La Cimbali M29 Select - Boiler suddenly won't heat.

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thymaster
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by thymaster »

My restored Cimbali was functioning for about 2 years. I recently switched out my plumbed in hose and all of a sudden my water will not heat. Any ideas on why the boiler wouldnt start? I can hear the pump bring in water, it also gets warm. Yet the boiler is cold. In addition to this, when I hit the dispense buttons they work intermittently since the boiler stopped working.

Again, Any ideas for me to try?

thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by thymaster (original poster) »

I checked the heating element and I can get some resistance so I don't think it's that. But when I pulled it out of the boiler it was black. As was the inside of the boiler. Any thoughts on if the no heating and the black interior are related?

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JK
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#3: Post by JK »

Did you check voltage to heating element before disassembling ?
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thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#4: Post by thymaster (original poster) »

No... I just used a multimeter on it after I pulled it out of the boiler and all seemed functioning.

Im open to any idea if you know of anything to try. I feel like I've tried everything.

One thing I noticed is my water pump does get hot, but does pump water in. Yet, the power to pull shots even when its cold sometimes works and sometimes it does not. Would that be a loose connection?

Thanks

thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#5: Post by thymaster (original poster) »

Im fairly new to electrical work so I may have done a few things wrong but,

I checked for resistance on the temperature switch and couldnt get anything.

I tried to bypass the temperature switch and received some resistance, but it still didnt fire the boiler up.

One thing that continues to seem strange to me is that the power for pouring shots works intermittently. Would this imply a loose power wire?

Also when the group heads do work, one of the sides is struggling to bring water through. Would scaling be the root of the problem or just one of the things in addition to the problem?

thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#6: Post by thymaster (original poster) »


thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#7: Post by thymaster (original poster) »

I just realized the power will not work immediately after the boiler fills. Once the boiler is filled power shuts off.

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erics
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#8: Post by erics »

The "problem" you are having with the pump getting warm would lead me to believe that the pump's check valve has failed. All of the additional problems you are experiencing tell me it is time to call in an "authorized" Cimbali technician.

Seeing as though you are in the United States, I do not believe that will be difficult.
Skål,

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http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com

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Teflon1064
Posts: 83
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#9: Post by Teflon1064 »

+1 Eric
a blockage post pump before the tee off to the boiler fill would cause this. If the boiler fill is slow enough it will time out and prevent the element heating

thymaster (original poster)
Posts: 17
Joined: 9 years ago

#10: Post by thymaster (original poster) »

So after doing a little more testing, I started to get resistance in some of the spots I previously mentioned I did not.

I will give de-scaling the elbow after the pump a try.

I'm really trying to avoid calling a technicians as I know the bill is going to end up costing $100s.

I'm still curious if the heating element is non-functioning because of the black covering the coils and scale in the boiler, yet there were no cracks and there was some resistance. Does anyone know what the resistance should be?

Also are there fuses to check to see if maybe they are blown? If so, where?

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