Thanks. Does the right-facing fitting of this elbow need Teflon tape even though it has a Teflon washer?
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Benjamin McCafferty Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 6:13 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Now I'm stuck... RE: very long start up" buzz" when turning on Brewtus... The one in the center of the photo is a flare fitting and seals itself, correct. The one in the upper right of the photo needs sealant. best, bmc On May 26, 2017, at 15:10, Howard Griffin <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: By the way, am I correct in underdtanding that fittings like the one pictured do not need sealant or tape? Thanks. <image001.jpg> From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Benjamin McCafferty Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 4:52 PM To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: Now I'm stuck... RE: very long start up" buzz" when turning on Brewtus... I don’t have my machine open in front of me, but why don’t you mark the orientation of the silver pipe to the boiler, remove the same, attach your new solenoid/fill valve, and then reattach the silver pipe to the boiler per your markings? Just be sure to orient the new solenoid/valve correctly as well, i.e. to match the bends in your copper tubing that goes on later. And have you checked the inside of your copper tubing for blockage? New valve won’t help if those are scaled in. Hope that helps. bmc On May 26, 2017, at 13:28, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I got the boiler out and got the old solenoid and valve off. Now I cannot figure out a way to get the new valve installed. As you can see, I have to screw the valve into the pipe on the bottom of the boiler, but the black box hits the boiler body and I can’t turn the valve to screw it in. (I got the old one off by removing the black box and taking apart the valve—I can’t do that with the new one because the valve doesn’t come apart). Do I have to remove the pipe from the bottom of the boiler? <image003.jpg> From: Howard Griffin [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, May 26, 2017 3:28 PM To: ' <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]' < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> Subject: RE: very long start up" buzz" when turning on Brewtus... Success in getting the boiler out (pic)—I just left the fill valve attached. Now to get it off the boiler. From: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] [ <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Benjamin McCafferty Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 12:14 PM To: <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] Subject: Re: very long start up" buzz" when turning on Brewtus... Further to Todd’s comments, I had made my old valve sparkle, it was perfect, and it still stuck. In my opinion, just replace it. You’ll get years of service out of it after that. best, bmc On May 17, 2017, at 08:27, Todd Salzman < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I am guessing that there is corrosion or mineral build up on the plunger, part E and or F. You can take that apart without removing the valve body (F) from the machine. It may or may not work and if does I can't tell for how long. Todd On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 11:05 AM, Benjamin McCafferty < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I don’t recall specifically because I have done so much on my machine over the years. But I do see that you already have the part out, so never mind. In your photo, parts C,D,E,F should constitute the new valve assembly. I wasn’t aware you could buy just that without the black brick, but if so, go for it. In my case, we suspected the magnet as well and so got the whole thing. Take care, bmc On May 17, 2017, at 08:02, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Oh dear I was hoping I wouldn't have to remove any boilers. That sounds pretty scary to me. Could you explain a little more about "support all tubing with a wrench when loosening, i.e. use two wrenches on each connection"? Are there always two nuts on every tubing connection? On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:56 AM, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I already had the black brick out of the machine. It has a hole through the middle after it is removed. It seems fairly easy to replace. What I am still unclear on is the rest of the valve: <image.png> ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ A B C D E F What I removed and replaced were just the two components on the left (which I have labeled A and B): the nut and the black box with the yellow sticker. The other three components (C, D, E, and F) I did not remove. Do I have to replace all 6 parts? On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:40 AM, Benjamin McCafferty < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I see Howard beat me to the punch. Replacing the solenoid just involves removing the tubing and wiring from the black brick, and replacing with the new one. Take photos and label wires if at all possible. The new unit will need to have the tubing and so forth oriented to match the original; IIRC one of the tubes will arrive 180 degrees opposite the needed config. There is a nut that you can loosen to allow this change. best, bmc On May 17, 2017, at 07:07, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: That's what I was thinking. How do I replace the whole thing? I'm new to Brewtus repairing, but I have found Todd's videos very helpful. Unfortunately there's not one on how to replace the solenoid/fill valve. On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:04 AM, herman dickens < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: The whole thing. It sounds like the valve is sticking. On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:04 AM, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Just the solenoid? Or the valve too? On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 10:01 AM, herman dickens < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Sounds like you need to replace the solenoid. Herman On Wed, May 17, 2017 at 9:59 AM, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I think I have made some progress. I examined the fill sensor and it seemed clean so I left it alone. I then proceeded to test the fill valve solenoid as outlined in Todd's WLL video (beginning at 18:08 here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIiLeRdVWAU> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIiLeRdVWAU). I disconnected the fill sensor and the pump and switched the power on and off to see if the solenoid clicked the valve open and shut. I could not hear the solenoid clicking. I took the solenoid off the valve and measured the resistance across the solenoid with an ohm meter, getting a reading of 369 (see photo). In his video Todd got a reading of 400, and I don't know if my lower reading of 369 indicates a problem. Before re-coupling the solenoid to the valve I rewired it and tested its magnetism with a screwdriver, and it seemed to have plenty of magnetic strength. I reattached the solenoid to the valve and, lo and behold, the valve started clicking again when power was applied! Even though all I had done was removed and reattached the solenoid to the valve. I put the machine back together and it worked fine for the rest of the day. The next morning the problem was back: the pump would not stop running after powering up the machine. I did manage to finally get the pump to stop running after repeatedly turning the power on and off and raising and lowering the brew lever between power cycles (about 15 times before the pump went silent and the machine began to heat up). What does this suggest? To this noobie it seems like the fill valve may be sticking. If it needs to be cleaned or replaced, how do I do that? I can't find any instructional videos or guides for that. In his video, Todd simply says that if, after verifying that the solenoid is good, you're not getting water through the pump, then you have to take it apart and clean it out or replace it. Thanks for your help. <https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif> On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 10:49 AM, Ben McCafferty < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Yes, that's the ground. Usually you can just clean it but no harm in replacing. Best, bmc Sent from my iPhone On May 15, 2017, at 07:46, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Yes that makes sense. Thank you for the thorough and thoughtful explanation. I am committed to figuring this out and fixing it myself. I assume that the "ground probe" is this part:<level probe.jpeg>. When I ordered the new vacuum valve I also ordered this part too, but didn't install it after the machine started working again. So I guess my next step is to install the new probe. I will let you know how that goes. On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 10:18 AM, Benjamin McCafferty < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Sorry, one more thing. If all of that fails, and if I’m correct on the solenoid being fired by relay, there is a chance the relay is the culprit, which means replacing the giemme controller (this did happen on mine also—both things failed eventually). I’d wait for someone else to chime in with more knowledge than me (Todd, Ira, etc.) before purchasing the giemme. But, for reference, I think the giemme was about $75, the solenoid maybe $100. So still very worthwhile repairs if the rest of the machine is doing well. best, bmc On May 15, 2017, at 07:12, Benjamin McCafferty < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: Hey Howard, I think you’re mixing up a couple of causes/symptoms. Here’s what happens (normally) when the machine comes on. --It senses whether the steam boiler is full via the ground probe that sticks into the top of the boiler (and can be adjusted up or down, by the way). --If not, it opens the solenoid (via relay in the giemme controller, I believe) and starts the pump, until the water in steam boiler reaches the ground probe. --It then stops the pump and the solenoid closes. --The pump is now available to push pressure on demand through the brew boiler, which only happens when the lever is lifted to its top position. --The steam boiler heats first, and when it’s close to pressure, the vacuum breaker you cleaned closes and makes a seal to let pressure build. --The brew boiler heats second, to a preset temperature. Now then, if you think about it, the vacuum breaker has nothing to do with startup (it is not engaged until well after the problem you’re having). So here’s what you check: —Is the ground probe in the steam boiler connected and clean? —If so, you would look to either a stuck solenoid or a failing/failed pump. —Since you are developing 10bar of pressure, and the pump won’t quit, to me that says two things: —First, your pump is working, i.e. developing pressure in the brew boiler —Second, the pump is trying to fill the steam boiler, and can’t —Because of these two things, I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that the solenoid is stuck, and so no water is reaching the steam boiler, and so the solenoid never closes and shuts off the pump. Make sense? So, check the easy thing first (ground probe and wire, both ends), and then move on to ordering a new solenoid and replacing it. Others may have additional thoughts, but I’ve been down this road and it wasn’t this clear cut. The 10bar in the brew boiler is a dead giveaway, in my opinion. Best of luck and keep us posted! Ben/bmc On May 15, 2017, at 06:48, <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] wrote: I thought I had this problem solved after I took apart and cleaned the vacuum relief valve. It worked fine for the past two week but now the issue has recurred. When I turned the machine on yesterday morning the pump began to run and the pressure went up to 10 bar. The pump would not stop running and the pressure remained at 10 bar. I turned it off and tried starting it again several times thoughout the day but the behavior was always the same: constantly buzzing pump and pressure at 10 bar. Eventually a high pitched squeal developed along with the pump noise and I haven't turned it on again for fear of burning out the pump or causing other damage. Any ideas? I have a brand new vacuum relief valve that I will install tonight. If that doesn't help I'm stuck. Thanks, Howard Sent from my iPad On Apr 26, 2017, at 14:59, Howard Griffin < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: I have had my Brewtus III-V (vibration pump) for almost seven years. Its usual behavior upon startup has been to buzz for a few seconds (5-10 seconds) and then start to heat up. The buzzing usually terminates with a very brief uptick in volume before stopping. A typographical representation might look like this: [click on] rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRR [noise stops machine begins to heat up]. Sometimes there would be no buzzing at all upon turning it on and it would begin to heat up right away. This was its normal behavior until recently. Now, when I turn it on the buzzing frequently goes on for a very long time—up to three or four minutes before resolving in an uptick in volume, like this: [click on] rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRR [noise stops machine begins to heat up]. Sometimes it still starts up with no noise and begins to heat up right away. Is something about to fail on the machine? What should I check? Any advice would be appreciated. Howard -- 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 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]. Visit this group at <https://groups.google.com/group/brewtus> https://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. 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