Re: Where can I find out the ph and hardness of different brands of bottled waters?

I think the need to worry about scale really depends on where you are. If
you are in the red or white areas on this map:

http://www.fetco.com/waterhardness.htm

you have good reason to worry, although you're right that quarterly
descaling will take care of it (the problem is that many people descale
NEVER instead of quarterly). If you are in the blue areas and use your
machine on a typical household schedule, you really don't have much to worry
about and indeed your machine may never scale if you flush the steam boiler
once in a while (or in the case of a single boiler, do nothing it all).
Fortunately the blue areas cover a large % of the US population - the West
Coast from SF northward, the entire East Coast except for Florida, the
entire South east of Texas.



"jim schulman" <jim_schulman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:q53nn1l5sabclgqtfbpjorm69poqb7ttrm@xxxxxxxxxx
> On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 13:54:12 -0500, hazzmat
> <hazzmatunitedstatesgovernment@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>I've plowed through the archives, scanned the insanely long water FAQ and
>>I'm still very confused about what kind of water to use in a Gaggia. If
>>someone knows specific ranges of ph+gpg to use with the gaggia boiler,
>>then
>>I could just shop for that range from locally available brands of bottled
>>water--that is if I knew their information. Crystal Springs is very
>>available brand of water but their website won't tell me product
>>information like that. Where do I go to find out?
>
> I recommend using hard tap water if it's tasty and descaling
> quarterly. The coffee will taste better and your boiler won't corrode.
> If it doesn't taste good, by something labelled spring water, which
> should indicate some mineral content (most of the local spring water
> here, as well as coke's brand ?dasani? comes from that quant aquifer,
> Lake Michigan, drilled from "springs" tapped in the sand of the
> Indiana dunes).
>
> google for tds meters if you're really worried, they cost around $20.
> More simply, the cost of any sort of bought water will exceed that of
> the Gaggia in a year, so preventing scale or corrosion by this means
> seems silly. Instead try the coffee or espresso with various waters
> and pick the one you like best. the usual recommendation is 5 grains
> (90mg/L) hardness or 100 to 150 mg/L total dissolved solids. The two
> standards are roughly equivalent.
>
>
> AND FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME: THERE IS NO REASON TO WORRY ABOUT SCALE IN
> HOME MACHINES, JUST RUN THROUGH A DESCALER FOUR TIMES A YEAR.
>
> --
> jim schulman
> <jim_schulman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


.

Loading