We have serviced Dol-fyn water distillers out of our Mississauga shop for decades, and we keep the wear parts on the shelf rather than ordering them in when somebody calls. This page is the troubleshooting we give over the phone, written down, with a link to the part at the end of each answer.
If you would rather just describe the noise it is making, call 905-670-7400. That is often faster.
Start here: what is it doing?
| Symptom | Usual cause | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Runs but never heats | Failed heating element, or a cord that has cooked at the connector | Heating element, cord kit |
| Heats then cuts out part way through a cycle | Thermal overload tripping. Usually scale, a tired fan, or the switch itself | Thermal overload switch, fan motor |
| Loud, rattling or grinding | Fan blade out of balance or a worn motor bearing | Fan blade, fan motor |
| Takes far longer than it used to | Scale on the element. This is the single most common fault | Descaler |
| Weeping or dripping at the boiling tank | Perished gasket or a hardened O-ring under the knob | Tank gasket, knob with O-ring, element O-ring |
| Water tastes flat, stale or of plastic | Post carbon filter is past it | Carbon post filter, inline filter |
| Nothing happens at all | Toggle switch, micro switch or the cord | Toggle switch, micro switch, cord kit |
| Will not fill, or fills when it should not | Solenoid valve or the feed pump | Solenoid, Aquatec pump, Shurflo pump |
| Drips at a fitting | Compression elbow or the silicone line | Elbow fitting, silicone tubing |
| Cannot read the level in the tank | Sight glass clouded or cracked | Sight gauges, 10 inch and 13 inch |
Scale is what kills these machines
Almost every distiller we see written off was killed by scale, not by age. Boiling GTA tap water leaves calcium and magnesium behind in the tank, it bakes onto the element, and the element then has to work through an insulating crust to do the same job. It draws more, it runs hotter, it takes longer, and eventually the thermal overload gets tired of it.
The fix is boring and it works. Descale it on a schedule rather than when it looks bad. Once a month if you run it daily on hard water, once a quarter if you use it lightly. A 1.63 kg tub does a lot of cycles.
If the crust has gone hard and grey and will not shift, a refurbished boiling pot with the element already fitted is usually cheaper than the labour of fighting it.
Maintenance schedule
| When | Do this |
|---|---|
| Every cycle | Pour off the residue while the tank is still warm. It comes away far more easily than cold |
| Monthly on hard water | Descale the boiling tank |
| Every 2 to 3 months | Change the post carbon filter |
| Yearly | Check the tank gasket and the element O-ring for hardening, and listen to the fan |
| When output slows | Descale first. Replace the element only if descaling does not bring it back |
Parts by system
Boiling tank. Stainless heating element, refurbished boiling pot with element, tank gasket, knob with O-ring, silicone O-ring for the element, replacement cord kit.
Cooling and airflow. Fan motor, fan blade, thermal overload switch.
Controls. Toggle switch, micro switch, solenoid valve.
Water handling. Aquatec 4.9 gpm pump, Shurflo pump, 3.75 gallon reservoir, quarter inch elbow fittings, silicone tubing by the foot.
Filtration. Carbon post filters, six pack, inline filter with quick connects, granular activated coconut carbon.
The full list is in the distiller parts category, and we stock complete refurbished Dol-fyn distillers in 3 and 7 gallon tank sizes when a machine is past saving.
Common questions
My Dol-fyn distiller keeps overheating and shutting off. What is it?
Nine times out of ten it is scale on the element making the machine work too hard, and the thermal overload switch doing its job. Descale it first. If it still trips on a clean tank, the switch or the fan motor is the next thing to look at.
Do you still carry parts for older models?
Yes. The wear parts are common across the range, so tell us the model and what it is doing and we will tell you what fits. Most of what people need is on the shelf.
Is it worth repairing or should I replace it?
A switch, a gasket, a filter or a fan is always worth doing. If the boiling tank itself is pitted or the element is welded into a crust, weigh a refurbished boiling pot against a refurbished machine. We will give you a straight answer rather than the expensive one.
How often should I descale?
Monthly if you run it daily on GTA tap water, quarterly on light use. Descaling on a schedule is the difference between a distiller that lasts five years and one that lasts fifteen.
Can I use vinegar instead of descaler?
It works to a point on light scale. On a properly baked on crust it is slow and it leaves a smell. The purpose made descaler is stronger and rinses clean.
Do you ship parts outside the GTA?
Yes. Parts are small and light, so they post economically anywhere in Canada. That is the opposite of our bottles, which is why we only deliver those locally.
Do you service machines, or only sell parts?
Call us. Depending on what it is, we can often tell you how to do it yourself in five minutes, which is usually what people want.
Buying the water instead
Some people reach this page having decided the machine is not worth the trouble. That is a legitimate answer, and we do both. A home distiller costs you the electricity, the descaling and the parts on this page. Buying it by the bottle costs you 28 to 49 cents a litre and no maintenance at all. We will not pretend one is always better.
Puretap Water Distillers Ltd., 950 Verbena Road, Mississauga. Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 15:30. 905-670-7400.
If the machine is past saving, we stock refurbished Dol-fyn distillers from $1,495.
Model numbers
People arrive here searching a number stamped on the machine: W3516, A30D and others. The honest answer is that the wear parts are largely common across the Dol-fyn range, which is why we can stock them at all. The element, the gasket, the O rings, the fan, the switches and the filters are the same conversation whichever number is on yours.
Where it does matter is tank size and whether your machine came with a pump. So: tell us the model number and what it is doing, and we will confirm the fit before you order rather than after. Call 905-670-7400 or email order@puretap.ca.
If the number has worn off the plate, a photo of the machine and the boiling tank is usually enough for us to place it.