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IMS Shower Screen - detaches under water pressure
When flushing (without portafilter) IMS 35 micron shower screen detaches under water force and falls on the tray. I did not notice this happening the first 3-4 weeks of owning this machine. Any way to prevent this? Lube, hammer...?
Comments
Have you recently lubed the bore above the screen? Some of the grease could have leaked into the mesh of the screen.
Have you tried cleaning the screen with the powder that agressively removes grease, and/or with acetone?
you will find people who will take your experience as evidence that the IMS 35 micron screen is a poor choice and that the IMS 200 micron screen is a better choice
this may be true for pump machines that suck coffee upwards through the screen when the pump turns off, but it is not the case for lever machines
it is caused by a portion of the screen becoming blocked
if it occurs when the machine is relatively new it is due to excess silicone grease travelling down and fouling in the screen, which in turn elevates the pressure above the screen and if sufficiently it will blow the screen completely off
to remedy remove the screen and place it in a small bowl/similar and add a citrus solvent and allow it to soak for a while, agitating the screen in the solvent every few minutes and perhaps using an old disused toothbrush or similar to work the solvent gently into the screen
if you want to take the old school approach use Acetone
i dont know of any other products that dissolved silicone grease - it is really difficult to fully remove
then rinse thoroughly under a fast running cold tap with copious amounts of water
if the screen is older and you are time poor just replace it - if you are replacing the screen it is common practice to replace the gasket at the same time as these harden with the heat they are exposed to
the screen will eventually become clogged with coffee tars, but unless you are putting more coffee in the basket than it was designed to carry, such that you end up with coffee pushed up against the shower screen it should take many months, so i dont see it as a particular chore
the reduction in the water surge into the brew chamber with the 35 micron screen is more than worth the inconvenience of having to clean the screen a couple of times a year
kind regards
reiss.
I like the IMS screen, it mostly stays clean with 18g of coffee.
Screen pop off in action. This is after 1h in acetone.
watching your video i suspect you have not driven the screen on firmly enough
in the first step where you use the portafilter with basket removed to drive the screen into place you push the handle around to the necessary angle
but in the second step where you add the basket back into the portafilter to effectively increase the extent to which you can drive the screen up into the seal groove you only push the portafilter handle slightly to the right of 6 o'clock
you need to drive the portafilter handle with the basket in as far to the right as you drove it in step one when the basket was not present
hold the right hand side of the group with your right hand and drive the portafilter handle to the right with your left hand if this helps you to get more purchase
let me know
when you finish the bottom of the portafilter seal should be as close to flush with the bottom of the groove of the seal groove that it lies in as possible - perhaps 1mm still hanging down
if you achieve this and you have cleaned and rinsed the shower screen it should stay in place, unless the seal has become hard and rigid with heat, as frans mentions
best
reiss.
Reiss- I’ll try your suggestions when I get home. Since it’s brass I didn’t want to push it too hard.
Frans - I tested the stock Londinium screen and it stayed on after 2-3 flushes. I’ll report back if itstarts slipping too. Here’s the vid
There are only two possible causes of this issue;
1. The seal has become hard. To test if the deal has hardened try crushing it from opposite sides of the circumference with your forefinger and thumb; if cracks appear on the outer circumference if the seal it needs to be replaced
2. The screen isn’t clean. This will be the case if the cause is silicone grease as it is translucent. To test water should run through the screen. You can also try touching in the holes in the former from the top side of the screen down with the tip of a needle and I expect you will get silicone grease on the needle tip.
I think you will need to scrub it with acetone and an old toothbrush.
There are no other possible causes
Clean the seal and the seal groove with acetone too as it may have been contaminated with loxeal and the ptfe will cause the seal to slide out in the manner you report
Squeeze test
Then I poured some water in the basket to test if water would flow through. It barely did but that could be normal.
it is clear from your clip that your screen is blocked.
[video width=425 height=344 type=vimeo]296974131
I held it over the flame for about 1 minute, noticed some smoke. Not sure if I made any damage with this method but it seems fine, the screen is not popping off at least. I'll report if any issues with the shot flow.
Water test video
Water flushing
Attached files
kind regards
reiss.
I then I installed the IMS 35 screen... worked fine for a few weeks and during a flush it popped out. Thinking it was grease clogging the screen, I took it out and cleaned everything again. Could not detect any grease... but nonetheless I cleaned everything... even cleaned the surface with alcohol to make sure it was nice a clean... not just a wipe with a cleaning cloth. I then installed a new IMS 35 (I got a couple of spare IMS 35 screen when I bought my machine) .... well... it is doing it again.
Reading that acetone did nothing for the OP... I do not have high hopes... I will pull out the first IMS 35 that I installed and dip that one in acetone... the one in there now I have in Cafiza...
Screen floats so obviously it is clogged...
Anyway, glad I came across this thread. Let me try the acetone route first before playing with fire...
But now I know the trick about using fire to burn the silicone grease from the screen...
But now I know the trick about using fire to burn of the silicone grease...
Coffee tastes better too.