Dapuma Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2013 Posts: 34 Location: Phoenix Expertise: Just starting
Posted Thu Feb 28, 2013, 5:56pm Subject: RO Water and bottled water
So I have a RO system and my understanding after doing more reseach is that I cannot use the RO water in the espresso maker (going to get the QM 67) and it would be bad for my rojirushi hot water dispenser (for tea)
I read something that i could use RO water and add tap water to get kind of a mixture of water, but that it may not be safe? Is that true?
What bottled water (nationally) will make for good coffee since I will need to buy it instead of using the RO water which was my plan, the machine will not be plumbed
How does Crystal Geyser do? That is always inexpensive in huge gallon jugs or what other ideas does anyone else have
Posted Thu Feb 28, 2013, 11:13pm Subject: Re: RO Water and bottled water
Any espresso machine that has a water level sensor needs to have some mineral content in the water for conductivity. Additionally, pure Ro water will leach away copper and other metals. That is why they tell you to use plastic tubing to run RO water to the ice maker. The solution is to take a separate line for the espresso machine and add a filter cartridge to add minerals back into the water for that specific use. I believe that the filter is calcite, but check into that.
tdifraia Senior Member Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 77 Location: Boston Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: QM67 Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Bunn
Posted Fri Mar 1, 2013, 12:38am Subject: Re: RO Water and bottled water
RO's (reverse osmosis) remove minerals from water. Certain minerals such as calcium and magnesium under high temperatures will precipitate out of the water and become solids (scale). The scale will stick to the metal and act as an insulator, which effects heat transfer. RO water is good for espresso machines because it removes the scale. The reason it can not be used in some machines is because they use water level sensors that measure conductivity. When the water level drops below the probe it does not come in contact with the water, and sends a signal to a relay to shut the machine off. Pure water (RO water) has no conductivity, but natural water does because of the mineral content (calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium etc...). As long as the machine does NOT use a water level indicator that senses the waters conductivity, RO water can be used and will actually prevent any scale build up. With RO water your machine will NEVER scale up. Ive noticed a lot of high end machines do use this type of sensor. BUT the QM 67 does not. It has a float and will not be effected by the use of RO water. RO water does have other drawbacks. What gives water its taste is the minerals. When we drink water we are consuming the minerals in it. Not only does it give us its taste, it supplies our bodies with minerals necessary to survive. So RO water is great for washing machines, swimming pools, boilers etc... But not really good for drinking. It will not hurt you, but it will not be a healthy choice and may taste flat because of the lack of minerals. When you are using RO water for coffee, I do not know how it will effect the taste because there are so many flavors extracted from the coffee you may not even notice the difference in taste. I hope this helps. Go with QM 67 I have one and love it. My water is < grain hard and I use a Brita water filter that helps remove some of the hardness in the water.
Dapuma Said:
So I have a RO system and my understanding after doing more reseach is that I cannot use the RO water in the espresso maker (going to get the QM 67) and it would be bad for my rojirushi hot water dispenser (for tea)
I read something that i could use RO water and add tap water to get kind of a mixture of water, but that it may not be safe? Is that true?
What bottled water (nationally) will make for good coffee since I will need to buy it instead of using the RO water which was my plan, the machine will not be plumbed
How does Crystal Geyser do? That is always inexpensive in huge gallon jugs or what other ideas does anyone else have
Where did you read that? You'll have to explain what "not be safe" specifically means. Always consider the source. I can find all sort of things to read that make all sorts of varying claims.
Dapuma Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2013 Posts: 34 Location: Phoenix Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Mar 1, 2013, 11:25pm Subject: Re: RO Water and bottled water
I like the taste of the RO system, never had one but I have been drinking it lately instead of getting bottled or using brita water and it tastes really great to me
I understand the bonding of the water with the ions etc so that makes sense somewhat from a chemistry stand point, and it makes strange ice cubes with air bubbles in it, but flat in a cocktail is good, it doesn't interfere with your ingredients, the more pure the ice the better your cocktail, so I was thinking the same might apply to coffee and tea
Crystal Geyser is $1 a gallon, so it isn't expensive, but RO water is free other than the filter and over time that does add up
I also have a Zojirushi CV-DSC - which does have a sensor in it, so I think i need to use regular water in there - the Crystal Geyser does scale in there over time but not too bad
100% going with the QM 67, just figuring out where to order it from now, the Mrs is on board with the 2nd expanded budget :)
Dapuma Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2013 Posts: 34 Location: Phoenix Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Mar 4, 2013, 11:24pm Subject: Re: RO Water and bottled water
Spoke to Mary at CCS and FYI for anyone else who has this question:
She stated that a 3 stage RO system (which mine is) is fine to use as there will still be enough minerals in the water, it is about 40 parts per million and you want it under 50
A 5 stage would be too much filtration to work properly for this use
Just wanted to throw that out there if it helps anyone else
Posted Tue Mar 5, 2013, 10:57pm Subject: Re: RO Water and bottled water
I will mention here, even if I have already done so, that running an espresso machine with very pure water can leech copper and brass away. That will do no good for the machine,m and certainly will not help the taste of the coffee either. RO systems state that if plumbing the ice maker not to use copper tubing for that reason as it can eventually cause leaks in the pipe itself.
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