Ben the pump is 2 or 3 months old and I have it set to 10.5 bar with a blind portafilter. It gets there pretty quick so I don't think that's the problem. I'm guessing the element is like one in a water heater and you're correct that it either works or doesn't. I think you're right about a lack of water in the tank. After the cool down the pump ran a long time before it cut off. Not sure why leaving it plugged in caused this to happen or even if that had anything to do with it. Will the pid kit fix the controller part? Do you still have the part number for the solenoid? Not sure why I put relay it's the overtemp switch but I'm guessing that when the switch kicked the time before it was the same cause. If the tank was low and the pump didn't come on what would cause that? Thanks for your ideas. h
On Tue, Jan 5, 2016 at 5:05 PM, Benjamin McCafferty <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey Herman, > Puzzling over your questions a bit this afternoon. > > Backing into it--you said the "relay" on the steam boiler--do you mean the > small switch on the top of the boiler? If so, that's an over-temp switch, > and I'd agree it points to the boiler being dry or mostly dry. Here's my > thought process: > For whatever reason, the boiler didn't refill for your first day of > trouble, but there was still a bit of water, maybe just enough to produce a > little steam, but it took a long time due to little or no immersion of the > heat element. The next time, the element kept heating, trying to achieve > steam pressure, and since no steam was being produced, the element > overheated and popped the overlimit switch (which I think you just > replaced, didn't you?). > > If all this is true, then the problem would be why the boiler isn't > filling. Given my recent trials and tribulations, I'd guess one of a few > things. > > --The solenoid is, by default, sending water to the brew group; when the > steam boiler calls for water the solenoid opens and lets water bypass into > the steam boiler until it hits the probe to turn off the pump and close the > solenoid. So, the solenoid could be sticking, or the giemme controller > could be dying. I had BOTH of these happen this year, not at the same > time. The new solenoid is nearly silent; the old one was very loud, even > before it started chattering near the end. > > --Perhaps the pump is weak/dying? Easy check on that would be to > pressurize against a blind PF to see if you're getting good pressure from > the pump. Also, try pulling the white wire off the top of the boiler that > sets water level. The pump should run and solenoid should open, and then > stop when you replace it. Just a quick check on the solenoid and pump > functions. > > --Perhaps the system had air in it? I don't recall if you're plumbed or > pour-over; if the latter, maybe check that your intake line isn't floating > and re-prime with the turkey baster trick. Maybe it got prime overnight > when it was working fine the next day. > > As to why it worked again the next day--this happened many times with my > machine this summer and winter before final failure of the various parts. > And was maddening as hell. A stuck solenoid that was warm would unstick > when the machine cooled, only to stick again, etc. etc. > > I'm not sure, but I don't think the heating element will be a partial > failure--I think it tends to work or not work, but others may correct me on > that. You can easily test ohms on it with power wires disconnected and I > think water out of the boiler. Something like 13 or 14 is good, if memory > serves. > > If you do replace the elements, you can do it with the boilers in the > machine, so long as you can get an impact wrench (but you do risk spinning > the boiler and wrecking the copper tubes attached. Probably safer to pull > them and use a jig in a vice to keep from bending them, and doesn't take > all that much more time. If you have no jig, you can get away with only > clamping on the end of the boiler where the element is, i.e. so you're > clamping across the base which has more structure than the middle. Still a > bit sketchy though. > > I replaced my solenoid last weekend (update to follow) and it took me > about 1.5 hours to pull the steam boiler assembly, replace the solenoid, > and replace the assembly. It's not a terrible process. > > Anyway, hope this helps lead you in the direction of a working repair. > > best, > bmc > Sent from my apple IIe > > On Jan 5, 2016, at 13:40, herman dickens <[email protected]> wrote: > > Any ideas? Todd? The machine is working great today as well but I know > it's a matter of time until it fails again. > > On Monday, January 4, 2016 at 2:35:03 PM UTC-5, herman dickens wrote: >> >> Hi all. My brewtus was working fine up until this morning. I was making a >> latte and the steam pressure went almost to zero with the red light still >> on. It took a while to heat the milk with no microfoam. I was in a hurry >> and forgot about it until lunch and tried to make another latte. Same thing >> happened. If I turned the steam wand off the pressure would build back up >> but it was slow. After trying to use it for 5 or 10 minutes it popped the >> relay on the steam boiler. Any ideas other than the steam element? If I >> have to pull it apart to change that element I will also replace the brew >> element at the same time. Thanks for any advice. >> Herman >> > -- > 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 https://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 https://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. 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