my expobar seems to always be making a low sputtering / hiss type sound lately

i can't tell if its the sound of a steam leak or or those fancy bolts of lightning that shoot from tesla coils

anyone have an idea what / what to look for ?

vacuum breaker maybe ?

Sounds like a tiny steam leak. Being rushed today, I'll quote myself from condensation in my boiler pressure gauge:

"Don't laugh, but an easy way to find the smallest of steam leaks is by sticking one end of a short flexible tube into your ear and probe around the interior of the machine with the other end. Check carefully around fittings and joints. A turkey baster with the bulb end removed also works in a pinch."

As you said, the vacuum breaker is the most likely suspect, but it could also be a fitting has developed a small leak. Reminder: Don't tighten fittings of a hot espresso machine in the attempt to seal a small leak, the fitting could snap off, releasing (superheated) boiling water!

Mine gets something like that from the steam release valve on top of the boiler when it is warming up. I've been told it's normal. Maybe yours is more pronounced or something.

bc

vacuum breaker. I've replaced mine a couple of times. get the one from Chris coffee, and see if he'll throw in a couple of extra o-rings.

jrtatl wrote:vacuum breaker. I've replaced mine a couple of times. get the one from Chris coffee, and see if he'll throw in a couple of extra o-rings.

I'll second the vacuum breaker from Chris.... at only $10, one can afford to keep a spare on hand. I think it has a teflon washer or some such to help prevent the breaker from sticking closed when the machine cools.

where's the vacuum breaker on the older expobars?

Usually on top of the boiler but . . .

See here, find your P/N and shop around:

http://www.expobar.com

Eric S.

erics wrote:See here, find your P/N and shop around:

http://www.expobar.com

Wow, Expobar did a nice job on their parts site. Being Flash or Java-based, it is a bit hard to navigate at times, but it's all there by part type, machine model. or exploded diagram (what they refer to as the scheme). Nice.