How do I drain the boiler on my Lelit?

There's not a good way to do it. Why do you want to? I've left my machine for a couple of weeks with water in the boiler without harm.

I wouldn't do it again, but here's what I tried one time. I attempted to evaporate all of the water from the boiler. I turned on the steam switch, let it get to full temperature, and opened the valve for a long period. I very carefully managed the heating element and steamed out as much water as I could. I repeat though, I would not advise doing this. You run the distinct risk of overheating components, such as the heating element itself. I won't do it again myself - I think I was lucky I didn't damage anything.

Disassembling the boiler and inverting it is probably the only safe way to get it dry. Remove the inputs and outputs, then undo the 4 nuts near the grouphead to lift it from your machine. A variant of this might be taking off a single component and rotating the whole machine. Taking off the 3-way solenoid valve is not difficult, and you could then drain the boiler out of that pipe if the machine was upside-down

hmdavis wrote:How do I drain the boiler on my Lelit?

The specific instructions vary among espresso machines and the reasons for draining in the first place (e.g., long-term storage vs. shipping in summer/winter). Preparing Espresso Machine for Storage offers basic advice. Get water out of Rancilio Silvia for shipping? offers advice that applies to most single boiler espresso machines. Another option, if you're modestly handy, is to remove a fitting from the top of the boiler and siphon the water out or simply turn it upside down.

mini wrote:I repeat though, I would not advise doing this.

I strongly agree with your advice not to do this!