I have had my Vetrano installed and operating for almost 2 weeks now. Until now, it has had a consistent brew pressure of between 8 and 9 bar. Yesterday, it dropped to brewing at between 7.5 to 8 and has continued at that rate through today. Before I go in and increase the pressure on the rotary pump, is there something else I should consider? I am not the most mechanically inclined, but I understand that this machine is pretty easy to open and adjust.

Any other things I should consider before opening it up?

Thanks!

Richard

Richard-

Are you regulating the pressure prior to the machine? You may have experienced a drop in your mains pressure.

jesawdy wrote:Richard-

Are you regulating the pressure prior to the machine? You may have experienced a drop in your mains pressure.

No, I am running the water through a filter and a softener, but have no pressure regulator on the line. I may give it another day and see whether any other changes occur.

What would be best to do first - adjust the pump pressure or place a regulator on the water line?

Thanks for the help.

Richard

Unless you inlet pressure is rock solid, a pressure regulator is worthwhile. See Water pressure and the effect(s) it may have on rotary pump for more details and a few other noteworthy topics from this forum's FAQs and Favorites.

Thanks to all for the advice and links. I spoke with a tech at Chris' Coffee today and he suggested that I go ahead and adjust the pressure on the rotary pump. He also mentioned that it I have problems with it staying within range in the future, I should probably install a pressure regulator.

I went ahead and adjusted the pump - so far so good. They even had a step-by-step guide on their website to guide me through it. Really pretty easy - even for me

That only leaves one more problem. The last two days when I turn it on to warm up, it blows the GFI circuit wall plate it is plugged into. It didn't do it the first week and a half, so why start now? Once I reset the receptacle, it works fine the rest of the day. I'll just have to keep an eye on that.

Richard

kllrbbq wrote:The last two days when I turn it on to warm up, it blows the GFI circuit wall plate it is plugged into. It didn't do it the first week and a half, so why start now?

It's possible that the GFI outlet is defective. The more likely cause is the GFI circuit is doing its job - tripping to protect you from a short in the machine. Before you go on a loose wire hunt, I recommend getting on the phone with Chris' techs. They may have other ideas, or at least a short list of likely suspects.

HB wrote:It's possible that the GFI outlet is defective. The more likely cause is the GFI circuit is doing its job - tripping to protect you from a short in the machine. Before you go on a loose wire hunt, I recommend getting on the phone with Chris' techs. They may have other ideas, or at least a short list of likely suspects.

I spoke with a very helpful tech at Chris' Coffee, but we were unable to isolate the cause of the problem since it only happened at warm-up then was OK after that.

Now today, it is no longer an intermittent problem. Vetrano is dead! Just plugging it in (in the off switch position) will trip the GFI immediately. I tried several outlets, so it is not a bad GFI. I am suffering withdrawal already! At least I can make myself some good Turkish coffee to help soothe the cravings.

Of course this happens on the weekend. I'll call on Monday to see what the next steps are. Bummer.

If I need to ship it back, how would I drain the water from the boiler since I can't turn it on? (or would I need to?)

Richard

Is there anything else on the circuit? I have GFI's in my bathroom downstairs that are on the same circuit with the garage. Run a hair dryer and power tool at the same time and GFI pops. Another possibility is that you pinched a wire when you put the shell back on.

PS: Chris checks his e-mail on weekends. The man does not sleep.

HB wrote:Is there anything else on the circuit? I have GFI's in my bathroom downstairs that are on the same circuit with the garage. Run a hair dryer and power tool at the same time and GFI pops. Another possibility is that you pinched a wire when you put the shell back on.

PS: Chris checks his e-mail on weekends. The man does not sleep.

I tried 3 different circuits and had the same outcome on each. It started doing this before I removed the shell, did it when shell was off, and when shell was back on. No obvious loose wires or connections or leaks, so this fix is probably beyond my abilities. Best bet is to let the pros have a shot at it.

Richard

Knowing what the weather is supposed to be, you will want to drain the boiler and HX before you send it back. Chris can advise how best to do that, but you will probably have to take the covers off, unscrew the vacuum breaker and invert the machine. The HX is a bit more difficult. You could always lift the lever to brew position and blow into the water line. That should get most of it out, or use a very low pressure regulated air compressor.

It is supposed to be below freezing starting tonight, that boiler/HX will freeze up and rupture.