Tired of running multiple water filter systems


 
Brad Olson said:
Larry, what's your water source? Private well or municipal system?
Click to expand...
Cherry Valley and Rockford all draw from the same Artesian aquifer. So it's municipal. It's surprisingly good water but incredibly hard. Almost like liquid gravel. I've tasted water other people who're on private wells have tapped into the same aquifer and it's incredibly good water (a little "irony" tasting) but REALLY good tasting water.
The issues come in (quality wise) from all the crap the municipalities do to it and add to it. And then the chlorination. If you don't pass the water at LEAST over a carbon filter it's smells like you opened a bottle of bleach. Which is one reason why right after the softener it runs through a whole house carbon/sediment filter. First to be a safety device in case my softener "pukes". (I had this happen once and believe me it's NOT pretty) So the filter has a clear housing and if anything happens I can see it.
The softened/carbon filtered water is fed to my RO system. And as noted I have a tap "pre-softener" going to the drinking system. So that system does not do anything but take out impurities, chemicals, lead, PFAS, and viruses/bacteria that might be present.
But that water is incredibly hard. I am constantly needing to clean the minerals off the drinking water faucet. It's a great system though and what comes out tastes incredibly good. I had even been running it to the fridge. But even there I was needing to deal with mineral deposits caking up on it. So, the RO system is very helpful.
I'd just never heard of remineralization filters up until this year. Which was a reason I'd kind of given up on RO. Due to possible damage (I never knew about and could not explain why my coffee makers would begin leaking from the heating elements). Makes me wonder what I may have been consuming in my coffee unknowingly :D
 
OK initial testing of the mineralization filter shows an initial boost from 10-12 up to 40. I think as the cartridge "settles in" a bit it should become better
 
OK so here is a head scratcher: I started brewing my coffee with the re-mineralized water. For the record the water is REALLY good. My reasoning behind all this? The water that was filtered only straight outta the tap (no softening or anything) brewed incredibly good coffee whether espresso, any of my drip machines, etc. And for the record it too was incredibly good to drink.
But, 2 things drove me to make this change. One, the desire to reduce my filter systems. Two, the very hard mineral dense water was scaling up my brewers badly. To the point the OXOs especially needed descaling every 2 to 3 weeks.
So now I've accomplished some lofty goals EXCEPT I don't think my coffee is brewing the same. It just seems a little "off". Not quite as robust, maybe even a touch "sour". Though I am having a very hard time deciphering that. Also noticed the grind bed is not passing water through the way it did. Almost like I'm grinding too finely.
Tips welcome, but tomorrow I'm gonna set the Baratza Forte 2 whole steps higher than Baratza recommends and what I was using. It's almost like the water is hitting the bed too quickly and not draining quickly enough
 
LMichaels said:
OK so here is a head scratcher: I started brewing my coffee with the re-mineralized water. For the record the water is REALLY good. My reasoning behind all this? The water that was filtered only straight outta the tap (no softening or anything) brewed incredibly good coffee whether espresso, any of my drip machines, etc. And for the record it too was incredibly good to drink.
But, 2 things drove me to make this change. One, the desire to reduce my filter systems. Two, the very hard mineral dense water was scaling up my brewers badly. To the point the OXOs especially needed descaling every 2 to 3 weeks.
So now I've accomplished some lofty goals EXCEPT I don't think my coffee is brewing the same. It just seems a little "off". Not quite as robust, maybe even a touch "sour". Though I am having a very hard time deciphering that. Also noticed the grind bed is not passing water through the way it did. Almost like I'm grinding too finely.
Tips welcome, but tomorrow I'm gonna set the Baratza Forte 2 whole steps higher than Baratza recommends and what I was using. It's almost like the water is hitting the bed too quickly and not draining quickly enough
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what "coffee machine" that you are having issues with but for my superautomatic when I was running oily beans thru it it created havic by plugging up the machine where I was getting poor flow. Cleaning the machine only improved marginally, the real fix was when I removed the stainless filter where the espresso exist. The top of the filter had considerable build up that I had to use a steel wool pad to bring it back to "normal".
 
LMichaels said:
OK so here is a head scratcher: I started brewing my coffee with the re-mineralized water. For the record the water is REALLY good. My reasoning behind all this? The water that was filtered only straight outta the tap (no softening or anything) brewed incredibly good coffee whether espresso, any of my drip machines, etc. And for the record it too was incredibly good to drink.
But, 2 things drove me to make this change. One, the desire to reduce my filter systems. Two, the very hard mineral dense water was scaling up my brewers badly. To the point the OXOs especially needed descaling every 2 to 3 weeks.
So now I've accomplished some lofty goals EXCEPT I don't think my coffee is brewing the same. It just seems a little "off". Not quite as robust, maybe even a touch "sour". Though I am having a very hard time deciphering that. Also noticed the grind bed is not passing water through the way it did. Almost like I'm grinding too finely.
Tips welcome, but tomorrow I'm gonna set the Baratza Forte 2 whole steps higher than Baratza recommends and what I was using. It's almost like the water is hitting the bed too quickly and not draining quickly enough
Click to expand...
You secretly want to be known as a "barista", right? ;)
 
Ray J. said:
I'm not sure what "coffee machine" that you are having issues with but for my superautomatic when I was running oily beans thru it it created havic by plugging up the machine where I was getting poor flow. Cleaning the machine only improved marginally, the real fix was when I removed the stainless filter where the espresso exist. The top of the filter had considerable build up that I had to use a steel wool pad to bring it back to "normal".
Click to expand...
I alternate mostly this one https://www.oxo.com/12-cup-coffee-maker.html and also this one https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bdc450
Now to be fair I've not tried the Breville on the new filter system. Was going to make a change to my grind size going a step coarser. and seeing if that changes the characteristics. I was reading up on this "issue" and it seems using a lower mineral content water does change things. Apparently it causes the grinds to swell a bit more and can clog the filter a bit. So, I'll give larger grind a try.
I do have the espresso maker, however I rarely use it. Maybe once or twice a week is all
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top