I would really like a light in there. It's also the only indicator that the machine is on . I believe the led itself can stand some heat. I already placed the led driver outside of the machine (when I saw it melted) but that was to late I guess.
my L1 also heated until the overpressure valve went off yesterday. I guess it is about the same age as Frans original Luxe :-)
This morning it worked fine, but I won't turn my back to it until I found the root cause...
However, I have in mind that those Sirai pressure switches are no throwaway items (even if they are moderately priced, compared to the machine at least).
@Reiss, the new one you suggest is a Sirai P302-6, am I right? Which one is the old one? (I have a Series 1 L1 with 230V/2850W heating element)
I will have a look at the contacts tonight. From what I gathered from the german kaffee-netz forum, if the contacts are burnt, it doesn't heat at all (and if that happens, you can "repair" it at least for a while by sanding away the oxydized part from the contacts. Won't last forever but buys you some time...)
If the contacts look fine, I'll check if theres scale in the tube connecting the pressure switch to the boiler. Actually, I'm a bit sceptical on this, because I used filtered water AND the tube is relatively wide AND on top of the boiler.
So, if it's neither the contacts nor the tube, it could be the membrane and/or the piston inside the pressure switch that does the work. The membrane tends to age and (among other things) the hysteresis of the switch increases - so it might be a good idea to change that anyway. Sirai Dealers offer service kits for that case (e.g.: Sirai service kit)
However, as Sirai has a range of different pressure switches, there are also different kits - that is why I asked for the model that was built into the machine originally..
originally we fitted a 20A Sirai & it is a mistake - for almost no more cost we could fit the 30A instead which has far greater surface area on the contacts, a much more refined adjustment mechanism where the spring does not bind, and a softer switching sound
it is absolute nonsense that you can clean the contacts up - they are plated with a hard high temperature material over the top of soft muck metal. once this plating is punctured it does a very nice imitation of a spot welder and the contacts will weld themselves together and the safety valve will do the little geyser trick
whenever the safety valve actuates the pressure switch has failed
once it starts sticking in the closed position it will do so more frequently and more severely until eventually it will weld the contacts together solidly
proceed as you wish but my advice is to replace the 20A pressure switch with a 30A and i doubt you will have to do it again for 10 years
"softer switching sound" sounds sweet - though I got used to that over the years. I think in the interest of my (precioussss) spare time, I'll check the contacts tonight and most probably will order the new switch thereafter...
Thomas, the new one is an improvement as Reiss says. It's more silent, and seems to have a smaler deadband. Don't know about the settings. Never fidfled with the old one. Trusted Frans handy work in measuring. Just adjusted the new one to the same pressure.
Thomas Brettinger post=12558 wrote: This morning it worked fine, but I won't turn my back to it until I found the root cause...
You won't trust your L1 until you changed the Sirai.....! at least, I didn't :-)
Thomas Brettinger post=12558 wrote: I will have a look at the contacts tonight. From what I gathered from the german kaffee-netz forum, if the contacts are burnt, it doesn't heat at all (and if that happens, you can "repair" it at least for a while by sanding away the oxydized part from the contacts. Won't last forever but buys you some time...)
If the contacts look fine......
Well, if the contacts are burnt and sticking together, the heating element won't switch off so the overpressure valve will open.... I imagine until a low waterlevel in the boiler will be detected so that the pump has to be activated and the element switched off and so on until the water reservoir is empty...
When I opened the sirai, the contacts were a little bit sticking sometimes. Completely unreliable...... and yes, I sanded the contacts to buy some time until the new Sirai arrived.
Sirai used to have 'repair' sets for the contacts; not anymore...... But I wouldn't bother Thomas, the original Sirai P203T01 is like a toy compared to the Sirai 302-6.
Jeroen de Meijer post=12561 wrote: Hi Frans, did see the light on that site. But the led might still be OK, but the led driver is definitly broke. Where did you get that one from?
I have no idea. If I needed one now I'd first check "Radio Rotor" 020 612 5759 in Kinkerstraat, Amsterdam (their website makes it difficult to search), or the abovementioned sailors' shop where they have all the LED lights.
Ok, tried something different... Got myself a G9 socket, fitted it to the back of the machine (bolted through the ventilation holes) and connected it to the 230v wires (will do that neater later). Plugged in a standard 230v led bulb (1,5w). And we have light again. No fiddling with bulky led drivers, and easy to change when it fails.
OK, it took a while, but I've added some pictures of the 30amp pstat to the previous post. So you can clearly see the different angle the 30amp is in compared to the 20amp. And you can also see the difference in cable routing. Just for reference completeness, as I've already got some questions about it.
Comments
my L1 also heated until the overpressure valve went off yesterday. I guess it is about the same age as Frans original Luxe :-)
This morning it worked fine, but I won't turn my back to it until I found the root cause...
However, I have in mind that those Sirai pressure switches are no throwaway items (even if they are moderately priced, compared to the machine at least).
@Reiss, the new one you suggest is a Sirai P302-6, am I right? Which one is the old one? (I have a Series 1 L1 with 230V/2850W heating element)
I will have a look at the contacts tonight. From what I gathered from the german kaffee-netz forum, if the contacts are burnt, it doesn't heat at all (and if that happens, you can "repair" it at least for a while by sanding away the oxydized part from the contacts. Won't last forever but buys you some time...)
If the contacts look fine, I'll check if theres scale in the tube connecting the pressure switch to the boiler. Actually, I'm a bit sceptical on this, because I used filtered water AND the tube is relatively wide AND on top of the boiler.
So, if it's neither the contacts nor the tube, it could be the membrane and/or the piston inside the pressure switch that does the work. The membrane tends to age and (among other things) the hysteresis of the switch increases - so it might be a good idea to change that anyway.
Sirai Dealers offer service kits for that case (e.g.: Sirai service kit)
However, as Sirai has a range of different pressure switches, there are also different kits - that is why I asked for the model that was built into the machine originally..
Regards,
Thomas
originally we fitted a 20A Sirai & it is a mistake - for almost no more cost we could fit the 30A instead which has far greater surface area on the contacts, a much more refined adjustment mechanism where the spring does not bind, and a softer switching sound
you can purchase the 30A here; https://londiniumespresso.com/store/product/139-30-amp-sirai-pressure-switch
it is absolute nonsense that you can clean the contacts up - they are plated with a hard high temperature material over the top of soft muck metal. once this plating is punctured it does a very nice imitation of a spot welder and the contacts will weld themselves together and the safety valve will do the little geyser trick
whenever the safety valve actuates the pressure switch has failed
once it starts sticking in the closed position it will do so more frequently and more severely until eventually it will weld the contacts together solidly
proceed as you wish but my advice is to replace the 20A pressure switch with a 30A and i doubt you will have to do it again for 10 years
best
reiss.
thanks for your prompt reply.
"softer switching sound" sounds sweet - though I got used to that over the years. I think in the interest of my (precioussss) spare time, I'll check the contacts tonight and most probably will order the new switch thereafter...
Regards,
Thomas
You won't trust your L1 until you changed the Sirai.....! at least, I didn't :-)
Well, if the contacts are burnt and sticking together, the heating element won't switch off so the overpressure valve will open.... I imagine until a low waterlevel in the boiler will be detected so that the pump has to be activated and the element switched off and so on until the water reservoir is empty...
When I opened the sirai, the contacts were a little bit sticking sometimes. Completely unreliable...... and yes, I sanded the contacts to buy some time until the new Sirai arrived.
Sirai used to have 'repair' sets for the contacts; not anymore...... But I wouldn't bother Thomas, the original Sirai P203T01 is like a toy compared to the Sirai 302-6.
I have no idea. If I needed one now I'd first check "Radio Rotor" 020 612 5759 in Kinkerstraat, Amsterdam (their website makes it difficult to search), or the abovementioned sailors' shop where they have all the LED lights.
Got myself a G9 socket, fitted it to the back of the machine (bolted through the ventilation holes) and connected it to the 230v wires (will do that neater later). Plugged in a standard 230v led bulb (1,5w). And we have light again. No fiddling with bulky led drivers, and easy to change when it fails.
Just for reference completeness, as I've already got some questions about it.