Hello all,

My Elektra has been a great companion over the past eight years, but lately it has been having fits. I recently did a deep clean of the boiler, although there was only a small amount of visible scale (I removed the bowl and the vacuum breaker for better access) I did not want to ignore it. After reassembling everything the machine worked fine for a few days.

About a week later the machine was ready to go, I locked and loaded, hit the coffee button, and although the pump was working, nothing came through. I then realized that the boiler was filling up. Although some water would come from the group without a puck in the pf, approximately an equal amount went into the boiler.

I emailed Stefano, who was very helpful. He had a few suggestions, basically reasoning that the deep cleaning may have dislodged something which is partially blocking the flow. I replaced the solenoid in the base of the unit thinking that it may be part of the problem. I also took apart all of the water pathway I could access from the pump to the group (only the heat exchange tubing through the boiler and the neck of the group escaped cleaning). In general, the tubing looked good anyway. No dice, problem persists. The vacuum breaker on top of the boiler seems a little sticky, but it still seals to where you don't hear a steam leak - don't know how that could be related, but it's full disclosure time. The only other thing I noticed is that the flex tubing underneath seems to have some minor kinks, but nothing that closes it off. I wouldn't think that it would cause enough backpressure to overwhelm the valve, but I don't know.

My options at this point seem to be: 1) replace the upper solenoid in hopes that it's the failing part 2) find a way to snake the heat exchanger tubing and the group neck hoping there is something stuck in there 3) send to Stefano

I am a bit of a tinkerer, but I don't mind giving way to the expert when I don't have the time to keep taking it apart, nor do I want to replace perfectly good parts when I am just guessing at the source of the problem.

Anyone care to share a theory, cleaning tip, diagnostic tip or success story?

The boiler fill valve is stuck open or the HX is leaking. I can't see how the 3 way valve in the group could have this effect. If you replaced the boiler fill valve (not the solenoid coil, the valve itself), then all that's left is the HX, which is a major repair. I'd send it in, but you may have the skills to completely disassemble the machine and replace the HX.

Thanks Jim. The only way I am aware that the 3 way valve could have an effect is if it was blocking the flow (not opening fully, or something is jammed in there). Stefano stated that any backflow in the path between the t at the pump and the group could not go back into the pump, so it would have to go into the boiler. I had not considered that the hx line could have ruptured, but of course that would cause the problem. Yuck.

I did replace the whole unit, the solenoid and the valve. I still think (and hope) that rather than the line rupturing, it could still be the fill valve that is malfunctioning - it would not be the first time I got a new part that turned out to be defective. The only other reason I believe it is more likely to be a valve problem or a blockage moving through is that occasionally, before fully heating up, the flow is normal through the group (it is easy to tell if the boiler is filling by watching the sight glass). Does anyone have any thoughts on how I could test the valve to see if it is properly opening and closing?

EDIT: Is it a sign that Stefano's advertisement appeared directly above this reply when I posted it? Dan, that's very good ad placement. You must have a special predictive logarithm for this...

I've reviewed the Semi; but I have to admit that problems like this are beyond my skill level; and I would be sending it in.

Also I'm still not sure what Stefano means with the 3 way. Whether the 3 way in the group is jammed or not, you get the same 9 to 12 bar pressure against the boiler fill solenoid whenever you make a shot. If the three way is messed up, that pressure just persists a few seconds after the pump shuts down. So what? If the boiler is filling, that fill solenoid is leaking or the HX is.

James -

When I first read your original post, I semi-missed the part about the boiler filling. Since this machine relies on manual fill of the boiler, why not disconnect the electrical leads from the fill solenoid? That would at least eliminate any electrical error.

The fill valve ports should be marked 1 & 2. "1" is the inlet to the valve and "2" is the outlet to the boiler. IIRC, and just FYI, the group valve is just the opposite.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Unfortunately, my Semi is dead.

I took a few weeks off from the last post in this thread before having the time to look at this again. My father helped me troubleshoot, ensuring no electrical problems, etc. I did do some tests of the hx, (filled the boiler with water, blew on the hx and listened for bubbles) and it seemed ok. However, nothing I did prevented water from leaking back into the boiler.

I had been in contact with Stefano throughout, mostly troubleshooting and buying parts. So, I packed up the Semi in its original box and sent it to him. Initially, Stefano thought the hx was alright also. But after starting a descale, he found there was a leak in the hx. After feeling around in the boiler (with help from his wife, who has smaller hands), he found this:



Apparently, there is a hole in my hx. Pre 2005, the hx was welded to the boiler and cannot be fixed, and the estimate to replace the boiler is quite high. Given that my machine was in worse shape than I realized (Stefano strongly recommended a complete rebuild), it is not worth fixing, particularly as the finish is only ok anymore. Stefano is shipping back my portafilter and a couple of parts, including a new vibe pump I had purchased and installed but not used. And that's it - I'm kind of sad. I now have a handful of parts, where I had a nice machine not long ago.

I will not be replacing it immediately with any machine, as I am going to save up and do some research. So, I will be joining the Mypressi users group. I have ordered my Mypressi, a stovetop steamer and a new 53 mm tamper to go with my SuperJolly, and away I go.

The parts will go up for sale on Coffeegeek; if anyone is interested in a new vibe pump, portafilter in good condition, rancilio naked portafilter with triple basket, or other parts, please pm me.

Few more parts of value are coming back to you
( I have 8lb box ready of salvageable -used parts)
then also the reservoir that you kept if is in good shape can be a good thing to sell to others

another_jim wrote:I've reviewed the Semi; but I have to admit that problems like this are beyond my skill level; and I would be sending it in.

Also I'm still not sure what Stefano means with the 3 way. Whether the 3 way in the group is jammed or not, you get the same 9 to 12 bar pressure against the boiler fill solenoid whenever you make a shot. If the three way is messed up, that pressure just persists a few seconds after the pump shuts down. So what? If the boiler is filling, that fill solenoid is leaking or the HX is.

the filling circuit of a semi auto is design in a way that when the brewing circuit line is clogged a "tee" will release the excessive pressure back into the boiler to avoid
overpressure
basically is an alternative to a one way valve

I don't understand this. If this is true, wouldn't the boiler fill every time the group is backflushed or a shot chokes?

Foot in the mouth
the all conversation started with the 2 ways valve been open ( scale etc etc)
and since there is no one way valve water been diverted into the boiler