Water filter and softener systems
Hi all,
I'm kind of taking stock of my suppliers right now, and one of the big question marks for me still is water conditioning. Though I've been relatively happy with the performance of my current supplier's product in my customers' stores, I'm still not 100% convinced that I'm working with the right product and supplier. At any rate, I'm shopping around and was looking for feedback.
Looks like the big guys are 3M/Cuno (who I currently use), Everpure, Cirqua, and Mavea. I'm working through their respective online resources as we speak, but wanted some field (and ordering) experiences as well.
So... who do you use, and why? Techs, what systems do you spec for espresso and coffee? What's the list price point for those systems? How easy are systems to change? How well do they work? How good of a supplier are they?
For a little detail into the specifics of my average application: Mostly dealing with municipal water. Avg hardness 2-3 grains, so not much needed there. I'll generally install a system for espresso and a separate system for coffee... though some stores would be able to share. Most applications are low to medium volume stores. And, like most operators, my customers are pretty price conscious when it comes to stuff like this.
(BTW, I do feel like my timing stinks for this kind of evaluation... having just been at the show in Houston, this would have been the perfect thing to figure out while I was there. That's what I get for not having a punch list and prepared questions, eh? Spending some time talking with one of the reps after midnight at the RG party doesn't really answer too many technical questions either.)
Thanks in advance for any help.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Mike Sabol on
-
Hi Brady - I've used Cuno and Everpure and in a past life I had a little interaction with Cirqua. Personally I like the Cuno products because of the valve in head and the fact that you don't have to flush/activate the system. I also like their scope of products. I've been able to address an issue of a filter clogging too fast by using the same family of filter but changing the spec from .5 or 1 micron to 3 micron. The last cafe system I set up was with an Everpure High Flow system. And it's pretty good but with the usual pitfalls, keeping the prefilter changed and always having to train on how and when to do filter changes. The flushing/activation of Everpure cartridges is a big impediment to field use, as well. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new.
If I were to choose one I'd choose Cuno for the simple reason of the easy cartridge change outs. Everpure makes a great product, I really like the taste of the water from the Highflow system at the cafe, but the cartridge changing isn't as easy as Cuno. In an ideal world that wouldn't make a difference but in the real world it does. My experience is that if it's difficult to change the filter the filter won't get changed. The Cuno carts are more expensive, though.
At my last job we were able to set up a distributorship with Cuno. We bought a huge amount of filtration for our foodservice clients and the local distributor up here was not able to meet our needs at the time. You might be able to set up something with them if you could create a buying group. Maybe you could be the Cuno distributor for all the BX shops or the local specialty coffee Cuno distributor. Don't know.
When I worked at Starbucks we were using Cirqua. As far as I can tell the taste and odor system was put together with generic parts and cartridges that you could order from McMaster-Carr for half the price. And the next step from there were the nano-filtration system and the RO system. Big ticket items for an independent shop. I am not familiar with their current line up.
I don't have any experience with Mavea. I hear that they are good but from what I can tell they are expensive at the outset. The carts last longer but are more expensive as well. And, as I'm sure you know very well, filtration is so overlooked and ignored at most shops that when they finally get desperate enough to change the filter price makes a big impact on how they handle the situation. The Mavea seem like they would require part of the sales pitch to be getting on board with a total water system solution and looking at long term cost versus simple cartridge replacement cost. Which means more hand holding long term for you. Shops don't think that way when left to their own devices.
That is my experience and/or opinion, anyway. Hope it helps.
-
Permalink Reply by Scott on
-
Hi Brady - I worked with Mike at Starbucks. I started a long post on what I know (or don't know about water theory) and deleted it. Anyway, I agree with Mike's comment about ease of filter change if the customer is changing his or her own filters. Maybe in that case the cost of an Everpure of Cuno is offset by thing actually being serviced correctly. Both of these use proprietary cartridges that I'm not a fan of. I think in general they cost more than using industry standard filter sizes. And they tend to be smaller, so not only are they more expensive, you have to change them more frequently. If you are in a municipality that uses surface water - lakes, dams, rivers and reservoirs; that water is going to be heavily Chlorinated. And it's the size and weight of the carbon blocks that soak up that Chlorine.
Barista Exchange Partners
Barista Exchange Friends
Keep Barista Exchange Free
Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!
© 2024 Created by Matt Milletto.
Powered by
