Thank you Bruce for the suggestion! Whether it is the problem or not I just ordered some Durgol descaler as I have never descaled this machine. I have just been doing the backflush with the Cafiza detergent though I have only ever used filtered water - I'm sure it is due even with a low mineral content in the water.
Here is an update on the steam theory with two 30 second videos below as well: This weekend I took the shell off the machine (so easy I can't believe I never did that before) and watched as the machine heated up. Of note is the "one-way retention valve" on top of the boiler. As the machine heats up the little knob on the top of that thing is depressed and a little steam and water shoot out until it pops up to the top (not sure if normal). Video of One-Way Valve Popping as Machine Heats Up <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj8S6OJFen8&index=2&list=UUI46RvZv3BymEBBVGogFTpA> While heating up after the valve pops up and at operating temperature, I can hear periodic little hisses from that nob at the top of the valve. I do not see any steam but the sound is coming from there almost certainly. Steam Video After Machine is at Operating Temperature <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK2HALetjcs&list=UUI46RvZv3BymEBBVGogFTpA> Thank you for any additional insights into this valve - I see it can be ordered on WWL as well as just the top part on Ebay if it needs to be replaced. I'm just not sure what is normal and hopefully that troll guy doesn't bother chiming in (who wastes their time trolling a forum like this?) Thank you all very much again, Jarad On Saturday, September 20, 2014 5:18:55 PM UTC-6, Bruce Keeler wrote: > > Ignore Dave, he's trolling. It's definitely not normal. > > Another theory might be scale buildup, which would effectively reduce the > volume of the boiler. Maybe try descaling? > > Bruce > > On 9/19/14 8:39 AM, Jarad wrote: > > Thank you for the responses Ira and Ken! I'm not sure if you are saying > this is normal Dave? The steam boiler is on as I do not have the version > where you can operate them independently. However, during the summer I > generally make iced coffee and did not use the steam boiler at all here. I > have the machine on a timer in the morning so it has over an hour to > heat-up before I use it. so it should be plenty hot and the steam boiler > should be more than ready and holding temperature by then. So certainly an > interesting clue that the steam boiler light comes on. I wish I had a > switch to deactivate the steam boiler - maybe one could be retrofitted - > would save a lot of time and energy in the summer though we are just about > back to the hot coffee season anyway. If there is a steam leak I wonder if > I can 'see' where it is leaking if I take the shell off the machine - I > will try to do that this weekend and see what it looks like in there. The > steam leak theory might also explain why it kind of bottoms out and hangs > out at 197/198 for awhile and then quickly climbs back to 202 once it gets > going. Kind of like the initial heat-up phase where the steam boiler is on > for awhile then the brew boiler takes over and climbs quickly until it > cycles back to the steam boiler. Let me know if anyone thinks of anything > else to try - appreciate the responses and ideas. Thank you very much, > > Jarad > > On Thursday, September 18, 2014 7:03:45 PM UTC-6, Ken wrote: >> >> I wonder if you have a steam leak? See if your steam pressure starts to >> drop quickly after you switch off the steam switch. In the video I noticed >> the steam heater light was on while you were pulling the shot. The PID >> can't send power to both heating elements at the same time on 110 volts. >> But yea, something is wrong. Mine never drops that fast. Not even close. >> But I noticed as soon as the steam light went out the temp started to >> recover. >> >> Ken >> >> >> >> On Thursday, September 18, 2014 12:24:17 PM UTC-5, Jarad wrote: >>> >>> I have a Brewtus 3 (pump version) with PID that I bought at the end of >>> 2009 that I haven't had any problems with. However the temperature has >>> started dropping pretty significantly while pulling shots. I have it set >>> for 202 right now to compensate for the temperature drop but it will fall >>> from 202 to 198/197 over 20-30 seconds. I have a 90 second video I took if >>> anyone is interested in seeing the temperature drop and recovery: >>> >>> Brewtus Temperature Problem Video <http://youtu.be/GIsq-oUT_2k> >>> >>> Curious if any ideas or suggestions on what might be happening here >>> and what I might need to do to get it repaired. It will hold 202 on the >>> PID all day - it's just when the shot is pulled that the temperature drops. >>> Thank you very much, >>> >>> Jarad >>> >> -- > 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] <javascript:>. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] <javascript:> > . > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- 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]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
