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Beeping???
I have been away 4 days, I came in tonight and turned the machine on for a couple cups of espresso. After the second cup the beeping went off. Water tank was not low, white light (top light) was on as usual. No other lights came on. I turned it off for about 10 minutes. I turned it back on and the beeping started again. No other lights either??
Machine is only 5-6 months old.
Thank you
Machine is only 5-6 months old.
Thank you
Comments
On the keep it simple principal I would initially give the water in the tank a stir to make sure no bubbles are sitting on the sensor, and also give the tank a jiggle to reseat the contact between the tank and lower contacts.
Whenever I’ve had this issue with our very low conductivity water quickly turning the machine off and back on has always solved the problem.
Hopefully that will do it.
Thanks
greg is correct, super soft water is a likely cause if you haven't lifted the water tank out
kind regards
reiss.
http://www.lebleu.com/difference.asp
There has been a lot of discussion on this site and others about the ideal water for coffee, and it certainly isn’t mineral free.
As a rough guide, as long as your carbonate hardness (sometimes written KH, and not to be confused with general hardness GH) is not exceeding 75ppm then you should be safe from excessive limescale.
A small quantity of dissolved minerals will not only help to stop your machine beeping at you, it will also stop your boiler from rotting. Reverse osmosis water (which I use) is acidic and will strip the dirt off of hard surfaces, and when it has finished doing that, it will start to strip the very fabric of that surface... leading to (typically) little pinholes, and then you are in serious trouble.
Also as Greg points out above, low conductivity water can play tricks with electronic switches, which is probably why you were getting a beep in the first place
?? Im going to just leave it on for a couple hours till i leave
It sounds very simple to me. Your water is likely low in minerals and the "beep" is a sign of it being in the low area. The "beep" is not a precise measurement device like TDS meter would be, but the fact that it frequently hints that your water may be low on minerals says enough.
You could try a mix of the triple osmosis water you prefer with local tap water. That may not be ideal but if the beep stays off, it confirms the hunch.
You can also just use a measurement device or the hardness kit to see what the water is really like.
Anyway it does not seem like the machine is wrong.
Thanks
Those Nestlé marques are to be avoided since their mineral content appears to be variable to say the least...
Apart from that I have seen some pretty heavy video on the net which suggests that Nestlé (A Swiss company) is a less than caring company when it comes to customer relations. However that could be baloney, the clincher is that the mineral level is extremely variable in both.
Volvic on the other hand is low in sodium and OK in regard to magnesium and calcium:-
http://www.volvic-na.com/pdf/Volvic-2013-AWQR-CALIF-ENG.pdf
I believe it is available at [strike]ASDA[/strike] Walmart...
Deer Park- http://www.nestle-watersna.com/asset-library/Documents/DP_ENG.pdf
Poland Spring- http://www.nestle-watersna.com/asset-library/Documents/PS_ENG.pdf
Thanks
Deer Park is a bit whacky, with reeaally variable levels of these minerals.
Which is why I recommended the old stalwart in Europe, which is Volvic, available in Walmart...
I am pretty sure that there are plenty of other bottles available... You need around 60-90ppm (magnesium and calcium), and you don't need too much other stuff... Your original choice was too clean, those two above are not much better.
Volvic has been tested and tasted by millions of coffee drinking bottled water fans (I am not one) but I am told that this is the one.
Some of the supermarkets own brands are good, but you have to read the labels and we don't have the same companies here as you do there.
Thanks
There is another one though which does not look bad... Not as good but it has a PH of 7.4 abit low, but stable... and cheaper... from Croatia...
Jana $21
http://www.jana-water.com/en/about-jana/composition
And another...
Oakley...
http://media.wix.com/ugd/c330be_9b2d7472e6e35592f3c278cf0e25e8b4.pdf
It seems to me that the stable ones are the volcanic/artesian types Gene...
These seem to be OK on the good minerals (but not too much) calcium and magnesium... and low on the baddies like sodium.
Cacium and Magnesium are actually good for you and the machine... Up to a point...
So more than 20 ppm and less than 100ppm is probably OK....
London water, where I live is around 350-400ppm plus a load of toxins and a bit of bleach just to make it taste revolting too...
But it is safe!!!
When I was starting out I looked in the supermarkets for bottled water that disclosed the typical chemical composition of the water on the bottle
If this information wasn't provided I left it in the store
If you can then post images of the labels, and direct us to the website for the bottle if the same information is there, I can then help you sort them out
It is likely that you will want a water hardness test kit as quite often the carbonate hardness value is not disclosed, or has to be derived
In the meantime you could probably throw 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda in the water box to ensure there is enough conductivity for the sensors to work with
Kind regards
Reiss
Thanks
Mixing both works for me as I am getting "top-shelf" water and acceptable water while not breaking the bank. And maybe it is just me, but I cannot tell a difference when I strictly use one or the other.
I did not do any type of testing though to confirm my theory though...
http://www.nestle-watersna.com/asset-library/Documents/DP_ENG.pdf
yes, you will see we have covered this issue a number of times in the past here
the sensors relying on being able to pass a small electric current from one probe to the other. to achieve this the water needs a certain level of conductivity. conductivity is achieved with ions being in the water. if the water is too 'pure' i lacks sufficient ions to carry the charge from one probe to the other
the system interprets this to mean that there is no water in the water box
hi gene
i am unable to tell from the information provided
a lot of good suggestions have been made, and its tricky balancing the different points of view
are any other waters available to you are your local supermarket?
if not, buy the nestle water & test it with a Hach 5e kit, or the one we offer, or someone else's entirely - aquarium shops can be a useful source
Thanks everyone for all the help. Love this forum and the Londinium owners....
Thanks
It's not unique for this machine. In this video, the women from Seattle Coffee Gear also explain about low mineral water setting off an alarm (in this case a blinking light):
Matt