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Boiler Refill and Pump Noise
This is really two questions, but related.
I have my LR go on at 5am on a timer and I hear the pump run to refill the boiler for 3-4 seconds. I use it for 2 shots on a typical weekday morning before going up to my home office. I leave it on and have one more when I come down around 10am, then shut it off.
My wife has commented about how loud the machine is and I asked her what she meant. What she described was the pump running for a couple of seconds a few times during the two hours that I am upstairs. I paid attention this morninmg and that's exactly s what is happening. The pump is running for 2-3 seconds 3-4 times while the machine is idle. I haven't drawn any water using the hot water wand, and the only use of the steam wand is a short burst before pulling a shot. The pump is also much louder when filling the boiler than when it runs for the short burst for PI
Is this normal?
I have my LR go on at 5am on a timer and I hear the pump run to refill the boiler for 3-4 seconds. I use it for 2 shots on a typical weekday morning before going up to my home office. I leave it on and have one more when I come down around 10am, then shut it off.
My wife has commented about how loud the machine is and I asked her what she meant. What she described was the pump running for a couple of seconds a few times during the two hours that I am upstairs. I paid attention this morninmg and that's exactly s what is happening. The pump is running for 2-3 seconds 3-4 times while the machine is idle. I haven't drawn any water using the hot water wand, and the only use of the steam wand is a short burst before pulling a shot. The pump is also much louder when filling the boiler than when it runs for the short burst for PI
Is this normal?
Comments
Is the machine on a rock stable surface or in a table that can be moved / bumped into?
Is your reservoir always completely filled or do you only fill it when it's almost running empty? Do you fill it with filtered water or do you use the little in-tank filter cartridge?
Why would you do that?
For the old "L1" model that would be good practice as it would induce the boiler pressure to be at its max, but for the L-R I see no need to do this. So please explain.
That doesn't sound right
Can you call me in 2 hours and I'll investigate
Kind regards
Reiss
It is on a fairly heavy kitchen island that is on wheels, but the wheels are locked, and it is out of the traffic flow, so no one is near it except me when I am using it.
I am using bottled water and the in tank filter. I typically refill the tank each evening so it is full in the morning.
Because I an new to these machine and saw you and others doing it and saw it explained in the forum that it made sure that they boiler pressure was the same for each shot. If it's not necessary, I won't do it, but I'm not sure how doing it would contribute to the problem (if there is one).
I wonder if the issue is also there without the in tank filter. If the filter has air in it or is otherwise not letting enough water through, the pump could be more audibly struggling.
(About activating the boiler heater by letting off a puff of steam before a shot:)
With the L-R you get pre-infusion pressure from the pump so the boiler pressure is less relevant. In the old model the boiler was delivering the pre-infusion pressure.
I can try to remove the filter and see. I'm not going to mes around until I have a chance to talk to Reiss, but that's a good suggestion.
Also thanks for the not on PI pressure. I knew that the L-R used the pump, but I wasn't sure about haveing the boiler at full pressure. That makes sense.
I've been using a pump-driven E61 machine for about 15 years, so old habit die hard. One in a while I find myself grabbing the lever to do a "cooling flush" before a shot! :cheer:
sure! I'm around all day tomorrow too
if the pump is loud something isn't right
it will of course 'blip' on momentarily during the pre-infusion phase as water starts to make its way through the coffee puck; this is in response to the pressure in the thermosiphon-heat exchanger circuit to falling below the set pressure on the secondary pressure switch
if you want to try something before you speak with me you can unscrew the pressure hose from the pump at the point where it connects to the bottom go the manifold (fit a second wrench to the bottom of the manifold immediately above where the nut of the pressure hose connects to take the load of the first wrench you are using to undo the nut of the pressure hose)
unplug the machine from the electrical supply first of course
once you have removed the pressure hose from the manifold place this free end in a bowl/dish and turn the pump on and check that you have a strong water flow coming out of the end of the pressure hose
unplug the machine from the power supply again as soon as you have run the flow test
assuming there is good water flow out the end of the pressure hose, refit it to the manifold
step two will be to look for a piece of grit/muck in the solenoid
i have a step by step video here https://londiniumespresso.com/forum?view=topic&catid=27&id=247
we now use a Sirai solenoid instead of a Parker, but the principles are the same
my expectation is there is a foreign body under the valve seat (preventing the valve from sealing when closed) - keep your eyes peeled as a very small piece of debris will be enough to cause you trouble
if you are not comfortable proceeding on your own do contact me, i dont mind at all
kind regards
reiss.
But, something new happened when I went to use it. The timer tourney it on at 5:30 as usual and all seemed fine, but when I pulled the lever down the pump turned on when it normally does for PI, but stayed on and didn't shut off. I waited a few seconds but it kept running. I shut the machine off and check the reservoir and it was low, but not empty. I added water just in case and tried again but when I turned the machine back on the pump started running again after a few seconds. It is cooling down now so I can open it up.
Any suggestions on what to look for?
If water level was low, and if you have the little built in filter cartridge, that could have been the cause. Never let the water level drop that much, no reason for it.
Keep it full and if you use that little cartridge, keep it well below, deep under water at all times.
Now how do I get the machine back up and running?
From your reply I'm not sure if you indeed have the little filter cartridge in the reservoir.
If it's full of water you could continue like when you started the machine for the first time.
It is possible that earlier, with the tank practically empty, the machine started up, tried to fill, struggled forever, gave alarm beeps which no one heard and stopped.
When you re-start, and the pump seems to struggle, don't let it run dry / overheat / crash. In that case it's better to do a FaceTime session with Reiss.
Yes, the cartridge is in the tank. I put it in more out of caution. I will remove it and see what happens.
The pump doesn't appear to be struggling, but I didn't want to damage it, again, out of caution. I make enough mistakes as it is, and I really don't want to ruin a great machine!
its all good. i think my advice is the same as it was this time last week:
if you want to try something before you speak with me you can unscrew the pressure hose from the pump at the point where it connects to the bottom go the manifold (fit a second wrench to the bottom of the manifold immediately above where the nut of the pressure hose connects to take the load of the first wrench you are using to undo the nut of the pressure hose)
unplug the machine from the electrical supply first of course
once you have removed the pressure hose from the manifold place this free end in a bowl/dish and turn the pump on and check that you have a strong water flow coming out of the end of the pressure hose
unplug the machine from the power supply again as soon as you have run the flow test
assuming there is good water flow out the end of the pressure hose, refit it to the manifold
step two will be to look for a piece of grit/muck in the solenoid
i have a step by step video here
we now use a Sirai solenoid instead of a Parker, but the principles are the same
my expectation is there is a foreign body under the valve seat (preventing the valve from sealing when closed) - keep your eyes peeled as a very small piece of debris will be enough to cause you trouble
if you are not comfortable proceeding on your own do contact me, i dont mind at all
kind regards
reiss.