Hi there,

I was delighted to receive a brand new Gaggia Classic espresso machine for Christmas. Problem is, now that I've opened and assembled it I'm unable to use it. The pump isn't drawing water from the tank and isn't coming out through the head or the steamer.

I've followed the instructions for priming the machine, and when the machine didn't behave as I was told it would, I looked to the internet for help. I found multiple posts addressing issues similar to mine, all pointing to a 'turkey basting' fix where you shoot water up the hose. Apparently this is caused by an 'airlock', but I'm not exactly sure where this could be occurring (pardon my ignorance - this is my first espresso machine).

When I tried 'basting' it, the water wouldn't travel up the hose, it felt truly blocked. Nothing would get through, and as a result nothing would come out the other end.

I'm quite frustrated as this is a brand new machine out of the box, so there isn't any scaling or issues I would expect from a used machine, but the fixes I'm finding online aren't helping either.

I would really appreciate some guidance from anyone out here who may have some insight. I appreciate your expertise!

Thanks.

While not familiar with the specifics of the Gaggia classic, I have replaced and primed a lot of vibe pumps. If needing to prime the pump is truly your only problem, what you want to do is
- temporarily Remove any filter or screen attachment on the water inlet tube
- fill the water inlet tube with as much water as you can manage
- turn on the machine, and blow HARD on the tube to force water into the pump
- immediately dip the tube into the water reservoir

Running the pump dry is a bad thing, so if doesn't immediately start to draw water, then turn the machine off for a bit before trying again.

Is the pump making any sort of noise, like its at least trying to work? If not you may have an electrical connection issue. Really though, if you can't get it to prime after a few more tries, you should just return it. You shouldn't be having these issues with a brand new machine.

Thanks for your response Nate, much appreciated.

Sorry if this is an ignorant follow-up question, but is the water inlet tube inside the machine? There's no filter or attachment on the external part of the tune (which hangs into the water tank).

I haven't run the pump for more than 10 seconds as not to overheat it. The pump is making noise like it's trying to draw the water, but nothing is travelling up into the machine. I didn't see any directions in the manual suggesting I need to open it up to do anything internally, but that seems like the only thing left to do. I wouldn't imagine this would be necessary with a brand-new machine right out of the box, but then again, this is my first espresso machine so I won't claim to know what's what.

I will take a look inside the machine tonight, and if that's still not working I suppose I'll have to go through the return process for an exchange (ugh, what a nightmare!). I just want this lovely thing to work!

Look in the water reservoir.
There should be two clear tubes running down into it.
One is to feed water to the boiler.
The other is to return over pressure water to the reservoir.

Hi Susan,

That's what I see there - 2 tubes coming down into the reservoir. There's nothing blocking them. No water going in or coming out of either when I turn on the pump...

Is it possible there's something inside the machine stopping the pump from drawing water up the tube?

Since you posted the same issue at the GaggiaUsersGroup, I am answering you there...

Susan

Sorry for the double-post, wanted to double my chances at getting it resolved (which it now is).

I just needed to open up the machine and move some things around inside (very carefully). One of the tubes was pinched by another part - looks like it maybe shuffled during shipping. Not exactly sure, but after all that stress of course it ended up being the most logical/simple fix.

Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone, much appreciated! Very excited to get started with this.

Rob

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