I talked with Tim at WLL today and he suggested resetting the high limit button, but I think that would be indicated if the boiler wasn't heating.
Otherwise he said all the current operation sounded good and to just watch it for now, he didn't recommend spending the money on a new pstat just yet. He said they would have me put in the same part, that they don't see any premature failures and it's about 1/2 the price of the Jaeger for what that's worth.... He said the variability I see in turn off pressure was fine, as was the cycle time on the steam boiler running. I wouldn't doubt that at some point the pstat will get stickier, but he said for now to watch it and that it's not a dangerous thing. If I have to replace, I guess I'll decide on the brand then :) Tim didn't have any quick kluge to not power the steam boiler (ie. run only the brew boiler) in case the pstat does go bad, so I'm still in search of an easy kluge. I've got the cover and everything back on, so if there is any extremely minor leaking going on, I definitely cannot hear it anymore. On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 4:46:48 PM UTC-4, herman dickens wrote: > > I didn't have any trouble getting the wires to fit. It's been a couple of > years at least since I put the last one in. I'm not sure I ever replaced > the vacuum break but I've replaced the o-rings several times. It's an easy > fix to remove the pressurestat and put the new one on. > > Herman > > On Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 4:31 PM 'Mike Walsh' via Brewtus < > [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Greetings all, >> >> Thanks for the encouragement and help. >> >> I pulled out a couple of crescent wrenches and disassembled the vacuum >> breaker valve, and replaced the o-ring without any issues. The old one was >> pretty shrunken and dry as you'd image. There really wasn't much crud or >> scale that I could see, so I quickly hit it with a scrubby but didn't go >> too crazy. As easy as that was, I'll just keep doing that until the bag of >> 10 is gone, and then trade out the whole part with the spare I have :) >> >> And no more pstat sticking so far, but I know if it sticks once, it's >> probably going to get worse, not better. I'll get on the phone with WLL or >> CC tomorrow to look into a new psat. >> >> Q: I assume the pstat is fairly easy to change out? >> >> Q: With the Jaeger, the wiring point locations are different, do the >> existing wires reach OK, or did you have to extend them Herman? >> >> Q: Since I rarely use the steam boiler anyway, if the pstat sticks again >> is there an easy way to "disable" the steam boiler and just run the brew >> boiler? I can dig in the archives, but if the answer is as simple as "just >> pop off one of the connectors on the element on the bottom", that would be >> great to hear and avoid the searching. >> >> Q: I swore I could hear a very, very faint continuing steam leak, but >> maybe now a few hours later the o-ring has softened and settled because now >> it's dead silent. And of course my "cycle time" of heating the steam >> boiler is WAY better (it's been as short as 90 seconds with the bad >> o-ring). Now when it heats it'll generally turn on at about 1.05 bar and >> then most of the time turns off at 1.25, but I've seen some variability up >> to sometimes 1.3, 1.35. It'll typically settle around 1.2, then slowly >> decrease over about 4m45s until it turns on again. Does that sound >> reasonable? >> >> Thanks for any and all continued help. >> >> PS: Adam, if I get to pulling the Brewtus apart at all and you want to >> come on down to Cary, you are welcome to come by, I'll let you know. An >> extra set of hands is always helpful, and it sounds like you are a bit more >> advanced on the plumbing side than me. >> >> -mike >> >> On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 8:26:40 AM UTC-4, Adam Meade wrote: >>> >>> Hi Mike, >>> >>> I'm in Raleigh and last fall, I was attempting to fix a steam leak and >>> broke the part that comes out of the steam boiler on my Brewtus IV. I >>> called around and end up taking it to the Appliance Service Center on Peace >>> Street. However, I can't say that I'd fully recommend them. The owner did >>> not communicate well and when I dropped it off, I wasn't sure if he had >>> experience with espresso machines as the place was strewn with old junk of >>> every sort and no signs of espresso gear. However, he was somehow able to >>> source a part that WLL had back ordered and did get it put back together. >>> On the other hand, he didn't test it before I picked it up so there were >>> multiple steam leaks and I ended up disassembling everything on my own >>> anyway and putting in high-temp plumbers tape. He also put the steam >>> gauge back on crooked. On the whole, I wouldn't go back there unless I was >>> really desperate and I'd first try to fix it myself if I could. The crazy >>> thing was when I went to check on it once, someone else had dropped off an >>> identical Brewtus IV there! >>> >>> Good to meet another Brewtus owner in the area. >>> >>> --Adam >>> >>> On Saturday, July 21, 2018 at 6:14:42 PM UTC-4, herman dickens wrote: >>>> >>>> Mike the red high temp o-rings seem to work fine on mine. I've had it >>>> since the month the BII's came out and I can't even tell you how many >>>> times >>>> I've replaced it. You could have a pressurestat sticking. Mine did and the >>>> same thing happened. I got the Jaeger Pressurstat from Chris coffee and it >>>> worked a lot better than the one that came on it. The first Jaeger lasted >>>> 8 >>>> years, 2nd 8 months, 3rd is several years old. I think I got a bad one the >>>> second time. I don't know of anyone around Raleigh but I'll ask around. >>>> I'm >>>> just north of Louisburg so not too far away. Keep us posted if you have >>>> problems. >>>> >>>> Herman >>>> >>>> On Sat, Jul 21, 2018 at 5:54 PM 'Mike Walsh' via Brewtus < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> All, >>>>> >>>>> Grateful for any help. I've had this Brewtus II for years, and I'm >>>>> probably the 2nd or 3rd owner of it. To my knowledge, no maintenance of >>>>> any kind has ever been done on the machine. I fire it up twice a day, >>>>> and >>>>> pull a shot - I rarely use the steam boiler. I've had no water leaks or >>>>> anything else significant to this point. >>>>> >>>>> I turned on the machine to warm it up today, and sometime WELL after >>>>> it would have come up to temp we heard a very loud sound (I honestly >>>>> thought our pug dog had passed really loud gas), and the sound of steam >>>>> coming out of the Brewtus under the cover. I quickly turned it off, >>>>> gathered some tools, and took off the cover. I then turned it back on, >>>>> and >>>>> waited to see what happened. >>>>> >>>>> I found I've got hissing from the vacuum breaker valve, but I've had >>>>> that for years. I've had a full replacement valve (the kind with the >>>>> white >>>>> insert), as well as a bag of the little o-rings as another option, but >>>>> life >>>>> got busy and I've used neither.... Let's hold on that thought. >>>>> >>>>> The safety value was hissing as well this time, so I popped it DOWN, >>>>> and it seemed to settle. If it is hissing at all, I can't tell it over >>>>> the >>>>> vacuum breaker valve. I've let it cool a bit and warm back up a few >>>>> times, >>>>> and have not had the big problem reoccur, and the brew gauge shows a very >>>>> solid maximum of 1.2 bars, so I don't think it's an out of control >>>>> pressure >>>>> stat or anything. I grabbed a pair of pliers and worked it UP against >>>>> the >>>>> spring pressure and rotated it a number of times just to make sure if >>>>> there >>>>> was any crud I broke it up or moved it. >>>>> >>>>> So... >>>>> >>>>> 1 - any thoughts or concerns on the safety valve? Is this just some >>>>> weird one-off? Anything I should do or watch/listen for? >>>>> >>>>> 2 - Obviously I need to get off my rear and do something about the >>>>> vacuum breaker valve. >>>>> >>>>> - I assume just put on the full assembly one I have rather then >>>>> messing with repairing the other one's o-ring? >>>>> >>>>> - Any precautions I need to do like holding the lower part of the >>>>> assembly to keep it from rotating when I wrench off the vacuum breaker >>>>> value, or can I just take a wrench and spin off the vacuum breaker valve? >>>>> >>>>> I don't want to break anything. If I need to hold it, is a pair of >>>>> pliers >>>>> sufficient? >>>>> >>>>> - STUPID question: do I have to move the fridge and crawl back >>>>> there to turn off the plumbed-in water line before doing the repair? >>>>> >>>>> I'm hoping this is fairly quick, and I'll go back to good operation. I >>>>> appreciate any advice! >>>>> >>>>> PS: I imagine at some point this machine will need real maintenance, >>>>> does anyone know anyone in the Raleigh, NC area that works on these >>>>> machines? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks, >>>>> Mike >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> 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] <javascript:>. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >> <javascript:>. >> 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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