Just got this machine used. Worked great until I did a descale/backflush.

Yesterday the pump stopped unexpectedly even when water tank was still half full. Filling water to the top seemed to fix it

Tonight something totally different happened. As soon as I turned on the machine (unit was cold), the pump started running... and running... and running.. At first I thought nothing of it.. I just thought the boiler was filling.. But after a minute or so, I began to see a LOT of water shooting up through the cup warmer and a puddle of water on my countertop. and the pressure on the gauge went up past 2!!

So I turned off the machine and unplugged. After opening up, it was apparent the leak (or spray) was coming from this valve: http://www.1st-line.net/cgi-bin/categor...type=store
The pin was in the up position so I pushed it and water sprayed out. So now it is in the down position. Is this the Pressure stat I hear people talking about? Does it need to be replaced? So frustrated.

And I hear about all these parts from forums on the Web regarding this machine--- Pressurestat, Vacuum breaker, Boiler safety valve.. ??? Which one is faulty on mine? Please help. Thanks a bunch.

Here's my guess. The autofill on the boiler is malfunctioning, so that it kept filling with water till it spilled out of the top, first through the vacuum breaker, then more probably through the safety valve through the vacuum breaker.

The autofill sensor is a wand with a single wire attached at the top of the boiler that is supposed to close a circuit when the water in the boiler rises enough to touch it. This signals the autofill to stop filling. If the wire is disconnected or the wand is severely scaled, then the circuit won't close, and the boiler will overflow as you described. If this is the problem, reattaching the wire or cleaning the wand will fix it (if you pull out the wand, make a note of its position first, so you can put it back to the right level.) moreover, if the wand is scaled, you'll need to descale the machine -- there are instructions on site, search.

If the wand is fine, and the boiler is overflowing, you will have to replace the brain box for about $150. It's a black box with lots of wires connected made either by Gicar or Giemme.

This sounds a lot like what happened to me this afternoon. Hopefully this is the right place to post this ...

I have an old (many times repaired) Eterna espresso machine. I've recently replaced the manual fill switch and the pressostat and the machine has been working great.



I had an issue today though. The HX started filling and wouldn't stop so I shut off the water flow and soaked up the water (the HX had filled and water was released through the safety valve before I had a chance to stop it).

At first I thought a sensor had blown but after a few tests, I now think that the problem is the autofill solenoid. To test this, I turned off the machine, drained as much water out of the system as I could and then opened up the water supply. Immediately, the system started to fill but did not stop at it's usual level. I tried turning the machine on and hitting the manual fill button (hitting feels good sometimes), I tried adjusting the pressostat settings but neither made any difference at all. As long as the water feed remained connected (and open) the machine would fill and not stop.

In the past, I don't ever recall the machine filling until it was turned on (and the solenoid activated). The default position for the solenoid should be off - well, I think it should, it would seem a bit odd if the default was open (or "on"). A power failure would result in a flood.

So ... my questions:
1. Is there a way I can be sure that the problem is the solenoid?
2. Are my assumptions flawed? Could the problem be something else and, if so, what is the best way for me to test?

Any help is appreciated.

another_jim wrote:Here's my guess. The autofill on the boiler is malfunctioning, so that it kept filling with water till it spilled out of the top, first through the vacuum breaker, then more probably through the safety valve through the vacuum breaker.

The autofill sensor is a wand with a single wire attached at the top of the boiler that is supposed to close a circuit when the water in the boiler rises enough to touch it. This signals the autofill to stop filling. If the wire is disconnected or the wand is severely scaled, then the circuit won't close, and the boiler will overflow as you described. If this is the problem, reattaching the wire or cleaning the wand will fix it (if you pull out the wand, make a note of its position first, so you can put it back to the right level.) moreover, if the wand is scaled, you'll need to descale the machine -- there are instructions on site, search.

If the wand is fine, and the boiler is overflowing, you will have to replace the brain box for about $150. It's a black box with lots of wires connected made either by Gicar or Giemme.

Amazing. Worked like a charm. I think the autofill sensor was loose. I saw no scale, but brushed it anyway. You are a life saver. After cleaning and securing the autofill sensor and probe, I crossed my fingers and turned the machine on again.. YES.. no pump sound. Then water started appearing on counter again. Then I realized through your advice that the boiler was overfilled and I just ran the hot water to empty it out a bit and.. voila.. Good to go.

Now that you solved today's problem.. Why do you think the pump stopped working yesterday after doing a backflush? With the tank half full, pulling the lever wouldn't activate the pump... only heard a hissing sound and a bit of steam coming out of the grouphead. Filling the tank full solved the problem. and now today it works as normal. I read somewhere to scrub the 4 probes that are in the reservoir. I did that as well even though I didn't notice any scale buildup. Thanks again for your help.

There's a contraption to shut down the machine when the water tank is low. It's either a float-switch in the tank, or a weight activated one underneath. If you think that's too nanny state, you can just defeat it; otherwise tweak the spring, float arm, or whatever else activates the switch, until it activates only when the tank is down to about 1/4.

Someone from 1st Line noted my water might be too pure. (I use spring or reverse osmosis bottled water.) He wrote: either your water is too pure or the sensor is limescaled up... the reason is that your machine can not send 5v of electricity through the water in the boielr, so it continues to fill. on the flip side, the sensor could sometimes not tell there is water in the reservoir, and this is why it would not pump before. these are both indicators that the water is too pure of the boiler sensors is full of of limescale.

He suggested this since mine has the 2 tubes that enter the top of reservoir: http://www.1st-line.net/cgi-bin/categor...type=store
or this: http://www.1st-line.net/cgi-bin/categor...type=store

Which one and would a Brita pitcher be too pure also?

also make sure that the contacts that go down into the tank make a good contact with the cradle and the case of the machine. clean these with a scotchbrite and bend the pins a little if necessary. This is often a soure of problemo.

cubastreet wrote:also make sure that the contacts that go down into the tank make a good contact with the cradle and the case of the machine. clean these with a scotchbrite and bend the pins a little if necessary. This is often a soure of problemo.

Thanks for the tip. Now is it just the contact on the back right that matters (where the water level wire connects to) or all 4 contacts of the 2 probes?