So you walk out of work one day and find that the catering company next door has chucked what appears to be an almost never used Brasilia Portofino out into the alley. The only thing missing seems to be the portafilter. Hmnm... After a little research and an email to Italy, you get a copy of the owners manual... After a little more research, you find a parts dealer about thirty miles away where you can get a portafilter... A little re-routed plumbing from your pre-existing RO system, and you have your very own espresso machine... Up, and running!

Segue to my reality..

After finding and clearing a blockage from where the level meter attaches to the bottom of the boiler (the boiler was not filling, even though it looked like it was full), I am able to extract a reasonable cup of espresso, not great, but I have time to learn. The problem was when I ran water through the hot water tap, I got a heck of a lot of steam, and at first, relatively clear water. Then a lot of steam, and milky white murky water. Now, a lot of steam, water, and brown crud. Still clear water through the group head, and nothing seems amiss with the steam wand, but the water wand.. yecch! Any notions?

Thanks! Mark.

PS. I probably should mention that this is my first espresso machine, and my first time ever trying to make espresso.

Welcome!

..and congrats on your find

The machine has probably been sitting there for quite a while and you need to descale it:

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/water-scaling-and-descaling-with-hx-machines-t751.html

Since this is you first machine I strongly recommend you do some reading in the resources section. Your machine is a heatexchanger (hx) the circuit for the boiler and the espresso brewing circuit are separated that is why you get clean water from the group and brown crud from the water tap. HX Schematic here

http://www.home-barista.com/hx-love.html

Which Portafino are you using - this one?

brasilia-portofino-single-group-t4406.html

Espressoparts.com will be able to help you with parts if you need anything.

http://www.espressoparts.com/category/03.01.brasilia/

Good luck!

Bernhard,

Thanks for the information!

1. I took a look at the diagram, and the links you sent, but I'm still not quite sure how to introduce descaling agent into the HX. I can get it into the boiler through the steam connection, but the HX itself is confusing me.

2. Yes, it is that one! a 2002 build

3. Thanks for the link, might be better than driving.

Mark.

Mark,

1. use an external tank (water bottle). As long as the boiler is full (or the machine assumes it's full because you grounded the autofill probe) and you pull a shot, the hx will automatically get the descaling solution from the tank.

You should also fill the boiler from the external tank. Empty the boiler first. Re-read the instructions.

Good luck!

Bernhard,

Thanks again for the input! Maybe I'm just dense, or missing something in the instructions (I do have a slight problem interpreting semantic nuances) I understand grounding the autofill probe, but it's not clear to me how or even where to hook a bottle full of descaler to the HX. Do I disconnect my water supply and hook it in there? If it's in a bottle, wont the pump have issues once the bottle collapses due to the suction?(should I invert the bottle and poke a hole in the bottom, or is it bad to have air pulled through the pump once the bottle is empty?)

Thanks again!

Mark.

Mark,

yes, disconnect your hose from the water supply and put it into a water bottle (or bucket) with descaling solution, there
will be no 'collapsing' don't worry (just don't run your pump dry!). Many people are running their machines this way permanently http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/do-most-plumb-in-machines-require-external-pressure-t1089.html

One example wit a flojet pump

http://www.home-barista.com/espresso-machines/post-pic-of-your-home-espresso-setup-t5194-180.html

and one with just a tank and no flojet

http://www.kaffeewiki.de/index.ph...imali_mit_Tank.jpg

In your case it is really only a temporary solution to get the descaling solution in there so you don't need the flojet or a nice tank as in the above examples. The rotary pump will manage as long as there is no air in the hose(you can vent air from the hose by loosening the hose just a little where it attaches to the machine if necessary).

Now I get it!

I guess I needed a bit more sleep ¦-)

Thanks!

Mark

One last question,

I have run descaler through the HX as instructed, and I have run descaler through the boiler. I am still getting brown deposits from the hot water tap (although not nearly as much). Looking at the pipe run for the tap, it attaches to the lower right of the boiler. Since the boiler level meter goes down as I dispense hot water, I'm wondering if I need to do another round of descaling the boiler, or is there someplace else I should be looking? Also, is it normal in this type of machine to get steam as the water dispenses, or should it be a normal clean flow?

Mark.

Looks like you're doing good so far

Try to empty the boiler as much as possible before the next descaling run (on the cold machine loosen the hot water pipe on the lower right and drain the boiler from there, be careful not to damage the fitting! Do NOT apply excessive force).
Retighten the fitting, fill the boiler with descaling solution and repeat descaling until the water from the hot water tap is clear. When you refill the boiler try to measure how much water enters the boiler until the autofill stops (maybe the water level in the is too low and the autofill probe needs some adjusting) before you detach the wire and fill any further.

The 'boiler level meter' is the pressure gauge that should be idling somewhere around 0.9-1.1bar (the green area) if you have more than that you need to change the pressurestat setting. The boiler is filled with steam and hot water. Some sputtering and steam is normal when you open the tap but should lessen as you drain hot water from the boiler and cold water enters the boiler again.

When you work on the inside of your machine PLEASE UNPLUG the machine. Switching off is not good enough.

Hopefully someone else will jump in if I say something stupid - until then it's just your common sense and me

Be careful.

Thanks again!

I used Durgol for the first descalings, is there something else you recommend?

Boiler pressure is where it should be.

Should I let the boiler fill until water comes out the top relief valve?

Do I turn on the machine to let it heat up with descaler in it? or do I descale, drain from the bottom, flush, then heat it up so water will be forced from the hot water tap?

Mark.