Pardon me if this has been asked and answered before; I wasn't able to find the answer here.

I have a 3 week old GS/3 that I have plumbed in to a flojet/accumulator/water jug. A couple days ago I noticed the pump would run for a couple seconds every 10 or 20 minutes when the machine was not in use (cold). It was then that I noticed a slight leak - a slow drip - coming from the grouphead. The next time I noticed it not in the group head, but into the drip tray from the valve just under the steam lever. Once the machine is up to temp there are no leaks of any kind.

Any help would be appreciated.
Randy

Assuming you have the volumetric version (not the MP), it sounds like the 3-way valve isn't sealing properly until the machine gets warm. I've seen this happen with defective gaskets -- they don't seal when cold, but when they heat up they expand and seal.

Thanks Dick. I forgot to mention - I do have the MP version. Further, last night it seems to not have leaked at all.

I've also been reading a lot lately about the + and - and leaving it on 24/7. I won't open up that discussion here as it is well documented elsewhere, suffice to say that it would stop the leak

-RL

Randy, you mentioned that the pump runs when the machine is cold. How is this possible? Is the machine shut off when cold, or is there a partial shut down that I do not know about?
The "leak" in the drip tray under the steam valve is normal when heating up; both the vacuum breaker and the over pressure valve drip a bit. If it all stops when hot, then the over pressure valve is probably OK. Brew boiler pressure should be between 9-12 bar if I remember correctly.
Is this a new machine? The group head drip could be worn out o-rings if older.
My MP is plumbed in, with a pressure regulator set to 3 bar. I have had it about one year, and the o-rings are still original. No signs of leaking or sticking yet.
I do leave my machine on 24/7, only shutting it down when away for more than a couple of days.

Sorry - I wasn't clear in my first post. The pump that I hear running when the machine is off is the Flojet pump. I know the drip is normal during warm-up time, but I was experiencing it during *cold* time. I.e., when the machine is neither heating up nor cooling down.

During operation, brew boiler pressure is just shy of 12 bars. It runs at 2 bars for preinfusion (line pressure) and 9 bars during pump activation. No drips or malfunctions of any kind once the machine is up to temp.

Thanks for your input guys. I'm going to keep an eye on it, check the internals for water leaks just in case, and likely start keeping it on 24/7.

-RL

i have a GS3 MP on the way as well, could you link me to the well-documented 24/7 threads?

thanks!

Sounds like the H.1.011 o-rings. Changed mine after 3 months in service.

La Marzocco GS/3 MP O-Rings H.1.011

What is the build date of your GS/3?