Customer care
www.schaerer.com
55
BASCA - EN
Version 03 04.2008
Water quality
General
A cup of coffee is 99 % water!
Water has a big influence on both the taste of your coffee and the
durability of your coffee machine. To protect your coffee machine from damage it is important to
follow the instructions given in this chapter.
Paying careful attention to the following recommendations will lead to improved beverage qua-
lity and will extend the durability of your coffee machine.
Purity of water
Water flows over stones, gravel and underground absorbing many important minerals. The origin,
the rock and earth attributes as well as the regional treatment methods affect the characteristics
and taste of the water.
To prepare coffee products the pH-value has a big influence: acidic water brings out the sour
notes of coffee. When using fully softened water the "crema" won't last long when preparing cof-
fee products.
Not all parts in the machine are resistant against acidic water and will corrode.
When the water is too hard, lime scale can build up in the coffee machine (in boilers and valves
for instance). The performance and durability of the coffee machine will decrease.
Water characteristics for Schaerer coffee machines
►
4 – 6°dKH
(German degrees Carbonate hardness) or
7 – 8°dTH
(German degrees Total hardness).
• When the test result is lower then the indicated range the water must be enriched with minerals.
• When the test result is higher then the indicated range the water must be descaled
(with suitable by-pass to ensure that the pH exceeds 5.5).
► Chlorine content max.
100 mg per litre
►
PH value 6.5 – 7
(ph neutral )
Non-observance of these values means there is no M. Schaerer Ltd. warranty / liability!
Conversion table
Unit
° dH
° eH
° fH
ppm
mmol/l
German hardness
1 ° dH
1
1.253
1.78
17.8
0.1783
English hardness
1 ° eH
0.798
1
1.43
14.3
0.142
French hardness
1 ° fH
0.560
0.702
1
10
0.1
CaCO
3
(USA)
1 ppm
0.056
0.07
0.1
1
0.01
mmol/l
1 mmol/l
5.6
7.02
10
100
1
Filtration
Filtration units are essential to achieve an optimal coffee quality and for maintenance and hy-
giene reasons. Water is a living substance: the values do not remain constant. Regardless of the
type of filtration used these values must be measured every year and the filter must be changed
and adjusted.
Please contact your local dealer or your customer service representative for further information!
Depending on the scale of the
measuring tool the value must be
converted using the table right!