Hello, HB'ers

I just purchased an old Junior D (vibe pump plumbed in model with the crazy frankenstein water dosing thinger with the rods for adjustment). The previous owner had had issues with autofill because it wasn't fully plumbed in and wasn't getting good water pressure to fill the boiler. I have it plumbed in now, fired it up, and autofill started as soon as I turned it on. I warmed up, ran a bunch of water through to clear out any stale boiler water, and noticed that the autofill, while working, isn't filling the boiler right up. In fact, it seems to be keeping the water around the min level. Is there any voodoo magic I'm missing here?

That said, I set my mazzer mini to a bit finer setting than I'd ever use for my gaggia, dosed a shot, and about 23 seconds later had a nice shot (beginners luck!). Don't want to continue, however, until I know more about the water levels in the sight glass.

kitt wrote:Just read that post, and it doesn't really say how to adjust level probe;

Yes it does. The method explained for the older Cimbali (from your link & quoted below) is correct.

mauricem wrote:2) Autofill should top up to the max mark on the site glass. This is determned by the depth of a conductive rod that is located at the top centre of the boiler.

So, as stated, the autofill probe sits on top of the boiler and how deep the sensor is inserted vertically into the boiler determines the autofill level. Adjust the probe depth as required. Newer models have the autofill sensor on the side of the boiler and rotate in an arc, with vertical being the minimum fill and horizontal representing max fill.

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On the newer Cimbali machines, you can simply rotate the autofill probe as it is in a teflon sleeve. I don't recall on the older ones if the sleeve holds the probe rigidly or not. But it would be easy to determine. Just press down or lift up gently on the probe and see if it moves. If not, then turn the machine off & let it cool down to atmospheric pressure (0 bar). Then loosen the autofill probe sleeve nut, adjust the probe depth, tighten with care (not too much or you'll crack the sleeve!). Then heat up the machine, check for leaks and proper autofill level.

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(edit - finished reading the rest of the replies). Thanks for the replies. I'll give all the suggestions a go tomorrow after work (wife dragged me quite literally away to her staff party - she just doesn't understand!).

Thanks for the link. It's a great start to the thread, but they never actually post what ended up being the problem for the OP. I think tomorrow I'll remove the probe and visually inspect both it and the water level in the boiler to see if either the probe is obviously flawed or the indicator is giving a false reading. I know the previous owner had replaced the sight glass and redone a whole bunch of seals, descaled and generally cleaned up, so I'm sort of doubting blockage.

Try adjusting the boiler probe depth and see if the autofill level changes accordingly. If not, then check for loose wiring, proper ground and that there isn't scale on the boiler side of the probe. The probe works by completing an electrical path i.e. senses boiler water level when it comes into contact with standing water.

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boiler probe depth isn't making any difference. No obvious scaling or loose wiring that I can see (will have a better look tomorrow). How do I check ground? On a 3 prong plug, figured that might take care of business?

Did you remove the probe from the boiler and check the boiler side of the probe for scale?

The autofill sensor completes a path to ground when the sensor contacts water in the boiler. Try bypassing the autofill sensor temporarily to test the wiring & electronics. Remove the wire lead from the autofill sensor and connect it to the outside of the boiler. This should activate the autofill. If it doesn't then you have a wiring or electronics problem upstream of the sensor probe.

If the above test did activate the boiler fill, then it's a sensor issue, most likely scale on the boiler side of the probe & needs to be cleaned.

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