S1 Mini Vivaldi - Descaling

Descaling the steam boiler on the S1 Mini Vivaldi

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A excerpt from a users question on another forum (below) prompted me to write this article….one I had been meaning to write for a long time.

The boiler on the Mini Vivaldi is a sealed unit (no bolts, no drain plug, heater permanently mounted). The water in my area is very hard so I'm a little concerned with scale. I use Brita filtered water but I know it does not soften the water very much.Since this Mini Vivaldi has only been out for about 1 year, I get the feeling nobody has tried descaling one yet. Since it's a sealed boiler, I assume the only option is simply pouring Dezcal (or citric acid) in the reservoir (the same way I descaled my old Silvia every 6 months)

When I reviewed the Mini Vivaldi I was a little perturbed to find the steam boiler heating element an integral part of the boiler (welded in, so if it fails you need to replace the entire boiler) and the fact that with a machine that uses electro-valves to control water flow, there was no drain plug on the boiler. From a personal viewpoint, I think it's fairly poor design that should really be improved and did mention the issue in my review… To descale the steam/HW boiler, is a pain in the backside. You can of course completely remove the boiler for desacaling, but I think the easiest method is to do the following:

Equipment required:

  • small bore plastic tubing
  • large syringe
  • funnel with a smallish end
  • PTFE Tape
  • Socket set with thin socket right size for vacuum breaker
  • Patience
  • Descaler (try a mix of 40-50g citric acid in 800ml of water)

With the machine unplugged and cold

  1. Remove the case and then remove the Vacuum Breaker (supporting the boiler so you don't bend any fittings)
  2. Use a dipstick to verify the water level in the boiler and mark it
  3. Suck out all the water (might take you a while)
  4. Using the funnel fill the steam boiler with descaler to the dipstick mark (best to ensure you don't overfill)
  5. Replace the Vacuum Breaker (use PTFE tape on the threads, around 7 turns should be fine)
  6. Switch on and allow to heat up to normal pressure (then switch off)
  7. When cold remove Vacuum Breaker again and syringe out all the descaler.
  8. Using Funnel refill with clean water to a level at least 3 cm above dipstick and syringe out all the water (repeat this clean water step at least once or twice more)
  9. Using the funnel fill the steam boiler with water to the dipstick mark (don't overfill)
  10. Replace the Vacuum Breaker (use PTFE tape on the threads, around 7 turns should be fine)
  11. Switch on and allow to heat up to normal pressure (then switch off)
  12. When cold remove Vacuum Breaker again and syringe out all the water
  13. Using the funnel fill the steam boiler with water to the dipstick mark (don't overfill), this simply saves the pump from some effort refilling the boiler
  14. Replace the Vacuum Breaker (use PTFE tape on the threads, around 7 turns should be fine)
  15. Switch on machine check for leaks, then replace case.

Step 9-12 is an extra step (hot with clean water) to ensure your water doesn't taste of descaler, if you omit this step you might well find your water still tastes of descaler.

Descaling the Vivaldi Mini is time consuming, but not a difficult job. A drain plug would have made this a little easier, but even on the S1 Vivaldi (which has a drain plug), this is still a time consuming process…see this article.

The Vacuum Breaker is shown in the photo below by a red arrow (click to enlarge)

mvivaldisteamboiler.JPG
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