Yes, in most cases you do need a water filter. To secure your oven, you need to live up to the requirements for water supply and water quality, which are specified in the installation manual.

The water coming in to the oven must have a maximum water hardness of 3 dH and chloride maximum of 100 mg/L.

Use the total hardness test strips as an easy and cheap way to determine the water hardness in intervals. Alternatively, contact your local water supplier to get the correct data concerning the water hardness in your local area.

Use the total hardness drop test to make precise measurements of the water hardness. We highly recommend you measure the precise water hardness to extend the life expectancy of your water filter and use the filter capacity more effectively.

The size of the filter depends on the oven size and overall water consumption.  The larger the oven and water consumption, the larger the filter is needed.

Example:
For a CombiSlim, the smaller filter Hydro Shield 3600 is sufficient.

For a Visual Cooking, where the injection steam is frequently used resulting in higher water consumption, a larger filter is needed Hydro Shield 6000.

Use the table below to identify what Hydro Shield to use fitting your needs:

The Hydro Shield water is a four-step water treatment cartridge:

1) Pre-filtration (particle filter, active carbon)
2) Decarbonisation by means of ion exchangers
3) Active carbon filtration; also filters the bypass water
4) Particle filtration

The Hydro Shiels will remove organic particles using a 50 my self-flushing filter. If there are high amounts of humus in the water, the cartridge will become blocked earlier than wanted. In that case, it will be beneficial for you to fit a dedicated self-flushing filter before the Hydro Shield.

If you have a SmartTouch oven, your oven is equipped with water monitoring software. If the oven is older than December 2015, you need to update your software to version 1.3.0 or higher to get access to the water monitoring software.

If you have an oven with a manual control panel, you must buy an water flow meter – aqua meter to measure your water consumption. Connect the aqua meter and set the capacity as described in the table at the back of the filter manual. Find the filter manual here.

If you have a SmartTouch oven with updated software, the oven gives you a clear alarm on the oven panel when the filter needs replacing. If you have an oven with a manual control panel, monitor the aqua meter and change the filter when the filter is exhausted.

Determine the water hardness by using the total hardness test kit both in strips and drops, both can be purchased at the HOUNÖ web shop.

Enter the water hardness in the water measurement software on the oven panel. Hydro Shield ensures that the water supplied to the oven is within the allowed values for water hardness and chloride.

Please see the oven installation manual for the exact requirements. You can find the relevant manual for water supply here.

Hydro Shield is designed to protect against harmful deposits in the water damaging the oven. If you are using other water filters, you risk deterioration of the oven as it will not be fully protected.

If you are familiar with the installation of gaskets and correct tensioning, it is possible to install the mounting kit yourself. The filter mounting kit with hoses must be connected to the water supply in order to work.

Yes, follow the guide in the filter manual to replace the filter. Please be aware, the Hydro Shield filter head shuts off the water when you remove the filter.

No, each oven needs its own separate filter. If the ovens are stacked together, two separate water filters are required. If you have two ovens attached to the same filter and both ovens draw water at the same time, the common water filter will limit the water flow resulting in lower capacity and the need for the filters to be changed more often.