The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 457 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Tiny, loud & mean Italsomac,... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Wed Apr 30, 2008, 4:31pm Subject: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
Hi,
I just purchased a miniwega (edit: this is a 1-group, commercial, E-61 machine with a rotary pump that "requires" plumbing in)
...and my kitchen is not constructed in a way that readily facilitates plumbing in. I have ordered a Flojet. I have a couple of questions:
Do I really need a Flojet? What if I just stuck the intake pipe through a brass valve and into a 3 Liter tupperware, the way my pourover Audrey is currently set up?
Assuming I do need a Flojet-- are those of you who use them all subscribed to a company like Arrowhead or Culligan where you pay 30 a month and get giant jugs delivered? Or if not where did you get the jug and how on earth are you filling something that massive, unless you're using garden hose water in your jug?
If I wanted to put in a drain line, how exactly is that done? I'm looking at setting this machine up on a cart.
Thanks,
-TMB
OMG, I just looked up and saw what I typed. Giant jugs delivered right to your door!! Only $30/month!
Man, some people doing google searches are gonna really get the wrong idea.... on the other hand, whatta bargain!
I do get the water delivered, it's convenient for me (and you will likely end up going that way as well). But before that I got my water at the grocery store in 1-gallon jugs and used those to refill the big plastic bottle. The big plastic bottles can be found at many grocery stores, I have seen them online and I have seen them at Home Depot and Lowe's as well.
The_Mighty_Bean Said:
If I wanted to put in a drain line, how exactly is that done? I'm looking at setting this machine up on a cart.
I was originally set up on a cart and I just ran the drain hose from the cup in the drip tray (the drip tray on my Wega has a recessed plastic cup with a drain hose barb connection
The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 457 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Tiny, loud & mean Italsomac,... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Thu May 1, 2008, 6:42am Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
Can you be a bit more specific about what happened when you tried it without the flojet? I don't want to somehow hurt the rotary pump by accident.
JonR10 Said:
I do get the water delivered, it's convenient for me (and you will likely end up going that way as well). But before that I got my water at the grocery store in 1-gallon jugs and used those to refill the big plastic bottle. The big plastic bottles can be found at many grocery stores, I have seen them online and I have seen them at Home Depot and Lowe's as well.
Ah, that's a good idea. I already spend 30/month on beans, and we have a Pur water filter on the sink, so I can't exactly justify another $30 a month on the Culligan man.
The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 457 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Tiny, loud & mean Italsomac,... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Fri May 2, 2008, 11:57am Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
Thanks Rich, I think the postman wonders why my nose is pressed to the window glass every day, much like my dog. But he's gonna hate me when he figures it out and has to lug a 60+ pound box up to my front door.
Peppina has waited patiently for me to have some time for her. This weekend is it. I think I'll be starting the work today and hopefully finish it up, tomorrow.
The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 457 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Tiny, loud & mean Italsomac,... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Sat May 3, 2008, 7:20am Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
Aargh.
Jon,
I hear I need a Shurflo Accumulator, too? Otherwise I'll get screwy pressure? How much of a difference does that fluctuation really make to a shot- do I need to get one right away or is it just a small performance upgrade?
--edit-- I did my homework, and I see you weighed in about 2 years ago saying that you couldn't tell the difference in your shots, either way. Do you still feel that way?
And I guess I'm also going to need an in-line water softener, eventually? Any idea where to get one on the cheap? Is there anything else I haven't thought of that cares to bleed my wallet dry, during what -was- a relatively inexpensive upgrade?
Robur, I suppose. Everybody needs one of those.
-the Broke bean, realizing that Worldwide Domination is expensive!
Posted Sat May 3, 2008, 8:49am Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
The_Mighty_Bean Said:
Jon,
I hear I need a Shurflo Accumulator, too? Otherwise I'll get screwy pressure? How much of a difference does that fluctuation really make to a shot- do I need to get one right away or is it just a small performance upgrade?
The accumulator smoothes out the pressure flucruations (inlet to machine), but I have never measured or researched the output pressure (with vs. without) but it is aparently documented HERE. If you check my posted video clips, THIS ONE was done without an accumulator and THIS ONE was with the accumulator. You can hear the flojet cycle every few seconds on the first video. It's true that I didn't taste the difference when I installed the accumulator but it does smooth out the pump cycles of the flojet (flojet cycles less often and for a longer period each cycle).
As far as the water softener, you can measure the water softness and choose a relatively soft bottled water then you shouldn't need a softener. I use Ozarka water because it's very soft but still triggers the boiler fill probe, and I do use a 5-micron filter just-in-case but no softener on the line.
krus Senior Member Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 155 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Appia Grinder: Macap Vac Pot: Bodum Arabica press pot Drip: Are you kidding?? Roaster: Hot-Top
Posted Sun May 4, 2008, 10:16am Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
An accumulator is VERY inexpensive and will dramatically extend the life of your pump. Any RV or boat dealer in your area should carry them. For best results, make sure to set it at around 27# of pressure since this is the turn-on point for most pumps.
The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 457 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Tiny, loud & mean Italsomac,... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Wed May 7, 2008, 3:58pm Subject: Re: Where do you get a water tank for a Flojet
Thanks guys,
Another flojet question. The machine arrived and it has a braided intake hose with a brass female connector on the end, with what looks like a 1/4 inch internal diameter opening. The Flojet has this weird looking grey plastic output that readily accepts the tiny refrigerator tubing that comes with it. Obviously, that won't do.
Is there a way to get the grey thing out of the flojet? Or do I just screw a female-female adaptor onto the end of the grey thing? Or how the heck am I supposed to connect these two up?
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