Greetings to all. So today the machine has been up for about 2 days with no issues. Getting really confident, our local hero decides it's time to put the case back on and actually have warm cups on the machine like a respectable barista. But there's that nagging teeny tiny steam leak, so small you almost can't hear it, but...
He wisely decides to let it go (he thinks). He places the case in position, and "Damn, the pressure stat pipe is too far out and the case won't fit". Thinking that the steam boiler was rotated a bit, he tries to turn it, with a hand on the pressure stat/vacuum breaker mount at the boiler, and you guessed it, the mount turns, breaking its seal to the boiler. "No problem", says he, "I'll just unscrew it, add some teflon tape or NSF sealant, and screw it back in." Oops, when he tries to unscrew it, it hits the over-temperature switch. (He removes the over-temperature switch). "Now I've got it!" (He turns the mount another 1/8 of a turn, at which point it hits the mount for the pressure gauge pipe). "No sweat", he thinks, "I'll just remove the male to male adapter on the pressure stat mount, and it will clear". Naturally, after removing said barb, as well as disconnecting the pressure gauge tubing, he discovers the mount still hits the pressure gauge barb by about 1/16". "I know!" he thinks, "I'll just unscrew the steam over-pressure valve, which includes said pressure gauge barb, and then I'll be all set! But I have to remove it all the way, I'll ruin its seal when I turn it a bit." At which point our hero immediately notices the auto-refill level probe wire and fitting is in the way. "Well, shit." Dejected, our hero realizes there is no other way, and drains and removes the entire boiler. Fortunately he has done this three times in the past four weeks, so he is relatively adept at this by now. But he still manages to cut his middle finger (fitting, really), and bleed on the inside of the machine. Down to the garage vice, and about half an hour and some teflon and NSF sealant and cussing later, the boiler goes back in. Power up, wait, pee, wait, open a beer, up to temp now, and.....funny, there's this teeny tiny steam leak... Our hero determines that the leak is the steam over-pressure relief valve--when he pushes down on it, it quiets; when he lets go, it hisses again (why didn't he try this before all the rest of the madness? No one will ever know). He lifts and rotates it, and finds the position that gives the smallest leak. He then says, "To hell with it" and closes the case. He likely orders a new steam relief valve tomorrow, or tries to stretch the spring on the one he's already got. But undoubtedly when he opens the one he's got, with that weird copper nail head on the side, he'll break something and be espresso-less for another several weeks. He decides discretion is the better part of valor, and espresso is the better part of the morning, and leaves well enough alone. All best, The Duke of Overkill 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.
