ɹǝʌo ǝɯ uɹnʇ – sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı
coffee machines
Back into the coffee! :^)
Aug 14th
Picked up my espresso machine from CaffeTech today after having it serviced. After being machineless for the past few weeks, it sure is nice to have it back up and running!
The techs modded the machine a bit for me (which saved me over a $100) – replacing the failed controller with one that is designed for a plumbed in machine. There were a couple other pieces replaced to get the machine, and they also de-scaled the plumbing (the whole house plumbing isn’t quite doing what it should be I guess.)
I think that I might just plan on taking the machine in once per year and just getting a routine maintenance/descaling done.
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Working on Andreja
Jul 10th
Well, things still aren’t back to normal with the espresso machine, but I think that I’m making progress, albeit slow. My Aeropress is definitely getting a workout.
Chatted with Joe @ CaffeTech earlier today, and have a couple more things to do to get the leaky machine fully operational again.
First and foremost is descaling the grouphead and the boiler. I was mistakingly under the impression that supplying the machine with water from the whole house water softener, that this wouldn’t be necessary.
Then, I’m thinking that I might want to add some insulation or heat protection to some of the wires. The plastic shields around some of the connectors have completely disintegrated from the heat of the boiler.
Found some a great link that should be very helpful as I undertake the descaling – Espresso Passione’s Descaling the Andreja Part 1 and Part 2.
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And it’s leaking again! :^(
Jul 4th
Well, after replacing the breaker valve, I woke up this morning to the sound of water dripping and the pump running again.
Thankfully it was only running for a couple minutes this time – so the water cleanup was much easier!
Looks like I’ll have to take the machine in to CaffeTech – and have them see what’s up. It’s a drag, but this is the first problem I’ve had with the machine since I got it 3 years ago. Hopefully its not an expensive fix! The problem only occurs when the machine first starts up. Once it’s heated up, there doesn’t seem to be a problem.
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My Espresso machine is back!
Jun 25th
Well, Joe at CaffeTech fixed me up with a new breaker valve and while there, I figured I should probably get new washers for the group lever.
I just got the machine all back together and no more leaking :^). It is surprising how much water actually boils off in the cup surrounding the valve while the machine warms up. At least it’s no longer gushing all over the place! The trickiest part of the whole thing was getting the cam back in place after getting the lever washers replaced.
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A little maintenance
Sep 4th
My Andreja Premium has been leaking lately around the portafilter. Figure that the likely culprit is the grouphead gasket – almost 2 years of baking in the E61 head, and it has been pretty much carbonized. Removing the gasket was pretty tricky, well, at least until I decided to use Google to find a how-to article. Came across Espresso! My Espresso!, a no-frills site with lots of information! How-to #13 was the one I needed, and after a quick read, I had the grouphead gasket out in less than 30 seconds!
The screen had to be cleaned up – I was a little slack in the weekly backflushes – but I did make sure they were done at least every 2-3 weeks. Every week from now on! And I won’t wait 2 years to replace the gasket again – maybe do it every 6 months to a year.
Instead of buying the gasket locally (which I kind of had to do this time around with all the leaking), I’m going to order a half dozen online. $5 US each instead of $16 from CaffeTech! The price you pay for convenience I suppose.
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