What is the best way to remove lime scale and other mineral build up from a Bunn VPR coffee maker? Water flow has been reduced to a trickle even though we used filtered water.

VPR has a semi-sealed tank that keeps +1 pot of water heated and ready to brew. Pouring in a full pot of cold water will fill the top tray and allow a slow trickle of cold water into the top which forces hot water to over flow into the brew basket. This continues until all the cold water drains into the heater tank. So the brew is matched volume per volume. UNLESS the tank was empty or not filled prior to brewing. Follow the brewing instructions from Bunn (on line for *FREE* download at Bunn.com)
* If it leaks (from the bottom) only when you pour in water. Then your pouring it too fast and over flowing the fill tray. slowdown, watch the level in the tray. do not fill past the lid.
* If it leaks just sitting (not brewing) then there is a hole in the tank. Call for service.
* If it leaks after filling the tray half way. then the top of the tank has a leak, loose, cracked, or missing gasket. There is quite a few gaskets on the lid. Call for service.
* Final; Leaks are always bad around electrical equip. Best to unplug and call for service to be safe.
Aloha, ukeboy57

None.The coffee machine is limed up.The best thing to do depending on the type of lime is open up the tank lid and remove the lime from the tank.

Try using a bunn deliming spring.Remove sprayhead and run thru the brew tube all the way into the tank.If the water is hot the brew tube is partially blocked going into tank.

Most likely your system needs to be de-limed. All water has a certain amount of dissolved minerals in it and when heated those minerals will precipitate out into a white, crusty material. Often this material will clog up the works of your coffee maker.
In order to remove the deposits, you have to increase the acidity of the liquid within the coffee maker. The easiest way to do this is to drain the water and then fill the maker with about 18 ounces of white vinegar that you can buy from your local supermarket.
It may take some time before the lime deposits dissolve and you may even have to use a wire probe to carefully remove any blockage of any of the holes that the water has to flow-through to get through the system.
After you've got the lime removed and the unit is working properly, run some clean water through the system and clean any external parts to make sure you don't get vinegar flavored coffee.

Your spray head has 5 to 6 little holes depending on the model and year, and it looks like you have scale, calcium or lime blocking them.
Since your model is a VPR pour model, you will have less trouble cleaning it with white vinegar than the permanent water connection type. I use a gallon of vinegar and filters for this.

Parts needed:
2 Clean, Rinsed Empty coffee cans
1 Gallon of White vinegar
5 coffee filters
1 Toothbrush, preferrably angled head

Start with your Bunn turned off and place an empty full size coffee can under the pour spout. Now place a filter in the brew basket to catch any fine particles you don't want poured back in the resevoir and heater. You will need to change this filter a few times as the trash starts coming out of your spout.

With the coffee can, brew basket, and a fresh empty filter in place you want to start pouring the vinegar in the tank while catching the water with the coffee can. As it fills with water you will need to dump the can down the drain until the full gallon of vinegar has been poured in the Bunn. Allow the excess water to finish flowing out into the coffee can making sure to leave half the water in the can to pour back into the coffee maker.

By now your tank should be filled with mostly white vinegar, and your coffee can should be at least half full of vinegar as well.
Now you can turn on the lower pot warmer to keep the solution hot and plug your Bunn into the outlet.

Allow 8 to 10 minutes for the heater to heat up and pour the half full coffee can of vinegar into the fill area. Allow the cycle to complete and replace the filter as needed, or if flow begins to slow down.
If your heads are clogged, use the toothbrush to clear the holes as the vinegar is flowing until you see all holes flowing vinegar.

Chunks of trash will dislodge in your heater tank and flow to your spray head, so keep that toothbrush ready.

Do this at least 5 times, then allow the Coffee maker to sit 30 minutes with the heater on to finish dissolving the lime and calcium deposits in the tank.

After 30 minutes start flushing the system with clean water to rinse out all of the vinegar, or until you can no longer smell vinegar in the coffee can.

Good Luck!

We left vinegar in the coffeemaker overnight. Seems to have done the trick - water is heating up now after 20 or so minutes instead of several hours.

Could be the water supply solenoid is not working properly.

Could be caused by lime scale build up.

Contact a Bunn service center to have the unit serviced.

Also change the inline water filter.

Some people also try adding fresh grounds to brewed grounds, resulting in an overflow. A restricter valve can be used, but a better solution is to simply pour in half the water at a time. This is what people who buy non Bunn filters do to stop overfills.

Our Bunn VPR was delivering luke warm coffee. The problem was lime scale buildup on the heating element. I recommend using a cleaner such as Brew Rite or a vinegar solution. If it still does not heat properly, unplug and remove the heating element for cleaning. This corrected our problem.

Thermostat is either bad or your heating element is bad. Check both and also check for calcium and lime build up