Hi Marcus, I'm glad things got better for you. It's too bad that it took a while but at least you're back to pulling shots.
You mentioned the only problem ended up being a tripped reset button. That can get tripped when the pressure gets too high. This acts as a safety feature so things don't blow up. Both the steam boiler and the brew boiler have such a reset button. You also asked what would cause this to trip in the first place. Good question. I don't really know but that's never stopped me from giving an opinion. I think it is like a circuit breaker in your house in that they can sometimes get tripped. Most time, you reset them and everthing is fine. I would think if it becomes a chronic problem, then you've got a problem. If that happens, perhaps there is a failure in the shut off of the heating element which causes the boiler to just keep heating. At this point I would not worry about it but that's just me. On Jun 5, 9:29 am, Marcus Mininger <[email protected]> wrote: > Well, I am amazed! After looking at the diagram you sent, I looked at the > boiler again and did find the reset button--tiny thing! I pushed it, and > it is now working! I had no idea. > > Thank you very much for rescuing my post from obscurity and responding. > Very kind of you. My wife and I are very grateful to be having espresso > again! > > Now this leaves me with the question: what is likely to have been the > cause of the reset tripping, and should I be doing anything > maintenance-wise b/c of it or to keep it from happening again? > > Thanks again, > Marcus > > > > On Monday, June 3, 2013 8:57:06 AM UTC-5, winnipegger65 wrote: > > > Marcus, > > > Here is yet another source of info that may be useful for you. > >http://www.bellabarista.co.uk/pdf/ExpobarBrewtusIIcloserlookv6.pdf > > > On Monday, June 3, 2013 8:51:40 AM UTC-5, winnipegger65 wrote: > > >> Marcus, > > >> I posted another thread that showed a nice labelled diagram of the > >> Brewtus boilers. That diagram came from the WLL website. Here is what is > >> said above that picture in the website: > > >> *Safety's and Valves * > >> The Brewtus III machines have all the safety and control valves that you > >> will want. Each boiler has a manual reset thermal shut off. If one of the > >> boilers overheats, the boiler will shut down, thus preventing damage. > > >> Here is a link to that WLL site: > >>http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles/spotlight_brewtus3.cfm > > >> I see though that you have a Brewtus I and this article from WLL refers > >> to a Brewtus III. I have a Brewtus IV which is very similar to the III. I > >> would suggest you have a look at the link from WLL and see if this makes > >> any sense. > > >> Perhaps you can even contact WLL but I don't know if that's practical for > >> you. > > >> On Thursday, May 30, 2013 11:17:22 PM UTC-5, Marcus Mininger wrote: > > >>> Thanks for this reply! Very kind of you. What you are saying makes > >>> sense. I need to get a multimeter to try that part of what you said. > > >>> In the meantime, I looked for a reset button on both boilers and did not > >>> see anything that looks the part. Can you describe anything further about > >>> what I should be looking for? I'm wondering if the Brewtus I did not have > >>> that feature, but I'd sure be glad if it does. > > >>> Thanks again for your suggestions. > > >>> Marcus > > >>> On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 3:44:16 PM UTC-5, winnipegger65 wrote: > > >>>> Hi Marcus, > > >>>> I see you posted this a while ago so perhaps you've already got this > >>>> figured out. I'm reading your note and it sounds similar to a problem I > >>>> had > >>>> on my Brewtus IV-R a while ago. I thought it was either the temperature > >>>> sensor or the PID and I replaced them both. That did not help. With me, > >>>> the > >>>> problem seemed to 'fix itself' which would have been great *before* I > >>>> spend > >>>> the money on the new parts. > >>>> I'm wondering if your problem could be simply the reset button on your > >>>> brew boiler. Both boilers have a small button or peg which can get > >>>> tripped > >>>> to prevent over heating. Perhaps pushing that peg is all you need to do. > > >>>> The other thing to consider is if your brew boiler is getting power. > >>>> That is easier than you think to check. All you need is a multimeter. > >>>> Pull > >>>> off the leads which go to the brew boiler and stick the probes of your > >>>> multimeter into those leads. Then turn on your Brewtus and see if power > >>>> is > >>>> getting there. If power is indeed getting there, then the problem might > >>>> be > >>>> a faulty heater. That would make sense if power is getting to the brew > >>>> boiler but it is not heating. That's as far as I got with my problems but > >>>> when I put the leads back on the brew boiler, everything magically > >>>> started > >>>> working again. Nice! > > >>>> On Saturday, March 9, 2013 11:35:29 AM UTC-6, Marcus Mininger wrote: > > >>>>> I have a Brewtus 1 that I bought second hand. Have used it for a > >>>>> couple years with good service. A couple months ago when I was > >>>>> cleaning it > >>>>> (backflushing w/ detergent, etc.), the temperature readout for the water > >>>>> boiler started slowly dropping, a degree or so each minute or so (from > >>>>> 93C > >>>>> to 92 to 91, etc.). I ran some more water through and tried > >>>>> backflushing > >>>>> with only water to rinse any extra detergent, in case what I had been > >>>>> doing > >>>>> (which was standard procedure that I have always done) was causing a > >>>>> problem. Any water I ran or backflushed would only cause the temp to > >>>>> drop > >>>>> more quickly. It appeared that the water in that boiler was no longer > >>>>> heating. However, two things stayed normal: (a) the light on the PID > >>>>> read-out for the water boiler was on where it indicates that that > >>>>> boiler is > >>>>> heating, and (b) the steam boiler pressure stayed at normal levels, > >>>>> cycling > >>>>> on and off as needed, and even when I opened up the steam wand for a > >>>>> full > >>>>> minute, it held good pressure and output the whole way. Evidently, the > >>>>> steam boiler was working fine while the PID was telling the water > >>>>> boiler to > >>>>> work but it was not heating. I tried shutting off and turning back on > >>>>> to > >>>>> reset the electronics w/ the PID readout, etc., but this didn't change > >>>>> anything. Eventually, I finished the standard cleaning/rinsing process > >>>>> as > >>>>> best I could (with diminishing temperatures) and turned it off for the > >>>>> day. > > >>>>> A day later I powered the machine back on from cold to let it heat up, > >>>>> and the temp of the water boiler did not rise but the steam boiler came > >>>>> up > >>>>> to normal pressure. Then I tried pulling some water through the group > >>>>> head > >>>>> by activating the pump. This caused the water boiler temp to increase > >>>>> by a > >>>>> degree or 2 each time until it had come up 10 degrees or so. However, > >>>>> it > >>>>> was obviously not fixing the basic problem and the water boiler was > >>>>> still > >>>>> nowhere near the needed temp. My guess is that pulling water out of the > >>>>> water boiler probably just resulted in pulling some water from the steam > >>>>> boiler into the water boiler, thereby raising the water boiler temp > >>>>> "artificially" somewhat. I left the machine on for several hours, but > >>>>> the > >>>>> water boiler never increased any more on its own. > > >>>>> At that point, I wasn't sure what to try further to be of any help, so > >>>>> I powered it off. Work has been very busy for me since, so the machine > >>>>> has > >>>>> just sat there for a couple of months since then, and I am not > >>>>> mechanically > >>>>> inclined enough to know how to troubleshoot the problem. > > >>>>> Today I powered the machine on just to see, and the same thing > >>>>> happened: water temp did not rise at all, but steam pressure is up to > >>>>> normal. > > >>>>> What should do to identify and fix this problem? > > >>>>> Thanks, > >>>>> Macus- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Brewtus" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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