Elektra Semiautomatica no brew water

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geoff John-West
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Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by geoff John-West »

No brew water, no back flush water, pump just runs.
Pump will fill the boiler.
Delivery group is clean.
This has happened twice before in the last 2 months.
Back flushing with Cafiza and leaving overnight worked.

This time not, so I dissembled the entire delivery unit and both solenoid values and soaked over night in Cafiza.
1. What next?
2. What does the large nut covering a small bolt on the inside of the left side of the delivery unit do?
Water will come out of here when brewing.
Opening the small screw inside started some water coming though the group head and out for back flush.
3. Also there are small screws on the right and front of the delivery unit what do they do?
Should I send a picture of the spring unit inside the Solenoid Valve Pilot?
Thanks for your help,
Geoff

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another_jim
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#2: Post by another_jim »

Does the pump go silent when you do this? That means there's no flow. If the water pump does not go silent; there is flow going somewhere. The bolt covers a jet and sieve that can get blocked
Jim Schulman

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geoff John-West (original poster)
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#3: Post by geoff John-West (original poster) »

The pump makes the same choking sound as when you back flush.
The wired coil for the solenoid did get warm after running the brew on very low flow for several minutes.
What do you do with the jet and sieve? This might help the flow rate.
Thanks
geoff

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another_jim
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#4: Post by another_jim »

Clean or replace. You can see the diagram and get the part at espressosource.com
Jim Schulman

geoff John-West (original poster)
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#5: Post by geoff John-West (original poster) »

If I open the screw behind the nut on the delivery unit a 1/16 of a turn I get brew water as normal.
Open 1/2 turn I get way too much brew water and excessive spray when back flushing.
This screw was closed up till now. Can I leave it open 1/16 of a turn so the machine will brew?
Coffee was oka this morning I will need to grind finer if I leave the machine this way.
Thanks for your response,
geoff

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another_jim
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#6: Post by another_jim »

I have no idea; I never adjusted it in this way. My impression is that it just housed the jet. But if it's not leaking when you do this, you may want to apply the "if it ain't broke no more, don't fix it no more " rule.
Jim Schulman

geoff John-West (original poster)
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#7: Post by geoff John-West (original poster) »

Thanks.
Coffee came out well today.
This screw is called an Injector on the parts diagram.
Anyone else tried adjusting this?

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gashuebr
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#8: Post by gashuebr »

The "injector" is aka the "Gigleur" (Italian). The role of the gigleur is to control the rate of flow of water into the group. There is a small orifice (on the order of 1 mm) in the gigleur which can become obstructed by all manner of particulate. Contamination of your fresh water (e.g., fine sand or silt) or scale migrating from the heat exchanger. I would be surprised if "Cafiza" would correct a scale or other foreign material obstruction of the gigleur. By loosening the gigleur you have probably enabled the flow of water AROUND the metering orifice via the gigleur threads.

You should look for the obstruction and clear it. IMHO

geoff John-West (original poster)
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#9: Post by geoff John-West (original poster) »

I finally figured it out the Injector screw has a tiny hole drilled through it that was blocked.
One flick and a speck came off and the water was allowed through the delivery unit.