Hey Todd and all, I wish this group was as active as it once was, but I'll keep posting for the sake of the archives, for whenever I finally get this sorted out.
Copying my last message below for the recap, and then adding to it at the bottom. OK, recap: --Steam boiler wasn't firing, discovered that over temp switch was brittle and malfunctioning. --Totally disassembled machine, cleaned and descaled every part of it except teflon lines and chrome manifold. --Replaced both overtemp switches and thermoprobe on the brew boiler. --Steam boiler still not firing, figured out that the steam element was bad; was causing breaker to trip at my main panel. Removing steam boiler wires kept breaker from tripping. --Replaced both boiler elements. --Steam boiler still not firing, figured out that the pressure stat was bad. --Replaced pressure stat (Jaeger), set pressure to 1.7 bar. --Machine functioned normally for that afternoon, then the next morning the steam boiler wouldn't fire again. --Reset the overtemp switch, lowered pressure to 1.5 bar, machine functioned normally yesterday and today, except the steam wand was "spitting" instead of a nice smooth hiss. --Today I flushed the steam boiler, i.e. ran all the hot water out of it to cycle the water. I immediately noticed that a) there was far less water than normal in the boiler, and b) the pump did not kick on to refill the boiler. Realizing that this would overheat and kill the new element, I turned the machine off. New stuff: --I have used the machine successfully for a few days, but have not had it turn itself on with a timer. I have figured out that the solenoid that allows the steam boiler to fill only works when cold, so I turn on the machine, listen to the pump run and fill the steam boiler, and then let it heat. I then can use the machine for a couple of hours and turn it off. If I dump the steam boiler (i.e. via hot water wand), the pump does not run, which I think means the solenoid is stuck. I turn the machine off and wait until tomorrow when it's cold. --Now then, I've noticed in the mornings that the pump runs a long time, i.e. long enough to fill an empty steam boiler. Is it possible for the steam boiler to drain overnight? This has happened each morning. --Last night, I turned the machine on and listened to the pump run and fill the steam boiler. Ignoring the previous point, I thought, "Since it's full, I can safely put it on the timer for tomorrow, so it will be warm when I wake up." Well, you guessed it, this morning the machine was hot and to pressure, but when I used the steam wand and caused the boiler to fire, it tripped the circuit at my main panel. I haven't tested yet, but guessing that there was just enough water to let the steam boiler pressurize, but not enough to keep it from burning itself out. I hope I'm wrong. I pulled the common wire from the p-stat and the breaker doesn't trip. Will try removing the wires from the boiler element next. Anyway, I've watched the WLL video on testing electronics in a Brewtus (excellent, by the way, and how did I go 8 years not knowing this existed???), and I confess I still don't understand exactly how the water flows through the machine. It looks to me like the water defaults to the steam boiler from the pump; and then the switch at the lever overrides and energizes the pump and the solenoid to allow water to flow to the group, is that correct? Does the water level sensor just short to ground and cause the pump to stop sending water to the steam boiler? What stops water from entering the brew boiler, i.e. with normal water pressure? Etc.? I guess my next steps are to once again test the (brand new) steam boiler element that I think I've killed, and then test the solenoid and/or remove and clean it. All the best, always open to knowledge and suggestions! best, Ben Sent from my apple IIe -- 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.
