How Do They Work?
Variable bypass heads utilise technology that allow you to individually set your water filtration system to suit your water quality specific to your location. The heads can be set at increments (dependant on brand) from 0%-70% allowing you to filter out 100% of all particulate matter and chlorine, whilst bypassing a fixed percentage of the water away from the ion exchange resin media. This allows you to customise the amount of Calcium and Magnesium ions (or total hardness) left in your water.
Testing the water source of your site for total hardness is the first and most important step in determining your correct bypass level. This can be done by utilising total hardness test strips, titration testers, the iDip, or by sending your water to a laboratory for analysis. For more information on these methods for testing water, click here.
Using Sydney as an example, where hardness levels range from low to medium, these manageable levels typically do not require complete interaction with the ion exchange media as the reduction of hardness would be far too severe. This is particularly true in coffee making processes due to desired flavour and body characteristics that are complemented by calcium and magnesium content. Once the hardness has been determined, you can reference the hardness figure in the product manufacturer’s setting booklet which will assist you in picking the best bypass setting to suit your application.
In addition to customising your water, there are significant cost benefits to be gained with this technology. Using a water hardness level of 70 ppm as an example (which is typical of Sydney), a C150 Quell installation with the bypass set at zero can provide 2,500 litres of filtering capacity. By simply adjusting the bypass setting to 30% as recommended, the filtering capacity increases to 3,476 litres. In dollar terms the average cost per litre based upon an RRP of $136.00 works out that you will pay $0.054 per litre at the 2,500-litre capacity, whilst paying $0.039 per litre at the 3,476 litre capacity. To put this into perspective, this presents a cost saving of up to $38.18 or approximately 30% of the total cost of the filter just by correcting and maintaining the right settings. If you apply this method across multiple sites it presents obvious and significant savings for any business.
If you require information on water testing or assistance in interpreting your water results, please email us at [email protected] or call us on 1300 742 429 today.
