Originally Posted by
WhyFi
Part of the kitchen reno will be installing a filter and (if necessary) water softener so that I can direct-plumb the next machine. I need get some hardness test strips with my next order of... stuff, though.
You've got some really hard water, don't you? If I had to descale more than once per year, I'd totally install a filter.
I have a softner but my Gaggia seemed to have trouble with the three-way solenoid plugging up. My Rancillio doesn't seem to have that problem. In fact, I would see mineral bits in the water when descaling my Gaggia but I couldn't't detect any in my Rancillio.
As for frequency, Rancillio wants you to run a little through the machine and then wait 25' and do it a 1/4 tank at a time. Then rinse with two tanks of fresh water. That's a couple hours. Supposed to do it every three months with purified water or softened water. I use both.