My Brewtus II is now 5 years old, and It looks like it's starting to have prostate problems.

When I engage the pump with either a loaded pf or with a blind basket, the brew pressure goes to the opv limit (or a reasonable brew pressure) and then immediately starts to fall. As it falls, the pump becomes quieter and quieter. Eventually the pressure falls to zero and the pump becomes a whisper.

At this point if I disengage the pump, remove the pf, and re-engage the pump, the pump remains whisper quiet and there is zero water flow. I have to turn off the machine and let it sit for 10-15 minutes in order for the pump to return to normal sounding operation and to get water flow. It takes about 10 seconds for the water flow to return.

I was sure it was the opv, and so I replaced the old nylon-screw opv with the brass-screw version, with no change.

The pump will happily fill both boilers from empty, and when I test the pump's flow by volume, it produces the correct amount of water for its type of Ulka pump over the 10 second time interval. So I'm not sure that the pump is at fault, and I'm pretty sure it's not the opv.

Any ideas? I don't know what to try next.

Mark

I contacted WLL tech support, who suggested that I must have a clog in the system. This is what is causing the brew pressure to rise and then fall and the pump to go very quiet. They suggest that I remove and clean out the solenoid valve. The only thing is that to me it looks like the solenoid is involved in controlling flow to the steam boiler, but not the brew boiler.

I'm not crazy about getting at the solenoid valve if it cannot be responsible for the problem.

I guess I'll try descaling the brew boiler and brew path a couple of times to see if that helps. I don't mind descaling the brew boiler, but I am concerned that descaling the brew path will then require that I disassemble and re-lube the brew path. I'm also not crazy about releasing all that chrome into the brew path with the descaler.

Is descaling the brew path as well as brew boiler a good idea? Am I correct about the solenoid?

Mark

You are correct about the solenoid valve - if it were stuck open, you would be overfilling the steam boiler. Exactly how much flow do you get from the group (say in 30 seconds) with empty PF in place? It seems to me as though something is amiss with the check valves internal to the Ulka pump i.e. I can't think of anything else within the system that would cause the problem you are seeing.

Have you been here? http://groups-beta.google.com/group/brewtus

I had a similar problem. Occurred a few weeks after descale, so probably not related.
$50 to replace pump was less painful than rebuilding Ulka only to find same problem.

I also removed the in-line temperature current limit as I don't abuse the pump.

I very recently went through a similar experience with my Expobar HX system. Pressure dropped about 30 or 40 psi when the pump went silent, and no water moved out the OPV during backflushing in the silent mode. It got worse a few days after de-scaling the HX. Dissasembly and cleaning of the OPV helped, but did not completely cure the behavior. I then did another de-scale of the HX, and this time did numerous backflushes. The "stalled" pressure drop got less with each backflush, so I kept backflushing (on and off) until the system behaved normally... no pressure drop and water keeps moving out the OPV when backflushing. Took a good 45 minutes. It's been working fine ever since, but from now on I'm going to backflush a bunch when de-scaling the HX.
-Ed

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll order a new pump from WLL. Actually, vibe pumps are probably standard issue, so I might look to find a source here in Toronto (there's a Faema repair place near the downtown).

If the machine will let me, I'll try a descale first.

Mark

if you are going to be buying a new pump... replace it with a rotary pump.

I did it on my Brewtus II and it is hands down the best change you could make to the machine.

1. No more of that annoying noise
2. No more refilling that water tank
3. No more stagnant water sitting in that tank picking up nasty plastic taste
4. Preinfusion when you raise the brew lever half way
5. Not having the machine turn off in the middle of the shot when the water level in the reservoir drops


need i go on?

Rotary conversion is a great idea; I really wish i had the time right now to figure out how to do it, and then actually do it. I'm afraid it's just too much right now - I barely have the time to do the basics like the opv.

You certainly make a good case for doing the conversion, though.

Mark

Well if you are going to change out the pump, putting in the rotary pump is almost exactly the same.

The only difference is you want to use a relay to turn it on.

but as far as the water plumbing, it gets connected to the same place the wimpy ulka pump does.

If you really are changing the pump I strongly suggest you switch over.. you're going to be doing the same work anyway

I'm having the same type of problem with a Quickmill Anita.

Mine behaves just like this Anita:


I ordered a vibe pump replacement. I have never opened my machine, but will later this week.

Wish me luck.

John

I, too, have experienced this problem and, if I remember correctly, the brew pressure dropped around 1.0 bar. More dramatic drops were reported in the same thread as they are in this one. It was and is baffling.
My problem was "solved" by thoroughly descaling the OPV (removed from machine) but I could not then and can not now "connect the dots" as to how this solved the problem.

I now believe it is caused by an intermittent electrical problem INTERNAL to the Ulka pump - that being an intermittent failure of the diode which functions as an electrical check valve. I would not think that a diode could have an intermittent failure but, after all, this is an espresso machine -

I initially assumed that all of the backflushing I did during HX de-scaling cleaned out the OPV and solved the problem, but each backflush pulled in more de-scaling solution through the vibe pump, so maybe it was the descaling of the vibe pump that did the trick (?). Or not.
-Ed

I'm still working on diagnosing my Brewtus II. At this point the steam boiler refill keeps calling for water; so there is zero flow going through my machine.

Before getting a new pump, I want to be sure that the water path is completely clear throughout. Up here in Canada a local supplier quoted $125 for a new Ulka pump (compared to $50 in the US). Now I need to find a US parts supplier willing to ship USPS (so that I don't have to pay an equivalent amount of the pump in brokerage costs).

Mark

Stefano's Espresso Care ships to Canada

Thanks Ian. I appreciate the suggestion, and will certainly order from Stefano's if I buy a new pump.

Mark