Does anyone have experience cleaning (de-scaling) their Solis Espresso 
machine?
I know that Tom sells Urnix, but the Solis guide suggests a solution from 
Solis (solispro or something like that).  I don't want to ruin the insides 
of my machine.
Thank you,
Craig
Ps. Try the HomeRoast Digest athttp://TheMeyers.org/HomeRoast/index.htm

<Snip>
Use urnex or purocaf to clean the coffee handle and filter baskets. It
really is great at removing coffee residue. Just soak them for 10 minites
or so (you're not going to need a lot of mixture to do this, that's why I
have the little packets too for .25) . The solution solis sells is
basically a descaler. An old parts distributor for Solis told me to just
use filtered lemon juice mixed with water, b ut I think a true descaler is
a little better. I would just use it weaker than recommened. Just run it
through the tank like Solis recommends. If you get a non-coffee descaler
just make sure it is mild. Theres stuff out there that is sulphuric acid
...way too potent for coffee equipment!
Tom
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             * Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting Supplies *
                  Tom and Maria * info
                   web:http://www.sweetmarias.com

 
	I have found Urnex to be a miracle cleaner.  Does Sweet Maria's carry a 
mild liquid descaler?  If not, what do you suggest?
Thanks,
Craig

= I have found Urnex to be a miracle cleaner.  Does Sweet Maria's carry a
= mild liquid descaler?  If not, what do you suggest?
Craig & all, am in the industrial chemical business and have been in same
since 1971. With that said, if you are in an area of hard water and wish to
use a descaler, anything you buy will be a dilute solution of muriatic
acid, no matter what it's called.
Buy the cheapest you can find...or go to a swimming pool supply store, buy
a small container (if they have it) of straight stuff; take it home and
dilute it with 5 parts water. (Please only use plastic or glass for the
container.)  Once diluted 5-1 it will sting if you have a small cut and it
will dry the oils out in your skin in a hurry, but you can descale with it.
Remember to rinse well with water anywhere the solution comes in contact
with metal.
May I assume the areas you wish to descale are copper tubing, etc.?
BTW, if the buildup is very slight, just run plain vinegar through it.
Mike

I was warned by a guy at La Cimbali NOT to use vinegar or citric acid..  He
recommended Cream of Tartar. It's a cooking substance and is quite
expensive...If any of you guys know of a cheap source for this stuff, let me
know..
BTW, it does seem to work pretty well....
Ciao,
Angelo
<Snip>

 
At 5:40 PM -0400 6/1/00, Angelo wrote:
<Snip>
...
It's strange stuff.  A very small amount of it makes plaster set up quickly.
I wonder what's in it (chemically speaking).
;B
-- 
      Eric Bear Albrecht     ebear    http://www.newmex.com/ebear      Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson used to be our congressman and I had
      some measure of respect for him.  Now he lies to us -- that's his job.
      He says there's no nasties in the air from the Los Alamos fire.
      I live downwind.  We had double to triple normal background counts
      from 5 pm 5/10 to 9 pm 5/11.  Look at it this way:  even if there
      were no emanations from burnt labs, those trees that are burning have
      been absorbing all kinds of nasty substances for over fifty years.

 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions on what to use.
Craig
For the HomeRoast digest use:http://www.themeyers.org/HomeRoast/index.htm

 
Not sure what you mean by expensive - it's $5.40 / lb at Penzey's Spices 
Is that cheap enough?
Seth Goodman
At 05:40 PM 6/1/00, you wrote:
<Snip>

Eric Bear Albrecht wrote:
<Snip>
The OED says it's bitartrate of potash (acid potassium tartrate).   The chemical
formula is CO2H.(CHOH)2.CO2K if you're interseted in that sort of thing.
(K=potassium, replace the K with an H and you have tartaric acid.)
That is, it's the potassium salt of tartaric acid.  I assume that it's the
tartaric acid part that does the descaling.
If you've never heard of tartaric acid, it's the primary acid in grape juice and
wine.
Why it would be better for descaling, I'm not sure.  Possibly because it's less
volatile than either acetic or ctric acids.
=Spencer Thomas in Ann Arbor

<Snip>
Cream of tartar is  Potassium bitartrate,  or the monopotassium salt of tartaric 
acid, or the monopotassium salt of 2R,3R-2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid.
If I thought about it a bit longer, I could come up with more synonyms.
   HO2C-CH(OH)-CH(OH)-CO2H . K
Dave Huddle	jhuddle    www.cas.org

What I mean by expensive is $5.19 for 2.06 oz, which is what I paid for it
in my local supermarket...So, I'm a schmuck..:-)
Thanks for the source..I'm wondering if a chemical supply house would be yet
cheaper...It was true of the citric acid...Anybody remember that place?
ciao,
Angelo..
<Snip>

I think maybe it's because the Cimbali uses an aluminum boiler...The thing
scales up amazingly. After every use, I can get scale coming out of the
drain cock....It seems to grow as you watch it through the glass viewer..
:-)
I'm wondering if that's what's going on in my Saeco Barista.....
Ciao,
Angelo
<Snip>
less
<Snip>

 
At 03:33 AM 6/2/00 -0400, you wrote:
<Snip>
I thought that was tannins in grapes... as in tannic acid?
Mark

Grapes have tannins in the skins.  Tannins will cause your mouth to "dry up"
and pucker.
Mark wrote:
<Snip>