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Permalink Reply by Mike on February 10, 2010 at 7:04pm

It simply is attached to the pump (either internal or external) for your espresso machine,delivering water to be pumped at 9 bar.I have a flo jet attached to my Rio which has an internal pump and it does the job.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Aldrich on February 10, 2010 at 7:15pm

just make sure you're using distilled water so as to avoid scale. the 5 gallon jugs used with water coolers make great reservoirs for it.

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Permalink Reply by Dylan Jung on February 10, 2010 at 8:48pm

Thanks guys. I am surely using distilled water.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Swenson on February 10, 2010 at 9:09pm

Dylan--it is not optimal to brew coffee using distilled water. Although it is true that the minerals in water cause scale build up, you should not get rid of them all together.

Ideally, you will want between 125-175ppm dissolved minerals. This is the hardness that "fresh" drinking water typically comes in at stores. You can get a kit at hardware store to check your tap water at your house.


Dylan Jung said:

Thanks guys. I am surely using distilled water.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Aldrich on February 10, 2010 at 9:18pm

While that's true with brewed coffee(ie water you would use in a drip brewer or hot water tower) with the valves, etc. in an espresso machine you will probably cut the lifespan in half.

Matt Swenson said:

Dylan--it is not optimal to brew coffee using distilled water. Although it is true that the minerals in water cause scale build up, you should not get rid of them all together.

Ideally, you will want between 125-175ppm dissolved minerals. This is the hardness that "fresh" drinking water typically comes in at stores. You can get a kit at hardware store to check your tap water at your house.


Dylan Jung said:

Thanks guys. I am surely using distilled water.

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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on February 10, 2010 at 9:31pm

WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not only will using distilled water cause a flat lifeless shot, even worse it causes boiler auto-fill sensor to not work. No mineral content in the boiler water, no conduction. Auto-fill sensor works by being in contact with water which is grounded by the boiler/chasis ground and closing the circuit. Water level goes down and circuit opens signaling brain to tell pump to fill boiler. Call La Marzocco or Rancilio or who ever and ask if they recommend using distilled water if you don't believe. LM has a specific mineral content recommendation. Oh, and periodic descaling is a part of normal periodic routine maintenance ALL espresso machines, home or commercial.

Flojet wise you'll also need an accumulator or you'll get pulsing from the Flojet water feed causing pressure pulsing shots. Assuming a rotary pump, but if a vibe pump would be a tank job model machine so wouldn't need the Flojet in the first place.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on February 10, 2010 at 9:39pm

Just echoing here... distilled=bad. For the reasons already stated. No... just no...

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Dylan Jung on February 11, 2010 at 7:37am

Ha-ha. Okay so are there or are there not mineral solutions you can add to water? I've seen a few things out there on the market yet expanding this conversation a bit more. Regular de-scaling is neccessity I know, so that is not a problem.

I also realize that distilled does not have much life to it. How about water from reverse osmosis. Any better?

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Permalink Reply by Brady on February 11, 2010 at 10:21am

Jonathan Aldrich said:

While that's true with brewed coffee(ie water you would use in a drip brewer or hot water tower) with the valves, etc. in an espresso machine you will probably cut the lifespan in half.

Matt Swenson said:

Dylan--it is not optimal to brew coffee using distilled water. Although it is true that the minerals in water cause scale build up, you should not get rid of them all together.

Ideally, you will want between 125-175ppm dissolved minerals. This is the hardness that "fresh" drinking water typically comes in at stores. You can get a kit at hardware store to check your tap water at your house.


Dylan Jung said:

Thanks guys. I am surely using distilled water.

Not to pile on, but this is completely and totally false. This is why Cirqua and many other filter and softener system manufacturers put in a bypass - so that you can dial in precisely the right amount of mineral content.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on February 11, 2010 at 10:38am

Dylan Jung said:

Ha-ha. Okay so are there or are there not mineral solutions you can add to water? I've seen a few things out there on the market yet expanding this conversation a bit more. Regular de-scaling is neccessity I know, so that is not a problem.

I also realize that distilled does not have much life to it. How about water from reverse osmosis. Any better?

Really, all you need is filtered drinking water, as Matt said. The goal is water that has had chlorine, sediment, and odor removed yet still has some oxygen and mineral content.

Is there a reason not to go with a filter or softener? I'm sure you've already considered this, but just thought I'd toss that out.

You have to be careful with RO water. It is far more corrosive than filtered or softened water, and will eat your machine from the inside out. There are RO systems that have been designed for use with coffee equipment, but they involve bypass loops. These loops re-introduce some unconditioned water back to the stream, and allow you to fine-tune your mineral.

To the original question, as I understand it, the motor pumps that are used by most espresso machines aren't designed to just suck water from a bottle. They can do it, but it is not too good for them. They are intended to operate with line pressure, which you get from hooking up to normal plumbing. The Flojet just provides this pressure to help the machine's pump. It doesn't replace it.

Hope this helps.

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Permalink Reply by Dylan Jung on February 11, 2010 at 12:14pm

Yes I think I got it. So in other words, with the Flojet bringing water to my compressor (acting like line level) and the compressor feeding my machine I should be good yes? Hopefully no pulsing issues?

That simplifies my question which could be re-stated as: Do I use the Flojet to bring line level to my compressor or is the Flojet just supposed to be used stand-alone?

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