If there is some sort of program for people who buy espresso machines as an addiction, I think I need to sign myself up. Perusing the local restaurant auction for some other equipment I needed, I came across an Elektra Barlume V1C two group automatic. It looked cool and I did some reading to see what I might be getting myself into. Minus the boiler explosion in the UK, it seemed like a decent machine as my new home machine . . . the progression has been 1. Astoria Argenta AEP-2 (sold it after opening a coffee shop) 2. Rancilio Z11 (it was bench tested at home and went to the coffee shop) 3. Astoria Argenta SAE-3 (currently being tested but bound for shop #2) . . . as soon as I get wrapped up with #3, the counter top will be too empty.



It came out of an ice cream shop and was functioning at the time. I'll probably take a peek in the boiler to see how bad it is and then give it a quick fire up to see what's what. The front panel is a little scuffed and dented, but nothing too terrible. I'd be shocked if there weren't touch up paint of some sort that could be applied. It even came with an extra portafilter and some pitchers. For under $400, I can't complain!

I finally cleared up the work bench and got started on the Barlume. There was some scale and some serious crud from quasi commercial use and a good bit of neglect. I don't think there was anything exciting about descaling on this machine. One of the dispersion screens was stuck and the screw pretty badly stripped. A little searching gave me the answer of bending up the screen and loosening from there. I've added a screw to the shopping list.

I suspect that one of the control panels for the auto dosing is cooked. When I power the machine on, the 4th button/LED from the left (the first double shot) stays illuminated and there is no function in either programing mode or operating mode. I switched the two controls to verify that it is indeed the control, not something else in wiring. Is there any troubleshooting that can be done or do I get to invest in a new control?

After doing the basic of the basic trouble shooting on the control box issues on the Barlume, I decided to do some more digging. I noticed when I took the box apart that the touchpad did indeed have a ribbon connector so I figured why not swap that component between the boxes. Turns out that was the cause of the problem. I did some delicate poking and prodding at the touchpad membrane and found it is glued to the faceplate of the box. I gently pried it away and found:



That is the button that corresponds to the 4th LED that was stuck on and hopefully why the control has no real function.



The tactile buttons are not very "springy" and some feel like they are slow to return to the "idle" position. With any luck the touchpad can be repaired.

Having read about the espresso machine at a shop in the UK that exploded (which happened to be an Elektra Barlume), I have been a little nervous about leaving this machine unattended. I came back the other night from a quick trip to the store to find the pressurestat stuck, boiler pressure at 2 bar, and the safety valve doing its job. I promptly replaced the diaphragm on the p-stat, cleaned the contacts and swapped the leads from one of the old contacts to the unused one.

Once I get the control box taken care of, I should be getting close to putting the machine back together. I will need to buy a bulb for the neon at the back and polish some chrome, but it should clean up nicely.

Keep us posted. I'm personally riveted. I love the fab fifties diner feel of the Barlume.

What a cracker! (no pun intended ). And the price - I could quite easily live with one of these as a home machine.

Look forward to reading more.

doubleOsoul wrote:Keep us posted. I'm personally riveted. I love the fab fifties diner feel of the Barlume.

You and me both!

Because I have little at risk, I did a little bit of poking at the touchpad membrane. I'll double check with a friend who is smarter than I am at this stuff, but I think I can delicately separate the layers at the areas in question and resolder the ribbon. In my little bit of playing, I freed the connection that was causing problems and all other buttons now work. Incidentally, I disconnected the manual/program (k logo), but there is hope.

I've got another pressure stat on the way from my roaster friend. Replacing the p-stat will give me much greater peace of mind.

Once the touchpad goes back together, I will complete my reassembly and think about pulling some shots!

All hope for the control box is gone . . . the connection in the ribbon were pretty fragile and there wasn't any good way to repair them. I could have done some membrane swapping to limp through the programming process, but limited function and "janky" were the terms that came to mind.

There are some easy parts to find on the list, anti-depression valve, a couple of o-rings, shower screens, group gaskets, indicator lamps. The harder to find and more painful ones will be the new control box/touchpad and the neon tube at the back of the machine that gives off the charming glow.

While working with LCD panels a number of years ago, I discovered how fragile the membrane contacts are. They are not simple to work without butchering them.

When I rebuilt my Elektra T1, I got a lot of help on this forum and most of the parts from the VERY helpful and knowledgeable Stefano. Highly, highly recommend him! He posts a fair bit to the forum and I bet he chimes in at some point.

http://www.espressocare.com/
Stefano Cremonesi
Stefano's Espresso Care
Repair & sales from Oregon.

Mark

I don't think that the Barlume is at any greater risk of a boiler explosion than any other machine. I am not familiar with the explosion indecent referred to but I would put my money on lack of maintenance and regular cleaning lead to the safety valve scaling over...which, if not checked during regular maintenance, would be a ticking time-bomb if the pressure stat failed. It could happen to any machine that is misused, even a home machine . So, if you haven't been giving your home machine regular check-ups, now is the time. My 2 cents.