On 25/12/21 6:23 am, 'Andrey Sychev' via Brewtus wrote:
Folks, I was able to unscrew the old heating element using impact
wrench and some extension with 1 7/16 socket however pulling it out
the boiler is a challenge. I can see a part of the charred coils but
apparently it bursted inside (hence acrylic insulation in the boiler)
so wiggling with the pliers may do this trick. Obviously don’t want to
destroy the boiler taking it out either. Any suggestions?
Excellent news Andrey! And a Merry Christmas to you :)
The boiler is brass, so it is reasonably solid (relatively speaking).
The only element I had issues with was in a NS Oscar, which has a copper
boiler and is thus really fragile.. The elements are (I think) copper.
So the tug of war will be won... I'd use a pointy set of locking pliers
through the hole in your circumstance. My elements are all spirally
configured, so "unscrewing" them out might be the go. Plus pulling
reasonably hard (support the boiler with other hand, or someone else's
hands...). The Oscar element kind of 'stretched' as I pulled and the
coils 'unscrewed' out the wee hole.
Every Espresso machine I've changed elements in for friends has had the
elements approximately the same diameter as the hole. So this is a
universal issue as far as I can see.. From my decidedly limited set of
5 data points! In the 5 different machines I've done, the darn things
have always yielded to force (carefully) applied. The boiler elements
are basically malleable, but the insulation stuff (the white stuff)
makes the element not wish to bend as easily as it might otherwise
bend... My sister's Rancilio Silvia had an element shaped roughly like
an M, and the "v" part was where it blew/bent. That one got pulled and
pulled with increasing force and concern until it came out the hole -
kind of "U" shaped... Like the Brewtus, the Silvia has a brass boiler
so it can take some applied force.
I do re-mention the caution about sharp edges in there though.
Application of heft in confined areas where there are sharp edges
results in blood sacrifice...
Cheers
/Kevin
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