pump sqwarks back : (
After the better part of a week with a quiet pump, I got protests from it again today in the squawking sound, both times while backflushing. This leads to several questions: For checking an air leak... (1) Do I simply need to focus up-line from the pump (such as the water tube, rubber elbow fitting, and the clamp that seals the fitting to the pump), or do I need to troubleshoot things down-line also, like the tube going out of the OPV or the deaerator back to the reservoir or the tubing that goes from the pump to the boilers? (2) Are there ways to check for an air leak other than simply visibly inspecting tubing, removing and reconnecting tubes to be sure they have a good seal? For checking other things... (3) Are there other things, besides possible air leak, that I should be on the look out for? Overall, I'm thrilled that I'm getting much improved espresso flavor. But draining and repriming the pump frequently in order to keep oxygen from oxidizing isn't sustainable. Thanks, Marcus -- 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 brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: sqwark from pump?
Chris, This seems to have done the trick. Thanks! I tightened down the clamp around the rubber connector b/t the line in and the pump a bit harder than before. Then I ran the pump with the hose out of the reservoir to drain the boilers until the pump was clicking. When the boilers were fairly empty and the pump had been clicking for a minute or so, I put the in-take hose back in the reservoir, re-primed the pump, and refilled the boilers. Should that be sufficient for getting the air out of the pump? So far I've had no more sqwarking for several days. I'm also hoping that this fix has improved the taste I was getting in my espresso. For a while (basically coterminous with when I had more frequent sqwarks) I had been getting a very strong tannin-like flavor in the cup along with an absence of the natural sweetness and high-tones that should be in the beans I was using. Now that I've eliminated the sqwark, so far I don't taste the foreign tannins anymore, though I'm waiting for some better beans to arrive to test it and know for sure. Espresso is improving = spirits are up! Thanks again, Marcus On Sunday, June 22, 2014 9:26:25 PM UTC-5, Sludgemaster wrote: Same think happened to me when I retrofitted with a rotary pump. It is caused by air in the feed water. Prime the pump and make sure that there is no air leak in the hose feeding the pump. Chris On 6/21/2014 9:38 PM, Marcus Mininger wrote: I have this same problem, though I have not measured a drop in pressure (either on the pressurestat or with an external brew pressure gauge). It does mainly happens if the pump has to work hard, like on a tight slow pour, and it might sqwark (a pretty good word for the sound, BTW!) once total or once every couple seconds for part of the pour. I'm not mechanical, but the frequency and sound make it seem like a sqwark per revolution of the internal mechanism on a rotary pump. The problem started happened infrequently maybe a year ago and has gotten more frequent since. But part of the trouble in my case is that I just replaced the pump maybe 2 years ago with parts and instructions from WLL. I'm wondering: is it possible that I installed something incorrectly that led to this so soon after replacing? Or does that sound like a bad part? And either way, what to do now? Marcus On Saturday, May 10, 2014 2:57:11 AM UTC-5, jhgumbrell wrote: Just to be clear...it happens if I'm doing a tight slow pour. Machine HSS only just started to react like this -- 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 brewtus+u...@googlegroups.com javascript:. To post to this group, send email to bre...@googlegroups.com javascript: . Visit this group at http://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 brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: sqwark from pump?
I have this same problem, though I have not measured a drop in pressure (either on the pressurestat or with an external brew pressure gauge). It does mainly happens if the pump has to work hard, like on a tight slow pour, and it might sqwark (a pretty good word for the sound, BTW!) once total or once every couple seconds for part of the pour. I'm not mechanical, but the frequency and sound make it seem like a sqwark per revolution of the internal mechanism on a rotary pump. The problem started happened infrequently maybe a year ago and has gotten more frequent since. But part of the trouble in my case is that I just replaced the pump maybe 2 years ago with parts and instructions from WLL. I'm wondering: is it possible that I installed something incorrectly that led to this so soon after replacing? Or does that sound like a bad part? And either way, what to do now? Marcus On Saturday, May 10, 2014 2:57:11 AM UTC-5, jhgumbrell wrote: Just to be clear...it happens if I'm doing a tight slow pour. Machine HSS only just started to react like this -- 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 brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: Brewtus III Brew Temp does not increase
Todd et al, Is it possible that a pressurestat problem explains the Water Boiler Temp problem I asked about in my post on March 9? Frustratingly, no one ever responded to my post, so I am still completely without espresso at this point. I would appreciate any perspective that people might have, though. I know the problem I experienced is somewhat different than what Frank was having, but the difference may just be one of degree (water temp remaining slightly low v. water temp remaining permanent low). I would really appreciate any help in knowing how to troubleshoot this and how best to proceed. Thanks, Marcus On Monday, March 25, 2013 8:15:50 PM UTC-5, Todd Salzman wrote: It sounds like you need a new pressurestat. The brew boiler will not start to heat until the pressurestat stops sending power to the steam boiler and sends it to brew boiler via the PID control system. And since the pressure relief valve is blowing off that means the steam boiler is still heating. Hope this helps. Todd Salzman Whole Latte Love On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 2:30 PM, brewcru frav...@gmail.com javascript:wrote: Hello, I have searched for this problem in this group and on the web and haven't found anything similar, so here goes... I have a Brewtus III with rotary pump and PID control, blue LEDs. I've used it for about 4 years. The problem I'm having is the steam and brew boiler heaters are staying on, based on LED indicators but the brew temp does not reach the set point. I just ran the machine and the max temp on the brew boiler was only 105 degf. I felt the brew water with my hand and that temp feels about right. The pump is working fine, both boilers have water. What's happening is the steam boiler hits 1.8 bar, the over-pressure valve opens but the brew temp does not increase. Both boilers remain on based on the red light for the steam boiler and the blue light for the brew boiler. Opening the steamer value does increase the brew temp a few deg. I think this problem has gotten worse over time. Is it a clog? I've never descaled the machine, but I run distilled water (reverse osmosis). What's going on here? How do I fix this problem? Thanks, Frank -- 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 brewtus+u...@googlegroups.com javascript:. To post to this group, send email to bre...@googlegroups.comjavascript: . Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- 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 brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Brewtus I - Water Boiler Losing Temp
I have a Brewtus 1 that I bought second hand. Have used it for a couple years with good service. A couple months ago when I was cleaning it (backflushing w/ detergent, etc.), the temperature readout for the water boiler started slowly dropping, a degree or so each minute or so (from 93C to 92 to 91, etc.). I ran some more water through and tried backflushing with only water to rinse any extra detergent, in case what I had been doing (which was standard procedure that I have always done) was causing a problem. Any water I ran or backflushed would only cause the temp to drop more quickly. It appeared that the water in that boiler was no longer heating. However, two things stayed normal: (a) the light on the PID read-out for the water boiler was on where it indicates that that boiler is heating, and (b) the steam boiler pressure stayed at normal levels, cycling on and off as needed, and even when I opened up the steam wand for a full minute, it held good pressure and output the whole way. Evidently, the steam boiler was working fine while the PID was telling the water boiler to work but it was not heating. I tried shutting off and turning back on to reset the electronics w/ the PID readout, etc., but this didn't change anything. Eventually, I finished the standard cleaning/rinsing process as best I could (with diminishing temperatures) and turned it off for the day. A day later I powered the machine back on from cold to let it heat up, and the temp of the water boiler did not rise but the steam boiler came up to normal pressure. Then I tried pulling some water through the group head by activating the pump. This caused the water boiler temp to increase by a degree or 2 each time until it had come up 10 degrees or so. However, it was obviously not fixing the basic problem and the water boiler was still nowhere near the needed temp. My guess is that pulling water out of the water boiler probably just resulted in pulling some water from the steam boiler into the water boiler, thereby raising the water boiler temp artificially somewhat. I left the machine on for several hours, but the water boiler never increased any more on its own. At that point, I wasn't sure what to try further to be of any help, so I powered it off. Work has been very busy for me since, so the machine has just sat there for a couple of months since then, and I am not mechanically inclined enough to know how to troubleshoot the problem. Today I powered the machine on just to see, and the same thing happened: water temp did not rise at all, but steam pressure is up to normal. What should do to identify and fix this problem? Thanks, Macus -- 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 brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: OPV?
OK thanks. That is what I'm thinking too. However, I'm new to espresso repairs, so I wanted to get the opinion of others more experienced if it seemed like something else was more likely the root cause of the problem. (I've been having problem with the shots for several weeks. The leak from the OPV just happened on the last shot I pulled, after I had made the adjustment.) So when I order the parts, I can hopefully order all that is needed. Is there anything else I should be considering as a likely root cause? Thanks, m On Sep 1, 12:29 pm, Ira laza...@gmail.com wrote: At 07:35 PM 8/31/2011, you wrote: Does that sound like the correct diagnosis? Or is there anything else I should try to be sure? If the water is leaking from the OPV you need to fix or replace it no matter what so since the odds it might be the problem are high, the risk seems very low. I assume your machine doesn't have the second gauge like the II so you can't see that the pressure is to high. Ira -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Brewtus group. To post to this group, send email to brewtus@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to brewtus+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus?hl=en.
