This forum is now read-only
To login to the new support channel and community forums, go to the Support Portal
L1 grouphead not heating up
Hello everyone. I have had my L1 for about two years now and use it to pull 3 shots every morning. I absolutely love it, but recently (within the past 2-3 months) I've noticed that the grouphead is not heating up like it used to. I used to have the machine turning on (via a timer) at 4:30 AM, and it would be hot to the touch by the time I woke up at 5:00 AM. Now I have the machine turning on at 4:00 AM every morning and when I get up at 5:00 AM, the grouphead is cold to the touch.
After I pull my first shot (which always comes out really fast and runny and not good....) the grouphead seems to warm up, and shots 2 and 3 are fine. So I'm wondering if the thermosiphon is not cycling water through the grouphead until after I pull my first shot. Is that possible?
Some background info:
[ul]
[li]I have done minimal maintenance on my L1 in the two years I've owned it. About 6 months ago I took the lever / grouphead apart and lubed the seals.[/li]
[li]My machine is not plumbed in and I do not use the water filter. For water, I mix distilled water with my favorite bottled spring water until TDS is between 50 - 60 ppm. It is usually around 53 ppm. Could the thermosiphon have scale buildup with this routine? I read somewhere a while back that I would be good to go if I kept it between 50 - 60 ppm, so that's what I've done since I have owned the machine.[/li]
[/ul]
Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to help figure out what's going on here. If my machine needs to be descaled, can anyone recommend a service shop in the Central Florida region? Also, if the culprit is scale buildup, I will want to revise my water routine to prevent it in the future.. maybe I should plumb it in with proper filters, etc? I thought manually mixing the water would provide greater control and be "better" for the machine, though it is definitely more work.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!
-Allen
After I pull my first shot (which always comes out really fast and runny and not good....) the grouphead seems to warm up, and shots 2 and 3 are fine. So I'm wondering if the thermosiphon is not cycling water through the grouphead until after I pull my first shot. Is that possible?
Some background info:
[ul]
[li]I have done minimal maintenance on my L1 in the two years I've owned it. About 6 months ago I took the lever / grouphead apart and lubed the seals.[/li]
[li]My machine is not plumbed in and I do not use the water filter. For water, I mix distilled water with my favorite bottled spring water until TDS is between 50 - 60 ppm. It is usually around 53 ppm. Could the thermosiphon have scale buildup with this routine? I read somewhere a while back that I would be good to go if I kept it between 50 - 60 ppm, so that's what I've done since I have owned the machine.[/li]
[/ul]
Please let me know if there is any additional information I can provide to help figure out what's going on here. If my machine needs to be descaled, can anyone recommend a service shop in the Central Florida region? Also, if the culprit is scale buildup, I will want to revise my water routine to prevent it in the future.. maybe I should plumb it in with proper filters, etc? I thought manually mixing the water would provide greater control and be "better" for the machine, though it is definitely more work.
Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!
-Allen
Comments
Has your tank been running dry or do you always keep it filled with water?
Hi Frans, my tank has never run dry. I always keep the reservoir filled with water. And I flush before every shot. My morning routine is as follows:
- I have a gallon jug filled with my pre-mixed distilled / spring water. The first thing I do every morning is fill a cup with some of the water from the jug.
- I measure 15.8 grams of coffee, add a few drops of water from the cup of water, then grind the beans using HG-1.
- I use a whisk to stir / distribute the grounds evenly.
- I pull a brief flush and then dry off the grouphead / portafilter / drain screen.
- I tamp the grounds, replace the portafilter, pull the shot.
- I measure the shot as it is pulling and remove the cup when the shot reaches 28 grams. I then let the rest of the shot continue draining and I walk away for 15-20 minutes while I drink the espresso.
- When I return for the next shot, the first thing I do is empty the grounds from the portafilter, then place the portafilter back in the grouphead and pull a cleaning / flushing amount of water through the portafilter.
- I then wipe the portafilter, grouphead, drain screen and then repeat the grind / tamp / shot process. So after every shot, the spent grounds remain in the portafilter for 15-20 minutes.
- At the end when I am cleaning up, I dump the cup of water into the reservoir. So I am adding water to it every day and it has never run dry on me with this routine.
The reason I don't flush immediately after every shot is because the puck is a wet, soupy mess right after the shot has pulled. But by letting it drain thoroughly in between shots, the puck comes out dry, easily, and cleanly. If this is causing problems with my machine, I will definitely change my routine though. I would just like to understand what exactly is happening to cause the grouphead to stop heating up. Thanks again!
-Allen
If your puck remains very muddy, this might be caused by the choice / age of beans, a need to grind very fine and the puck clogging up the basket more than otherwise.
In the morning, your most recent flush was maybe more than 12 hours ago and the TS is not very active. Only before the first shot you would do a flush and then the TS would become functional again.
So it's just the very very simple habit you need to develop: after a brew, a brief flush.
I just visited a presentation of a brand new machine for cafe's by Sanremo and I saw that the manufacturer has even printed stickers to raise awareness with professional baristas to do exactly that: (1) brew (2) hand out drink (3) flush (4) back to 1) ;-) NO flushes right before brewing.
There might be a buildup of heat efficiency if you have done the little flush consistently over a number of days and a decline in TS efficiency if you persist in doing it the other way around for a certain period. You could test that but it's best to just stick to the 'modus operandi' and best practice as published.
thank you for replying to allen whilst i was asleep frans, it is appreciated
given the details you have provided allen, i am thinking that perhaps the anti-vacuum valve is not functioning reliably, as this would account for the symptoms you report
you can test this idea in a number of ways. for example, if your machine is currently on you can unplug it and remove the top panel immediately: the anti-vac valve should at this time be in the 'up' (closed) position. come back to the machine after say 30 minutes and see if the anti-vac valve has dropped down into the 'open' position, as it should have by that time. if it has not then you have most likely found the cause. try pushing down on it and see if it is stuck up and you feel it let go and drop down and stay down when pressure is applied
another way to check if you are about to start the machine from cold is to lock the steam wand into the open position and leave it locked open. then turn the machine on. this is how espresso machines were started in the years prior to them being fitted with anti-vac valves. once steam is being pushed out from the steam wand close the steam wand valve and wait about one hour as you normally would for the system to reach full operating temperature. if the anti-vac valve is the cause of the problem then starting the machine using this technique should see the machine obtain full operating temperature as you have eliminated the possibility of a poorly functioning anti-vac valve as the source of the problem
you can easily remove the anti-vac valve for cleaning/servicing and replacements are available here.
when removing the anti-vac valve (17mm wrench from memory) be sure to tap the end of the wrench with a hammer to free the valve from the boiler. i appreciate that it is counter-intuitive, but simply torquing up the wrench by pulling on the end harder & harder is likely to result in twisting the soft copper boiler into a sorry mangled mess, which is an expensive fix (new boiler). strike the end of the wrench with a hammer and the shock/impact will ensure that the valve breaks free from the thread in the boiler mounting fitting, rather than torquing up the boiler
more than happy to provide over sight via FaceTime or Skype if you wish
kind regards
reiss.
-Allen
I was going to order a replacement, but I have a hard time justifying $25 USD shipping on a <$10 USD part. Would it be possible for you to provide me with the part number so I can see if I can source one locally?<br />
Thanks again for your help!
-Allen
ah, good. for that reason i suggested you might want to give the valve a clean, as they are incredibly simple and unless the o-ring has failed i expect it will respond to a clean
once you have removed the valve from the boiler take the stainless steel circlip off the top of the valve and then the centre pin in the valve will drop out and you will see for yourself how simple it is. give it a thorough clean, reassemble, and re-fit. it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes from start to finish
as with most of the components on our machines they are made in house, so you won't find the exact part from a third party supplier in the USA
the reason you are seeing this pricing anomaly is couriers basically charge a fixed fee for 'getting out of bed'. in practice for international carriage this means that whether you order one o-ring or up to about 1kg of goods you are going to be charged the same amount by the courier
my suggestion to you, as it has been to others, is that you take the opportunity to procure a selection of parts that you are likely to have a use for in the next couple of years. given that these items are relatively light it won't drive the freight charge up further
i hope this helps
kind regards
reiss.
https://londiniumespresso.com/forum?catid=27&id=554&view=topic
I'm going to try and clean the original anti-vac valve as you suggested, and can replace it if needed. It will be good to have some additional spare parts on hand should something else pop up in the future.
Thanks again!
-Allen
yes disassemble it and soak it in some descaling solution for 15 minutes or so, then give it a brush off under cold running water
reassemble, taking care to ensure that the o-ring is sitting in the seal groove all the way around & refit
kind regards
reiss.