Top of Group Leaks when heating up.

Mike Franklin

I have yet to do anything with this but essentially I get the following symptoms:

Switch on, pump runs briefly, heater comes on as normal.
When temp approaches point where heater cuts out water begins dripping/flowing from ring of bolts between top of group and lever.
pulling lever reduces flow and accelerates warming of group etc. doing this a couple or three times continues to reduce escape of water until when the whole machine is up to temperature the leak stops and normal use is possible. Total loss of water is perhaps 1 litre plus flushes.

All of the above has only happened since the machine was on for 72 hours over Christmas

This L1 is in my ownership for about a year now and has otherwise been flawless and has seemingly not needed any servicing at the 3-5 cups per day usage level.

As well as fixing the issue I would like to understand what is happening.

I have tools and am comfortable with the idea of fixing this..... I would just like a little guidance on doing so, as in what to look for.

Frans Goddijn

Sounds like you need to get your spare set of rubber piston seals and carefully replace the old ones. Cheap and simple.


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Mike Franklin

I'll order some then. I was thinking it is almost time for a group to portafilter seal and I fancy the later steam wand which I presume has the latest tip fitted. Having a spare shower screen might be useful too.

I have seen mention of folks advising not to tighten the four bolts too much but I don't think I ever saw any torque settings..even in the manual.. are any recommended elsewhere?

Frans Goddijn

It's always good to have a spare set so best order two sets. More than a few times a user has been thinking there was a very complex problem but always in this case it turned out that he had no spare set and thus too much waiting time to assume something else might have caused the problems.
The bolts need to be just finger tight. The top will not fly off if they are less tight.
Just take care, it is soft metal so do not cross thread and force a bolt and first turn them in loosely and then a bit more tight, not first one very tight and then force the others in. Easy does it perfectly.


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Reiss Gunson

hi mike

welcome, and thank you for your post. as someone who purchased your machine second hand you are as welcome as anyone else here, but from my perspective it is important to make that point clear as these seals do not leak in just 12 months - i suspect your machine still has the original seals in it and probably no loxeal no.4 either, which is fine, but it paints a different picture of our machines' maintenance needs, which are few and simple

as frans has already said, a group seal kit (3 piston seals & one portafilter to group seal) will put you back in business, but it is important to address otherwise the spring will eventually go rusty if it is left standing in water. i would also recommend some Loxeal no.4 grease as it is significantly better than Dow Corning's Molykote 111 seal & valve lubricant - use about a quarter's worth to the top of the group sleeve and the same amount again to the bottom of the group sleeve and wipe it around the entire surface of the sleeve with your finger so there are no dry patches

in terms of understanding what happened it is very simple, there are two V seals facing each other immediately above and below the 4 inlet holes in the sleeve. these seals prevent the water migrating up or down when the machine is at rest. when these seals fail the and the machine is pressurised and water coming in through the 4 inlet holes in the sleeve is then able to head upwards (as in your case) or down, or both

happy new year

reiss.

Mike Franklin

Thank you both for making clear what it is I need to do and why.

I will surely emphasise the age of the machine in any future posts.

I do have to say though that the ease of use and the consistency of this machine over the past year (ish) have made ownership a real pleasure.

I have the Santos 01 for single dosing, a Royal that needs converting because I now know that I don't like dosers and now that Santa got me a Mythos to play with, I am hoping that the Grinding side of coffee making will be as enjoyable as the making.

So for the help and the superb machine, once again, thank you

Reiss Gunson

its all good, you are most welcome
kind regards
reiss.