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Overpressure valve went off
Hi,I recently had a problem with my L1 Luxe.
My L1 always switches on in the morning via my Wemo switch. One morning, my girlfriend was screaming that there was steams inside the machine (handy, those glass panels). I rushed in and switched of the machine. I immediately knew the overpressure switch had opened. The gauge said 1.6 bar.
I gave the machine time to cool down, and removed the top panel to let the machine dry from the inside. After the machine had cooled down, I switched it on again, with the top panel still off, and watched it closely. Everything was normal again. (Only the overpressure valve didn't seem to close completely (kept hissing a bit). A few times pressing on it fixed that. Can this thing easily be cleaned? It has some kind of seal on it.)
I kept a close look on the machine for a while know, and it is operating fine without any issue. I'm still not completely at ease though.
They only thing that I can think of that went wrong is the the pressurestat stuck somehow. I took the cap of it, and it seems to be all OK. Contacts are relatively clean and no burn marks or anything. One of the contacts does spark a little, but that seems normal too. Tried to make a movie of it:
Should I replace the pressurestat? Or think of something else?
One other thing I noticed after this happened is there is some white-ish layer on the copper piping which cracked off and is pretty hard. I made a picture of it. Is this the polishing coming off?
Regards,
Jeroen
Comments
thank you for posting. its time for a new pressure switch - what typically occurs is they start sticking in the closed position intermittently, and then a few weeks or months later the contacts spot weld themselves together
you will find the 30A Sirai that we now use to be a significant improvement on the original 20A Sirari originally used, both in terms of the adjustment mechanism and its durability
given that you are replacing the pressure switch and the safety valve has been actuated and is sometimes reluctant to reseat fully afterwards i would take the opportunity to replace the safety valve at the same time
Hi Jeroen,
Great to 'see' my original 2013 L1 Luxe again in a picture!
The hard white stuff is indeed the 'gloss' that will eventually go pale and let go. It is not detrimental to the functionality of the machine.
Over time, the anti-vac or the OPV could get some fragments of scale and start to get stuck. Generally, what you did solves it, that is moving it around up/down a bit, twist it.
The anti-vac can be cleaned but since these parts are literally years old (one of the first Londiniums built) you might as well replace them with brand new ones.
Frans
I noticed my video link didn't come through. This is the link :
OK, I'll order a pstat and an overpressure valve then. And while shopping, I'll add some other stuff. More then enough to get some free piston seals
The anti-vac is working without problems. It isn't original either. Frans (or Kafko actually) replaced it with a version you can connect a tube to and redirected the output to the driptray. Pretty neat!
And especially for Frans, another picture
[attachment=2498]IMG_5010[1].JPG[/attachment]
Attached files
Managed to replace the pstat.
But am having a hard time getting the overpressure valve off.
Fitting spanner, and a few blows with the hammer, but it won't budge. Bit afraid to hit really hard. Don't want to break stuff. I guess no coffee tomorrow morning
It's not the ideal solution. I'll give replacing the valve another try this evening after work. Any tips (beside using a bigger hammer) are welcome.
I will send Kafko a message anyway. Noticed that the vacuum valve sometimes hisses a little bit during the heating cycles. Couldn't imagine this is normal behavior, or is it (would expect it to stay completely closed while there is pressure in the boiler)? Disassembled it (this one came off easy) and it looked very clean. Brushed it any way, and reassembled it. But it still does the same. Maybe the little rubber seal in the valve is just worn. Thought off lubing it, but the regular amount of steam passing the valve during heating will probably just blow away the lube pretty quickly. Guess I'll replace that to. It's a Kafko "special" (not original, you can see it in the movie), so I'll get a new one from him.
I've made pictures. Will try to upload them this evening.
have a second person hold the boiler just to absorb a bit of the shock and then hit the spanner/wrench with the hammer as vigorously as needed to get the valve to start turning on the thread
just make sure you are heading in an anti-clockwise direction
as long as you are striking the spanner/wrench with the hammer to shock it loose no harm will arise
if you are struggling with the angle you can remove the entire water box carrier
take photos at each step if you are not confident, this way you will have something to refer to when you re-assemble
the screws that hold the water box carrier in place are accessed from under the chassis - there are three of them
to access the screws place your machine so it bridges an internal corner of your kitchen bench
but take extreme care that it does not slip off the bench, especially if you have children in the house
do not turn your back on the machine for a moment when you have it suspended in this way as it could all end badly if it topples off
take care, go slowly, FaceTime me if necessary (before it goes wrong)
reiss.
Thanks for your response. I'll try again this evening. There is no waterbox in my machine
Will you be online this evening (around 20:30 CET)? Had a look yesterday to see if I could chat with you, but it said you were not around (as it does now).
Regards,
Jeroen
things like the anti-vac are what i would call semi-consumerable items; three years give or take a bit and they are going to start leaking
If the replacement goes well this evening, I'll have Kafko send me a new anti-vac. There is no rush with that. Otherwise, I'll bring the machine to him, and we'll replace the valves there.
Repositioned the machine a bit, and after three decisive blows the valve started moving. Still took some power to get it off. But it has successfully been replaced.
While the boiler was open, I had a peak inside the boiler, but saw no scaling. So that's good too
Although; Replacing the led failed I'm afraid. Connected it to the connectors the old led was connected to. They lit shortly and went off, to never go on again
Box arrived slightly dented.
But everything was nicely packed.
This was in the package. Some loxeal, group head seals, IMS shower screen (to replace my IMS200), a new led strip, a new safety valve and a 30amp pstat. And as bonus the new piston seals.
Top and back panel off. Ample of room in the machine.
All panels off.
The old pstat removed.
The boiler without pstat.
Now time to replace the safety valve.
It was quite stuck and it took some serious blows with the hammer one the wrench (size 22) to dislodge it. To the right of it, is the anti-vacuum valve. The hose directs the water/steam coming out to the drip tray. This keeps the inside looking nice
This is were the other end of the hose ends.
The boiler without the valve.
There was a copper ring on the old safety valve. I've cleaned it, and put it on the new one.
New safety valve in place.
Close-up of the copper ring beneath it.
These wires are connected to the Gicarbox.
Sadly, the led strip lit up shortly, and that was it. Must have done something wrong.
Assembling the machine again.
Side panels back on.
Back panel back on. All nice and shiny
Top panel.
Looking nice. Too bad about the led
Didn't take pictures of replacing the shower screen and gasket. Won't replace the piston seals yet. Frans and I recently did that already.
(one minor spelling detail: cigar -> gicar as in https://londiniumespresso.com/store/product/142-gicar-control-unit-for-londinium-i )
we need to resolve your led issue; either me sending you a replacement or a refund
it may be worth your time sending a mail or PM to Frans and ask him where he obtained the third party LED that he had fitted, then i could issued you with a refund, clean & simple
reiss.
The one Frans placed had a led driver in between (which didn't survive the heat in the machine and melted). Shouldn't there maybe be a led driver for the strip you send?
You're welcome. I've some pictures to add, but I'm a bit pressed on time. Hopefully I can find some time soon.
Sounds like you connected the LED strip to 230V ;-) and that could zap it
I bought a light at a shop for sailing boat parts, first powered by an external power supply and maybe later with a LED driver. I forgot those details.
have a think about whether you really want the internal lighting - i can tell you for free that the heating inside the casing will probably cook it sooner rather than later
let me know
kind regards
reiss.