I descaled my machine last week but used a slightly different process to make sure that I reached the full boiler, it involves disconnecting the water level sensor on the machine which enables you to overfill the machine and descale the complete steam boiler boiler.
IN regards to the Citric acid, everything I found said you should mix it 20gr/ltr, I used about 4ltr for the whole process Steam Boiler At operating temp 1. Switch machine off 2. Open water tap to remove as much water as possible from steam boiler, close tap again 3. Disconnect water level sensor (pull the wire off) 4. Open steam wand 5. Turn machine on, takes quite a while for the pump to fill up the steam boiler, water will start coming out of the steam tip when it is full 6. Switch off machine 7. Reconnect water level sensor 8. Switch machine on 9. Leave at operating temp for 1hr 10. repeat I did this four times and then rinsed out twice. To descale the brew boiler I just flushed out the boiler with citric acid. I am sure that there is a better way involving the level sensor The water turns blue so it is relatively easy to see when it is flushing clean, also has a fruity taste :-) These is a full guide on the web site at http://expobarownersgroup.com/maintenance/how-to-descale-your-expobar.html with pictures (always helps) JohnB On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 8:38 AM, Ben McCafferty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Well, all done descaling. I did Barry's routine, but instead of two soaks > for two hours, I did four one-hour soaks, each time propping the edge of the > machine up about 1 1/2 inches in a different direction. My thought was to > get the acid solution above the water line on all sides. I'm in process of > restoring two classic mini cooper s cars this winter, so that gave me > something to do while waiting for the machine to soak. If you're > interested, ozminis.blogspot.com. > > I didn't really have any particulates come out to speak of, but the water > was bright blue--so copper oxides were cleaned out in spades! I'll add a > photo of this in the album referenced below here in just a minute. > (http://tinyurl.com/5xkgua) Definitely a worthwhile exercise, and I'll post > tomorrow oohing and aahing about my amazing shot(s). > > Mmm...can't wait...espresso...rrrrrglggllllrrrrgggllll (ala Homer). > > bmc > "Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel....." > > > >> From: Barry Luterman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Reply-To: <brewtus@googlegroups.com> >> Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:55:24 -1000 >> To: <brewtus@googlegroups.com> >> Subject: Re: Cleaning frenzy >> >> >> Use food grade sour salt . Much cheaper and safer. You will be amazed >> at the gunk that comes out. Tomorrow you will get a shot out of the >> machine that is great. It is insidious how gunk slowly degrades the >> shot character. We often do not realize it until we clean the machine. >> If you are leaving the machine on for that number of hours replace the >> PF gasket at least once a year. It will save you enormous grief. >> >> On Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 2:47 PM, Ben McCafferty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> >>> With all the talk about cleaning lately, I decided today to do some >>> maintenance and see how bad things were. I first cleaned my Mazzer Mini >>> grinder, then proceeded to backflush the BII and to finally change my gasket >>> and clean my screen. Also flushed the steam boiler. >>> >>> The grinder was a pleasant surprise. I run Minute Rice through about once a >>> month, and today I took the top burr out. Everything in the machine smelled >>> fine, and no notes of rancidity. I brushed out the leftovers, and >>> reassembled it. I don't think I am very worried about this link in the >>> chain, but I could see where a little vacuum could be handy every now and >>> then. >>> >>> Now then, I shoot for backflushing with Cafiza about once a month, but I bet >>> my most recent flush was two months ago. I also have never changed the >>> screen or PF gasket, and machine is about 18 months old and stays on about >>> 12 hours a day. >>> >>> I first pulled the screen and gasket, so I could see what it looked like >>> before hand. Looking at the inside of the screen and the bottom of the >>> exposed group, the best word that comes to mind is "ick". I replaced the >>> screen and gasket, and did two full backflush routines with Cafiza, with >>> soaks under pressure a few times for a few minutes each. The inside of the >>> screen was almost clean, but still a lot of brown residue in there. I threw >>> it in a pitcher of Cafiza and let it soak for an hour. Meantime I used >>> Cafiza to scrub all the gunk down on the group, and flushed all that clean. >>> Finally I replaced the gasket with a new one and also a new screen. The >>> gasket is thinner, but too thin--even my Rancilio bottomless goes past 6 >>> o'clock with this one. The old one has a "9" on it, and I think I must have >>> bought 8 instead of 8.5mm thick. No worries, I don't really care where the >>> handle ends up as long as it seals. The old seal was so brittle that when I >>> squeezed it sideways, is broke in half in my hands. >>> >>> The last thing I did was to sacrifice the old screen for the sake of >>> science. I had let it soak in Cafiza for an hour and had scrubbed it >>> several times and rinsed well. I broke the spot welds apart so I could >>> separate the screen and chrome ring from the underlying metal, and it was >>> n-a-s-t-y. I'm thinking I may start replacing that every 3-6 months, but >>> we'll see. Whoever posted that they backflush with Cafiza every day is >>> starting to sound less insane to me. :) >>> >>> I have posted pictures of all this on Photobucket, here's the link: >>> >>> http://tinyurl.com/5xkgua >>> >>> If you click on any picture, there will be a description under it for what >>> stage of the process you're seeing. >>> >>> Needless to say, I am looking forward to my shot tomorrow. I imagine it >>> will be a pretty nice tasting shot...especially since I wasn't complaining >>> about my shots yesterday! >>> >>> I'm converted. Ok, ok Barry, I'll descale the damn thing. >>> >>> bmc >>> >>> "Faith will move mountains, but you'd better bring a shovel....." >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> >>> >> >> > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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