OT: Coffee Maker Boilers

[JimGlass]

This is a little off topic but hopefully someone will have some Ideas.

In Nothern Illinois our drinking water is considered "Hard water" or loaded with dissolved minerals. This hard water will lime up a new coffee maker in 6 to 9 months. Every 6 to 9 months we trash a like new coffee maker just because the boiler is pluged with lime. I have tried for years to remove the lime by drilling it out of the boiler. But the boilers are "U" shaped and I can only drill about 1 1/2" deep. Drilling helps but is not the cure.

I have searched all over the internet to find a source for replacement boilers and found nothing.

Years ago I called the manufactures for replacement boilers. They always said they would not sell the consumer a replacement boiler for liability reasons. I'm sure that I'm quite capable of replacing the boiler without killing myself.

These boilers have to be around somewhere. Does anyone have a source or contact information on these boilers? Has anyone found a way to remove the lime.

Thanks,
Jim

[jutz]

If you search the internet for "Coffee maker lime removal" you will find lots of sites, most of which say to run vinegar through it to clean out the lime.

[Richard_W]

You might run a tube bruse through it once a week.

Also bottled water may be the best answer.


Richard W.

[Falcon67]

Bottled water or run a load of white vinegar through it once every couple of weeks. Or buy stock in Bunn.

[tailshaft56]

We have the same thing here. We use a Bunn and it comes with a flexable spring thats used to ream out the lime. It does help but is not the be all to end all. I did install A filter to the kitchen sink. While it's not a 100 % cure it will capture a fair amount of the lime. We don't get nearly as much of the buildup we used to get where you pour the water in.

The filter kits are around $50 with the replacement filters about $30. They are supposed to be good for a year. Ours is starting to limit the volume more than normal so I may have to change it a bit early.

[CarlD]

A good dose of white vinegar about once a week should do it.

[Richard_W]

If you’re going to filter the water you have to get a reverse osmosis filter. It should get rid of the lime. I have an iron filter and I have lime also, but the lime isn’t bad enough to go the reverse osmosis route.


Richard W.

[CB&Q]

I grew up in Berwyn; our water was 100% purchased from Chicago, therefore making it's source Lake Michigan. Are you too far out to be on same water?

L. Michigan water was said to be amongst the hardest there was. I can only say that I think we got more fine clay or silt delivered with it, insoluble, than dissolved solids like lime. Six months of use of a toilet revealed 1/2" of gray "mud" in the bottom of the tank.

Coffee is said to be bad for you, anyhow.........

CB&Q

[GeneT]

I had multiple coffee maker issues years back and solved the problem by buying a restaurant quality coffee maker from eBay. It was about $200 (about 10% of what it would have cost new) and it's been going strong for the last 6-7 years. The plumbing is all standard stuff, so you can pull it apart for cleaning, the boiler is a big can that holds 2 pots worth of water (the coffee maker is plumbed in, so refreshes automatically) and spare parts are available. A little more cost now, but I believe mine has saved me money.

GsT

[Mid Day Machining]

I have a relative in Idaho who has the same problem and about once a month he will run a pot of about 25% white vinegar through his pot about 6 or 7 times. He runs it through, then lets it cool a little and runs it again, then runs about 3 pots of plain water through it.

Good luck.

[mechanicalmagic]

Looks like time to build your own boiler, salvage what you can from a dead one. How hard can it be? IIRC there's a heater, a Klixon switch, a flat plate, and some tubing. If you build it with throw-away "U" tubes, it could last for decades.

Dave J.

***EDIT*** You might consider using "heat sink grease" in addition to mechanical pressure when attaching the "U" tube.
McMaster #3883K23

[JimGlass]

Looks like time to build your own boiler, salvage what you can from a dead one. How hard can it be? IIRC there's a heater, a Klixon switch, a flat plate, and some tubing. If you build it with throw-away "U" tubes, it could last for decades.

You must be reading my mind because if I cannot find a source for a replacement boiler, building one was my next thought. The current one is an aluminum extrusion with two tubes. One for water and the heating element in the other. Separate the two with a saw and clamp on another tube. I think there is a check valve in the water tube.

I'm aware of vinegar to clean the coffee maker. But my wife and I live a hectic life style. She monitors the stock market reports on TV and I'm always playing the shop. We are both retired.
Jim[/code]