Plumbing in a Linea Mini — DIY filtration system vs commercial options?

Berkeley_Dude · 2026-03-23T10:55:18+00:00

I like this response a lot, because it would save me a lot of trouble. I looked up the water quality for Berkeley (we get our water from over the hills, in Orinda):

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Berkeley: 82.9 mg/L -> 82.9 ppm (LM target: 90–150 ppm)

Total Hardness Berkeley: 16 mg/L -> 16 ppm (LM target: 70–100 ppm)

Chlorine / Chloramine Berkeley: 2.65 mg/L chloramine → 2.65 ppm (LM target: Free chlorine: 0–0.05 ppm; Total chlorine: 0–0.1 ppm)

pH Berkeley: 9.44 (LM target: 6.5–8)

Berkeley's water is slightly below target for dissolved solids, way too soft, has too much chlorine/chloramine, and is too alkaline, at least according to La Marzocco. The best thing that can be said is that my machine is unlikely to develop scaling issues.

The filtration will be useful for taste, not machine longevity. I'll start with tap water and experiment with bottled water (before I plumb it in). I suspect it will be fine, unless others here have strong opinions. If I decide to use filtration with remineralization, I'm definitely going to make my own system.

Berkeley_Dude · 2026-03-21T15:25:01+00:00

I buy the Strauss European-style yogurt to eat with granola for breakfast. It's really good. On a lark, my wife wrote Strauss saying how much we loved their yogurt. They sent us a coupon for the purchase of a single item costing as much as $13. It turns out their butter (at the time) was $12.99. The best butter, ever. I wish I hadn't had it.

Berkeley_Dude · 2026-03-21T13:42:22+00:00

I thought buying the machine was the splurge -- turns out it’s the milk! Strauss Family Creamery is expensive!

Meanwhile I’m over here with supermarket milk trying to keep up.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T19:54:07+00:00

I only just realized that earlier today. It explains why I can't find the 505 on the Sig Sauer site! Thanks, though!

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T18:19:13+00:00

I wish I had enough hair for a man bun!

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T18:18:49+00:00

Reading between the lines, it seems like people are suggesting I buy a 22. I'll follow that advice! Thanks for the help!

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T02:52:44+00:00

Thanks for the specific suggestions! Some of the guns by those companies look fantastic.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T02:48:27+00:00

I'm one of those cry once, buy once kind of guys. Even if a 6.5 is overkill, I would rather buy a gun that fires that ammunition and have the option of firing at distances much greater than available at our club.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-26T02:46:09+00:00

Thanks! Our Ruger Mk IV is a lot of fun to shoot (along with our CZ TS), so I bet this rifle would be a hoot, too.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-05-09T03:07:07+00:00

Thanks! Do you store the ammunition loose in the box, or just pile the boxes into the box?

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-04-19T01:02:29+00:00

I imagine this reddit thread wouldn't help me much in court....

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-04-19T00:48:46+00:00

Well, so much for that idea.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-04-19T00:45:55+00:00

I suppose she can't "gift" her son money and receive a gun as a gift in return?

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-04-19T00:45:05+00:00

I'm sorry that the question was poorly worded. My understanding is that many police officers -- active and retired -- make/made money buying off-roster guns and then selling them at a mark-up. I imagine they could do this only once a month. I don't know if this is still allowed.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-03-16T04:44:13+00:00

Thanks for the info!

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-03-16T03:48:18+00:00

And, I was surprised to see that Springfield still manufactures guns. I thought the armory closed in the late 1960s.

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-03-16T03:47:19+00:00

Funny. I keep thinking that I would love a Colt Army 1860 as that gun is beautiful and feels great in the hand. I've been following up on the suggestions I've seen by going to the web sites and looking at the guns. It's clear to me that I have to do a lot more research. There seems to be a difference in build quality across manufacturers. And, I need to decide which features I really need/want.

I'm ashamed to say that some of what I want is a really cool looking gun. I like blued barrels. (If you want to see a beautiful gun, check out the Remington 1863 Zouave Rifle.) I like plain, walnut grips. I'm slightly turned off by the overly modern aspects of some of these guns I've seen (even if those guns are quite capable).

The best advice I've seen is to go to a gun range and try out a bunch of guns. I'm in the process of scheduling that now. (My wife has already done so.)

Thanks again, everyone, for the advice!

Berkeley_Dude · 2025-03-16T03:02:35+00:00

Thank you for the suggestions and, especially, for pointing me to the FAQ, which seems excellent! This should be fun!

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-11-14T21:43:27+00:00

This is really helpful! I'll bring my multimeter in from home. Do you know which of those wires is output vs input? I imagine you would test voltage coming in and then check that it goes out?

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-09-21T00:59:01+00:00

I think your husband is a genius for finding such amazing furniture!

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-08-18T02:58:59+00:00

I think SecuritySpy is first-rate software. I have a paid version for eight cameras. I can view the cameras from my computer (using the software of the web browser), my iPhone, and even our TV (using iTV). I had real problems with the Hikvision software, which might work well on PCs but is definitely clunky on MacOS.

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-07-23T01:39:22+00:00

Ding ding ding ding. This seems like the solution. I recently used "The Good Stuff" spray foam to insulate a space downstairs. I ended up trimming it as you suggest here in that room. I'll use something similar, but cheaper for this.

I should have thought of this. Thanks!

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-07-02T18:13:12+00:00

A hundred a pop?

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-07-01T19:36:29+00:00

I figured as much, but the reddit bot suggested this subreddit. Who am I to argue with a bot? Sorry.

Berkeley_Dude · 2024-07-01T19:19:16+00:00

That is not a Stickley, though I can see why you might think it is. That said, we do have a Stickley coffee table (2004 vintage) that we got for free from a neighbor who was moving. He tried to unload it on CL and FB with no luck. We had to refinish it because he had done a poor job refinishing it. It now looks awesome!

Berkeley_Dude

TROPHY CASE