If you were to drain the boiler and then remove the heating element that opens a 2" hole right into the boiler if you are interested in looking at the insides.. Should be enough to get a pen light and the scope in. Might not even need the scope at that point.
On Dec 5, 8:06 pm, ken k <[email protected]> wrote: > This issue comes up frequently. Here is my contribution from a thread > back in 2009. Like Ben we live in a hard water area. I tested the > solids in our Crystal Geyser water (varies around the country), dilute > it to about 40-50 ppm, have done so for 5 years, no problems yet, > still waiting... read Jim Schulman's FAQ--it is referenced in the > thread. > > http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus/browse_thread/thread/5047f48ee... > > Ken K > > On Dec 5, 11:25 am, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Hi there Bobcat, > > > I know this is a topic of hot debate, and I don't mean to touch off a war > > here.....but here's another opinion. > > > I live west of Seattle, with fairly hard water. We are always in the 8+ > > range for pH, and TDS run pretty high, maybe 200-300 or so. > > > I had the softener float a couple of times in the past and cause a pump to > > burn out (sucking air and no water), so I removed it altogether a couple of > > years ago. I use filtered water from the house supply, i.e. running > > through a 2-stage GE filter system that I bought at Home Depot for about > > $200. So far, I have no issues with scale or clogging. I am careful to > > drain the hot water boiler whenever I clean, to keep the solids from > > getting ridiculously high in there, but otherwise I have taken no > > protective actions. I descaled once at about two years, and am due to > > descale again. One of these years I plan to replace my brew boiler tank > > just so I can cut the old one in half and see whether the whole descaling > > question is much ado about nothing or not. I also have a bore > > scope--anyone know if I can easily open a hole into the boilers so I can > > have a non-desctructive look inside? > > > I may well be sorry down the road, but to date the softener seems like an > > unnecessary part, at least in my particular location and water supply. I > > have seen friends on well water who have rust lines in their toilet, etc. > > and I think in their case I'd probably use bottled water anyway. > > > Just some thoughts to consider. > > > bmc > > > On Dec 4, 2010, at 6:10 PM, Dan Hagelin wrote:> The way I do it requires > > that you have a suitably long piece of plastic tubing. I attach the hose > > to the nipple of the softener gizmo, and then put 3 big tablespoons of salt > > in a full reservoir of water. I then submerge the gizmo in the reservoir > > and siphon the whole tank of salt water through it. I repeat the process > > with fresh water and then at then end of the tank test that the last bit of > > water doesn't taste salty. If it happens to still taste salty, and it > > never has, you can run another reservoir of fresh water though it. > > > > I assume this process works, but I've never tested the water for hardness > > > before and after so I don't really know for sure. It makes me feel > > > better, though! > > > > On Dec 4, 2010, at 4:15 PM, HERMAN wrote: > > > >> i always put mine in a glass of water until it fills and the just > > >> connect it to the hose. i'm sure there are better ideas but it will be > > >> full of air and your pump will lose it's prime if you don't fill it with > > >> water. > > > >> --- On Sat, 12/4/10, Bobcat <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> From: Bobcat <[email protected]> > > >> Subject: Charging the softner???? > > >> To: "Brewtus" <[email protected]> > > >> Date: Saturday, December 4, 2010, 7:06 PM > > > >> I just received a new softner cartridge, identical to the original > > >> one, and there were no instructions on how to charge it for use. Can > > >> someone tell me what to do before I put it into use, and what future > > >> maintenance I'll need to do and how often? > > > >> -- > > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > >> Groups "Brewtus" group. > > >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > >> [email protected]. > > >> For more options, visit this group > > >> athttp://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. > > > >> -- > > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > >> Groups "Brewtus" group. > > >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > >> [email protected]. > > >> For more options, visit this group > > >> athttp://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "Brewtus" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. 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