Anyone else have an Elektra MicroCasa SemiAutomatica? What pressure does your pressure gauge read under normal circumstances?

I think I went for too long without cleaning, and likely have a scaling problem - get the occasional redline followed by pressure release. Been getting great support from 1st-Line, but just interested in hearing others' experiences... After two descalings in two weeks, things are MOSTLY normal, but within a week of the second descaling, I still had the pressure hit redline and trigger the release valve. Looks like I'm about to perform some surgery to replace a part. When I'm not redlining, I seem to oscillate between 1.2 and 1.5 bar.

Curious what other find to be normal range for your Elektra...

The pressurestat used on the Semi, the Mater, has a tendency to get sticky. Unfortunately, this is not a problem of age, since even brand new ones are prone to it. The one in the Semi has its membrane in water, not steam, and this might exacerbate the problem (hard to tell since we don't collect statistics, but this does happen quite regularly).

One way to fix it is to exercise the membrane. Unplug the machine, let it cool, and open the unit's base (one screw under the driptray). Empty the tank, and lay the machine on its side on a towel (the boiler may leak a little out of the vacuum breaker at the top, but not much). Remove the base and the plastic set screw on the pressure stat. There is a pin underneath that screw which is moved by the membrane -- if you push it in and out with a needle-nose pliers, you'll exercise the membrane and generally fix the problem for around 6 months after which you'll need to repeat the treatment.

Put in the set screw, set the machine up without the base on two phone books or blocks so you can get to the screw, and turn it on. You want to set it so the pressure tops out in the green zone -- mine ran from 1 to 1.2 bar when it came, and has creeped up to 1.1 to 1.3 over the last 4 months.

If you catch the machine redlining, you can usually turn the heat off by hitting the boiler fill button for a 1/2 second-- the pump pressure will push the membrane to off and restore normal operation.

That makes a lot more sense than the idea that after owning the machine for just 3-1/2 months, I have such bad scaling that the pressure is getting locked open (though I suppose that's not out of the question).

Can you give me any tips on identifying the set screw on the pressure stat, or even recognizing the pressurestat? I've never opened the machine before, but this repair sounds easy enough to try...

One follow-up question, though... I read in another thread on this forum about how people mess with the pressure setting, and later don't think about this change when they notice that their shots are not coming out quite right. Seems that making a pressure change would have an effect on temperature, and as a result, change the outcome of the shot. So, if I play with this setting, am I going to potentially mess up the wonderful shots I'm pulling from this gorgeous machine?

Thanks.

Here's what you're looking for:



I'm not sure to which posts you're referring, if it's the new one about OPVs, it has nothing to do with the Elektra, which doesn't have one. Just keep your boiler pressure somewhere between 1 and 1.3 bar.

Thanks a lot for doing that for me! I'll give that a go tomorrow. Cheers.