Confused about which water filter to select?

[KMM]

I've purchased an Elektra Maxi 2 group espresso machine from 1st Line Equipment. The company recommended an inox dep water softener (and filter ??) for this machine for $169. It is an 8 liter bypass that can be recharged. I must say I am a bit lost about these filters and softeners, but I'm trying to learn!!! Chris Coffee recommends its water softener & filter which is priced at over $250 for a 6 liter. I'm having a difficult time understanding the differences and which one is the best for my machine. Can anyone give a simplified explanation of what filter/softener would be best for my Elektra and also recommend a specific brand or place to purchase from.

thanks so so much,

KMM

 

[eldub]

I'm in the same boat and will be watching this thread with interest....

 

[KMM]

eldub: It seems like you and I are at similar points in our coffee house endeavors! Good Luck to you.

 

[shadow745]

http://www.coffeeforums.com/forum/c...ter-softening-equipment-espresso-machine.html

 

[John P]

Salt-Based Water softening is not recommended for coffee and espresso. Studies both through SCAA and European Coffee Union have both arrived at the same conclusion.

The sodium replacement method causes two problems, first it does alter the flavor of the coffee (ever so slightly) but the real problem is the sodium causes the coffee particles to expand and become more porous. This reduces the surface area amount of coffee grounds in contact with water (particularly with espresso) and you actually have less extraction, thus less potential flavor.

Hydrogen ion replacement filter systems are best recommended, or some form of RO with a Calcium Carbonate filter to replace minerals back into the water.

In my opinion, the best solution that doesn't break the bank are the Claris filters by Everpure.

 

[eldub]

Thanks again, John.

lw

 

[shadow745]

To each his own. I've been using salt based softeners at home and commercially for several years and I will argue the point.

I'd take what any coffee association(s) say with "a grain of salt" as they simply form opinions like the rest of us.

RO to take everything out and then add it back... yeah that makes alot of sense.

 

[eldub]

Interesting conversation.

I'm not sold on the R/O system and putting minerals back into the water unless someone can explain how/why the minerals you put back in have a better flavor profile than what is originally found in the water.

 

[shadow745]

Problem is there are always going to be the anal retentive geeks that have nothing better to do than to research every single possible variable in an effort to make something as close to perfect (in their minds) as humanly possible. This usually leads to alot of tail chasing and frustration. If one is eventually able to control every variable in the equation things suddenly become boring and too repetitive with no real art form involved.

Even though I may not agree with much in the way of Italian thinking regarding espresso, I do appreciate their efforts to keep espresso simple.

I say keep water quality simple by carbon filtering for taste and soften if necessary.

 

[ellenkarty]

i know... thanks for your thread

 

[CCafe]

Salt-Based Water softening is not recommended for coffee and espresso. Studies both through SCAA and European Coffee Union have both arrived at the same conclusion.

The sodium replacement method causes two problems, first it does alter the flavor of the coffee (ever so slightly) but the real problem is the sodium causes the coffee particles to expand and become more porous. This reduces the surface area amount of coffee grounds in contact with water (particularly with espresso) and you actually have less extraction, thus less potential flavor.

Hydrogen ion replacement filter systems are best recommended, or some form of RO with a Calcium Carbonate filter to replace minerals back into the water.

In my opinion, the best solution that doesn't break the bank are the Claris filters by Everpure.

/me slaps face

You do realize that a Claris filter is nothing more a water softener mixed with a carbon block filter along with a little touch of ph balancing and a bypass. So all this sodium crap you just harped about is still in your Claris filter. They just repackaged a ESO7 in a pretty white cartridge with an adjustment knob on the filter head. That knob is the only difference between a Claris and a ESO7.

Hey I like and use Claris as well as install them all the time for clients. I'm not knocking the product one bit but its still a water softener and has resin beads in it.

 

[CCafe]

To each his own. I've been using salt based softeners at home and commercially for several years and I will argue the point.

I'd take what any coffee association(s) say with "a grain of salt" as they simply form opinions like the rest of us.

RO to take everything out and then add it back... yeah that makes alot of sense.

Understand this about RO systems. Even the high end units (most of the time*) do not strip the water to 0 PPM on a TDS meter. Most units that I've run across that are setup for the coffee world strip the water down around 30 - 70 PPM. When your TDS falls below 20 - 25 PPM the water is no longer electrically conductive. Hence anything with a level probe will fail to read the water in the tank. Water that is stripped clean and down to 0 PPM is some what acidic in nature as its seeking out mineral content to balance itself back out.

*There are certain fields like the medical field where they have an RO stripping the water to 0 for a reason.

Now for your calcite feeders that feed calcium back in to the water on RO systems. If you had a system that was stripping down to 0 ppm the feeder would add only enough calcite to bring the water back up to 25 PPM to make the water conductive. So you can see that even at 25 PPM your still adding just enough to make the water work but not enough to scale up the system. 25 PPM of calcium is only 1.5 grains. Roughly half of what manufactures of most espresso machines mandate for a maximum water hardness before a water softener is required in order not to void the warranty.