, perhaps sufficient to forego using RO. Your water's chloride is not up in the 200+ ppm ballpark of Cambridge MA, which caused Scott Guglielmino at La Marzocco to investigate why "that area was able to do more damage to our boilers than the rest of the United States combined."**


**(from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmcF-b-gRQ, at about 21:40)