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Boiler not filling as usual
Reiss,
My 2 year old L1 has been great! Just noticed that the boiler is not routinely filling. It will usually fill after pulling water through the group. Just realized it is not doing this routinely, and it will all of a sudden fill for 10 seconds or so....now it has stopped filling. Any advise?
Thanks....Rob
My 2 year old L1 has been great! Just noticed that the boiler is not routinely filling. It will usually fill after pulling water through the group. Just realized it is not doing this routinely, and it will all of a sudden fill for 10 seconds or so....now it has stopped filling. Any advise?
Thanks....Rob
Comments
Rob
remove it as shown in the image above and tell me if it has mineral deposits on it from the water
Attached files
I tried pulling 200cc water out of the tap....boiler did not refill. Out of town for the weekend, will pull the probe and let you know....thanks!
Rob
Back at home. Have the side panel off. Do I just loosen the nut in your pic to get the probe out, or do I also loosen the nut underneath it on the boiler? Thanks!!
Rob
just loosen the nut shown in the image i posted above
you might then need to give it a bit of a twist and a jiggle to get the probe out through the larger nut
kind regards
reiss.
Thanks, that's what I thought, but didn't want to force it.
Should have it out shortly.
Rob
Here it is...what do you think? Don't think I see any scale.
Rob
if you pinch it between your fingernails and drag them down the probe does anything scratch off?
to test touch it anywhere on the boiler and the pump should come on.
Rob
unscrew the yellow wire at the junction (shown in the image i posted on page 1 of this thread) and touch that on the boiler then. if that works then the probe needs a clean - it may have silicate deposits on it which are clear and glass-like in appearance
OK, I touched the yellow wire up to the boiler and nothing...tried multiple times. When I was pulling it away from the boiler, I brushed it up against the black painted frame and the pump went on. I turned the machine off, then on again, and tried the yellow wire on the boiler...nothing...then against the black painted frame, and the pump went on. I put the probe on again. Touched it to the boiler...nothing...touched it to the black painted frame, and the pump went on. Strange. Should I reinsert the probe and see if it works, or is something else going on?
Rob
I have always used RO water with Global Customized Water additive on all my machines. I recently switched to Third Wave Water additive a couple of months ago.
Rob
how hard is this water? pure RO for example has a TDS=0ppm and the water becomes acidic at boiler temperature and will over a number of years slowly dissolve the boiler
in addition the level probe on our machines (and most espresso machines as this kind of level probe is fairly generic) will become unreliable with TDS=0ppm, both over filling and failing to fill - this is because pure RO water also very high electrical resistance (as a result of TDS=0ppm the electrical conductivity is very low as there are no ions to carry the electrical charge)
i am assuming the waters you are using are not pure RO, but have had hardness added to them?
TDS can be as high as you like as providing the the total of the calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate does not exceed about 70ppm
reiss,
You may of missed it in my previous post...RO with Global Customized Water Additive. Recently RO with Third Wave Water Additive. So minerals are being added back in. I would not use straight RO water...yes it would dissolve the boiler!!
Rob
I reassembled, turned on the machine, got it to pressure and pulled water through the hot water spout. The pump never came on. Any ideas? No hurry. We are flying out to Seattle tomorrow to see my parents for the rest of the week, Its strange that the yellow wire touching the copper boiler would not engage the pump.
Rob
as i was suggesting, i think your water may be too soft
if you can tell me a number i can give you a steer on it - if it is under 30ppm that would explain it
reiss,
Its over 200ppm, but that is the magnesium sulfate in the Third Wave Water formula, which won't scale.
Rob
You have an L1(2012-16), right?
The bit I don’t get is how do you know that it is not coming on when it should?
ie in a 2.3 litre boiler this quickly leads to steam instead of water coming out of the hot water tap, and also the group in an L1(2012-16), which is not happening as I understand it
Reiss
Normally the pump comes on pretty regularly. Last week it stopped coming on regularly, and then randomly would turn on for an extended time which is very unusual. As you suggested, I drew water through the hot water tap, and the pump would not come on. That's unusual. When touching the probe or yellow wire to the boiler, the pump would not turn on, although it did turn on when the probe or yellow wire contacted the black painted frame. Tomorrow morning I will check the blue light....have not noticed if it's turning on. Yes I have the L1(2012-2016).
Rob
kind regards
reiss.
Turned the machine on this morning. The pump did not go on as it usually does, and the blue light did not go on. After the machine had been on for about 15 minutes, the pump all of a sudden turned on for 46 seconds. The blue light was on while the pump was on. I have run some water through the group and through the hot water tap, and the pump did not come on. I could FaceTime this morning, but not sure you are available now given the time difference.
Rob
Rinse clean with plenty of fresh water and refit
Let me know
Reiss.
Polished probe with very fine wet/dry sand paper till shining, wiped.and rinsed, re-inserted. After about 15 minutes of turning on the machine, pump went on for 39 sec. After the machine reached pressure I drew off 250cc through hot water spout....pump did not turn on. Did 250cc two more times and pump did not go on. Just tried 250cc more and still did not go on.
Rob
please confirm that your probe is pushed down as far as it can go, i.e. to the right angle bend in the probe, as shown in the image i posted on page one of this thread
please check that the other end of the yellow wire connected to the probe is firmly connected to the gicar (pulling the connector for the yellow wire off the gicar and then pushing it back on to the same terminal on the gicar & retesting the auto fill function of the boiler), being the second one in from the left on the inside row of connectors on the gicar control unit, as shown in the image below:
kind regards
reiss.