How many have run the descaling cycle? I have done it twice and it overfills the pan and makes a giant mess. Anyone else having this issue as well?
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Watching. I need to do it soon and could use any advice at all.
Seek, i don’t have this brand of Combi-oven. However, it seems a larger pan is required, at least one large enough to contain the volume of descaling solution employed plus enough height so you can safely remove and carry it to your sink.
Otherwise, is there anyway you can fit a hose to the drain pipe that will direct the fluid to a container in your sink?
If you are on a septic system you might not want that solution to go down the drain.
After using my Anova oven for about a month the “descale” indicator showed up on the screen on the handle. I did the descale process as directed in the manual with no problems, but not without some trepidation because the directions don’t give much detail. For instance, the manual says: “Mix 3/4 Cup (about 200 mL ) descaling solution with 1 Quart (1 L) water, and pour into the Water Tank.” In the absence of any specifics about brand or type of “descale solution,” I used a descale liquid I had on hand for my espresso machine. In the product instructions for that particular descale solution it recommends diluting with equal parts descaler and water; however, I followed the Anova instructions instead (actually a weaker mix). And whereas the Anova manual says to start the process by “pressing the Descale Indicator” that isn’t exactly correct. Just pressing the “descale” indicator results in nothing happening. So I pressed it again and then hit the “start” icon on the handle and that seemed to get it going. (I had elected to use the machine directly, not the app - though I mostly use the app for cooking.) The instructions were again confusing because after hitting the “descale” indicator, the screen displayed a message to tell me to empty the water tank and put the tray in. But I had already done both those things since they are listed as steps one and two in the manual. So I had to open and close the door to fool the machine into thinking I was putting the tray in. Once the cycle finally started it all went fine. There was no overflow of liquid, though the pan was pretty full when it finished the first phase, making it tricky to carry to the sink. So I just soaked up some of the solution with a dish towel to avoid spilling. I followed the steps in the manual to advance to the second stage, where Step 6 in the instruction says: “Add 1 Quart (1 L) distilled water to the Water Tank.” And Step 7 says: “Activate the second phase of the cycle by pressing the Descale Indicator on the display or on the app.” What they DON’T say is to put the tray back in. So I had to think about that, but I assumed (correctly, as it turned out) that since the cycle was now obviously now going to rinse out the machine’s guts with the clean water, it would presumably again be spitting it out through the drain pipe. So I put the tray back in. I think I again had to press both the “descale” indicator light AND the “start” icon, but I can’t remember for sure. Anyway, it all appeared to work fine and the oven has gone back to working every day with no negative effects so far. As for descale “overflow”, I wonder if the amount of the water in the tank with the descale solution was more than called for? Did you measure carefully? I don’t know if the amount would make a difference, but it might? As for using a larger tray, that’s not very feasible as it has to fit under the drain spout so there isn’t really much room for a larger tray. The one that came with the Anova is what I used and it fits well and held all the liquid when I performed the cycle. The hose suggested in another message could possibly work, but if the unit is functioning correctly it shouldn’t really be necessary. As much as I love my APO, it’s a bit of a finicky beast and I think we’re all aware it needs to evolve and be improved upon in several areas (including a more detailed manual!). I just hope the Anova (Electrolux) people are committed to the task!
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I am running my descale now. My screen just said to add descaling solution and put the tray in. I don’t know where my manual is so I just follow the on screen instructions, after i deciphed the text on the screen since there are many spaces in the middle of words. I had a nearly full tank of water on the machine. The pan filled and overflowed into the oven. It told me to empty the pan so I had water all over the floor and the counter top. Put the pan back in and now it is filling again and will likely overflow again. This is ridiculous. Why can’t they test their stuff before putting it out there. I love my oven but it is very finicky and frustrating.
So until they patch and fix that cycle I would recommend putting very little water in it. The funny thing is that I use reverse osmosis water with nearly 20 ppm total dissolved solids. It just wants a descale cycle every few tanks of water that pass through. I would think firmware could fix that pretty easily.
It’s unfortunate to see anyone have a seriously messy result with spilled water resulting from the APO descaling process. But having performed the activity with no problems, I really think the issue is from having more than the required 1 Quart (1 L) plus 3/4 cup of of descaling solution in the tank, as per the instruction manual. For anyone who has misplaced the manual that came with the unit, a copy can easily be located online just by Googling “APO manual” or anything similar. This oven is an amazing product at an affordable price and after more than a month I now use it every day and don’t want my kitchen to be without it. There is no doubt it has a number of shortcomings in hardware, software, instructions, accessories and support, but I trust the company will correct those over time. In the meantime, for all of us who have a sound (not faulty) unit, it’s a dream to work with! I will be terribly disappointed if a proliferation of complaints that arise primarily from “user error” or inexperience result in the demise of this product. There are improvements needed for the APO, for sure, so I would encourage all users to provide constructive comments where warranted. In theory, that should promote sales and product upgrades as needed. Here’s hoping!
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I’m not sure you can blame the oven for this: As has been mentioned, the instructions are pretty clear about a quart of water and 3/4 cup of descaler. That’s a lot less than nearly a full tank. The issue could be that the instructions don’t tell you to empty the reservoir first, but the oven did what you asked it to do.
Anyone know what is the ratio for making a descaling solution? And are the ingredients simply white vinegar and distilled water? Or is it easiest/okay to simply purchase a generic descaling solution?
Thank you!
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I used Durgol Universal descaler and the 1qt water + 3/4 cup descaler recipe.
Per the messiness… I found a YouTuber who suggested using a gallong ZipLoc bag. Worked great for me… DESCALING ANOVA OVEN - YouTube
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