QUESTION:
 
I have the following problem with FETCO machines and I need your suggestions.
With every machine  installation  I use Everpure's filters  (type 4H) it is a carbon filter
and also a softener .My problem is that time to time customers complain that the coffee
dispenser is half full  and what i see when i visit these customers is that the water runs from the
brewing unit is reduced .After I check for possibly low water pressure (usually is ok)
 i remove the spray housing assembly and i see two things :
1. The fitting hose 5/8 (code: 31150) is often covered from inside by a green material and also by scale
    and i use a brush to clean it .                                                                                                                                                                
2.The brew valve (code:k055 black) and especially the solenoid is covered again by scale and i clean it using a soft sandpaper.
    After these repairs the machine works properly and the level of liquid in the dispenser is increased.
    So i have the following questions.
3. Can the filter cause this problems and if yes what do you suggest me to do in order to avoid this problem again;  
4. The solenoid is isolated by a transparent silicone disk so that the water cannot insert into this, do you think that it must be replaced
    or is normal to get in contact with water;

THEODOROS

ANSWER:

Let me start by answering question number one.
 
1) Can the filter cause this problems and if yes what do you suggest me to do  in order to avoid this problem again;  

The filter would not be the cause of this: what is happening is based on the water itself. Remember filtration systems can do only so much unless the filter is specifically designed to address the conditions at a specific location. Even then filtration alone will not address everything. But that is another whole discussion.
 
I am currently not able to look up the type of filter that you are using but you say it is water softening. If it is water softening, this would not be good to use with regular drip coffee for several reasons which I will not go into here.
 
At any rate I do not believe this is the source of this particular problem.
 
2) The solenoid is isolated by a transparent silicone disk so that the water cannot insert into this, do you think that it must be replaced or is it normal to get in contact with water;
 
You said that when you are cleaning the seat of the valve with fine sand paper.
 
While this is effective, it is not the best way to do this. Really if you have scale build up on the seat what is needed is a replacement seat. Every time you take sand paper to the seat you rough up the surface which creates more surface for scale to build up. This will increase your service call frequency over time.
 
In general it sounds like you have a couple of issues. One is the build up in the tubing if it is enough to reduce flow it would cause a short pot.
 
Two, also you have the scale building up on the valve seat.
 
Both these issue also point to a potential of one other thing I assuming that that your coffee brewers have spay plates instead of Cascading Spray Domes. If this is the case the spray plate itself could be contributing to this problem.
 
The holes in the spray plate will slowly become clogged with scale slowing down the flow rate. To over come this problem each hole in the spray plate must be cleaned out with a tooth pick or something similar even of the holes do not look like they need a cleaning clean them.
 
This is usually the biggest reason for what you have described and what I would focus on next time this happens. If this is the real issue then it becomes the location responsibility to clean the spray plate daily.
 
If you are wondering what you need to stop the scale build up the only real solution is a Reverse Osmosis System.
 
Please let me know what you find so I can update my data base.
 
I hope you find this helpful.
 
Thank you
 
Shane A Blais
Director of Corporate Training and Logistics