Pump issue on LR

Esben Mortensen

Dear Reiss and fellow espresso lovers.

I have two issues with my Londinium R (august 2017)

1.Normally when I switch on my machine in the morning, the pump will start for a few seconds to top the kettle. The last month or so the pump have gone fo 30 seconds or more when I switch on the machine. Yesterday the pump continued until I switched the machine off. The blue lamp is on whenever the pump is on. The pump sound like normal. The water level in the tank stays at the same point, even after the pump have been on for 30 seconds. If I pull down the lever, the pump changes frequency and water comes out of the grouphead (like normal). Cleaned the water reservoir without effect. The reservoir has newer run dry.
Any idea what's wrong? Hope it's not the pump.

2. I have the exact same issue as described in this thread: https://londiniumespresso.com/londinium-i-owners-forum/1292-pump-doesn-t-always-engage-causing-short-pulls-shots.
When I pull the lever the pump will either not engage or will engage late.
From what I can read in the other thread, the solution is to upgrade to the new preinfusion module.

I'm already bored by filter brew .

Best regards from Denmark.

Reiss Gunson

Hi Esben

thank you for posting

your post did not appear automatically because the first 5 or 6 posts you make need to be manually approved

to test that the pump is ok have the machine on long enough for the boiler to be pressurised and then open the hot water tap on the machine and allow water to flow until the blue light comes on

does the pump come on when the blue light comes on?

if it does the pump is fine and it is the little Mater pressure switch that is the issue

yes the kit digital pre-infusion kit can be retrofitted to all LR machines

it is fitted as standard on all LR made since 1 Jan 2019

kind regards


reiss.

Esben Mortensen

Okay. I did perform the pump test by opening the hot watertap. I did the test sunday. The pump went on when the blue light came on.

Since wednesday i Can not get the boiler to pressure. When I switch the machine on, the pump wil run continually until I switch it off 45 seconds or so later. If I do not turn off the machine the low water alert will eventually go on even though the water reservoir is full. Make sense?

Reiss Gunson

hi esben

if the boiler will not pressurise the low water/timeout alarm is triggering

this can be caused by different things

by now you should be familiar with the 'deep and meaningful' sound that the pump makes when it is moving water

if the pump sound is 'light and airy' it means it is being starved and the pump lining will quickly be damaged, so please turn the machine off if you hear the pump tone go light and soft

so working with the facts you provide i am assuming that when you switch the machine on and the pump turns on that it is making the deep resonous noise associated with the pump have a good supply of water to its inlet side

if the pump is running for 45 seconds and not filling the boiler long before that there is an obstruction in the pathway to the boiler

the obstruction can almost guaranteed to be in the inlet solnoid as this is the most narrow point in the circuit

i have a detailed video on how to take the solenoid apart in the permanent file

the link is here but you will need to be logged in to access the permanent file

kind regards

reiss.

Esben Mortensen

Thank you Reiss.

I cleaned the solenoid valve as described in the video friday. The pump is now running as usual when the machine is switched on, and when I take water from the hot water tap.

Problem 2 is the same. From what I read in the other thread it can not be fixed by hand. I will have to decide if I want to upgrade or not.

Thanks again for helping.

Reiss Gunson

hi esben

no problem. i strongly recommend the digital pre-infusion kit if it is within budget. it is like getting a new machine in terms of the flexibility it offers for quickly and precisely matching the machine to the coffee

kind regards

reiss.