Update on this problem. Finally spoke to WLL today, they were nice as always. She told me that the wand uses a brass compression fitting, and that you can't disassemble the "T" where the valve resides. She suggested blowing compressed air in there, sometimes that helps.
Well, my own investigation revealed a different story on both counts. First, I removed the T from the machine, which is easy to do. It is then really easy to take the T apart--there is a large nut on each end, and the one you want to loosen is the one closest to the black star knob. To do this, first screw the black knob all the way open, then loosen the big nut and unscrew it all the way, then unscrew the star knob again until the turning rod comes free. You can then get in there to clean out any debris, etc. Inside, what I found was not a brass compression fitting (i.e. brass to brass with flare). Rather, the end of the rod has a teflon puck in it, that seals against a raised lip in the brass casting in the T. I have always been very gentle with my steam wand, but 3.5 years of service has worn a groove in the teflon puck, and presumably the rod can't screw in far enough to overcome that groove any longer. The solution, of course (sarcastic voice here), is to replace the entire valve assembly. Maybe I am getting old and crotchety, but I am frustrated by this--especially in the wake of the OPV story I posted from a few weeks ago, with an identical wear pattern in its rubber gasket. In both cases, all that is needed is a 2-cent gasket, yet we get to replace the whole damn assembly and throw away perfectly good parts. The cost is not the problem--it's the design and the time and the waste. In the case of the steam valve, the teflon puck is held in place by an inward flare of the threaded rod/tube, so it is not easily removable and replaceable, but still you could at least just replace the threaded rod including a new puck if such was available. Like the OPV, this would eliminate the need to tear apart the machine to make the repair--you would be able to just unscrew the front nut, remove the old rod, pop in the new one, and be back in business. Maybe in the Brewtus IV. After cleaning and reassembly, the steam wand valve still leaks with normal tightening. If I crank on it a bit, I can get it to stop. Being stubborn, I will probably just swap the steam valve and the hot water valve, since I rarely use the hot water side. I guess in another 3 1/2 years I'll have to break down and replace one or both of them. In Expobar's defense, I'm sure this is all par for the course in the espresso machine world--it is for most other industries--but nonetheless, it is maddening. By the way, my OPV and pump have been working flawlessly since I flipped the rubber disc over a few weeks ago. Further proving my point. best, bmc -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en.
