I recommend the John Guest
cheap, many options and easy to instal

I've searched without success - is the drain hose needed 3/8"? Nylon reinforced?

-phillip

The drain is not under any pressure, so any hose will do. It might be hot thought depending on how much water is being flushed. I think mine is the reinforced nylon, it's main issue is that it narrows a bit and occasionally gets clogged, or slows. I usually clean it often enough so that I don't hit this problem (or more correctly I try to clean it often enough to avoid this problem). On occasion though I have to grab a towel.

Mark

Thanks, Mark. Earlier in the week I went with 3/8", but that was far too small. Then I went 5/8 and that was "far" too big. I had thoughts of my 3 year old son easily pulling it off by "mistake", or someone else for that matter. So, then I bought a 1/2", and that was somewhat too small - I cut it a bit and slid on with some effort. My T1 is in an open space with all the lines visible and somewhat in the way of traffiitc, so I wanted a tight fit without using a clamp of some sort. All said and done, I used a nylon reinforced hose of 1/2" INSIDE diameter from Home Depot. I need to build a table or something to house it properly - but that will be another thread.

Though I'm sure it's been mentioned elsewhere, I cut the 3/8" John GUest tubing using a sharp kitchen knife - perfectly clean and no leaks. Speaking of which, the JG system is absolutely fast and fantastic.

Lastly, Mark, or anyone else, if you didn't see my post on the other thread Elektra T1 - no espresso water - I'd appreciate a howto on testing the 3-way. I get hot water, steam, and autofill, but no water through the group. So close, but espresso nirvana is still so far away.

-phillip

Espresso nirvana is closer than ever. One leak to sort out when the machine cools. Even though it's closing in on midnight, I had to pull "one" shot before switching it off, and one turned into two. Obviously, I didn't get it dialed in on two shots, but there is certainly promise there.

Problem 1
Steam wand is leaking steam. Even with the handle removed, it still leaks steam/water. I assume this is an issue with a gasket in the wand?

Problem 2
When I use the water tap, the autofill kicks in at around 1 cup of water loss. If I'm just using the brew water, then the autofill does not kick in - I emptied three cups of water through the group and the autofill did not turn on.

=phillip

The auto fill will not kick in when you run water through the group. The group is fed via a heat exchanger that passes through the boiler but is not fed by water from the boiler so the auto fill does not kick in. That only happens when the water level in the boiler gets low. That happens from doing a lot of steaming or drawing water from the hot water tap which is water directly from the boiler


Diagram courtesy of erics from Can anyone explain preinfusion on the E61?

phillip canuck wrote:Espresso nirvana is closer than ever. One leak to sort out when the machine cools. Even though it's closing in on midnight, I had to pull "one" shot before switching it off, and one turned into two. Obviously, I didn't get it dialed in on two shots, but there is certainly promise there.

Problem 1
Steam wand is leaking steam. Even with the handle removed, it still leaks steam/water. I assume this is an issue with a gasket in the wand?

Problem 2
When I use the water tap, the autofill kicks in at around 1 cup of water loss. If I'm just using the brew water, then the autofill does not kick in - I emptied three cups of water through the group and the autofill did not turn on.

=phillip

Happy that you finally figured out your water problem!

1. There is a ball in there that a spring pushes on. Perhaps there is a tiny bit of gunk in there keeping it from seating fully. I seem to remember that there was a rubber washer in there that I replaced. I don't remember the details but I took one mostly apart in my rebuild and they are a freaking pain to put back together due to the spring.

2. As Eric has shown, autofill is not related to group head water usage.

So you only have one problem instead of two!

Mark

cannonfodder wrote:The auto fill will not kick in when you run water through the group. The group is fed via a heat exchanger that passes through the boiler but is not fed by water from the boiler so the auto fill does not kick in. That only happens when the water level in the boiler gets low. That happens from doing a lot of steaming or drawing water from the hot water tap which is water directly from the boiler

There should be an emoticon for - Don't be an idiot! I would be using that right now for me.

mhoy wrote:Happy that you finally figured out your water problem!

1. There is a ball in there that a spring pushes on. Perhaps there is a tiny bit of gunk in there keeping it from seating fully. I seem to remember that there was a rubber washer in there that I replaced. I don't remember the details but I took one mostly apart in my rebuild and they are a freaking pain to put back together due to the spring.

Here's hoping for gunk, and yeah, they are a pain to put back together.

Thank you, Dave, Mark.

Mark: I'm having the same issue as you did Elektra T1 - #771 built in 2000 is now mine with the motor touching part of the frame, but I don't see your solution? Did you stick some foam in there, or were you able to reposition the motor away from the frame?

Dave: I'm making my way through your step by step guide - thank you, thank you for all the work you put into this, Dialing in a new espresso machine, a step by step guide

As for my steam wand, the spring is far too worn - it's easy to put back into place (unlike the new spring I put into the water tap) and if I push up on the steam wand, it stops leaking. I just ordered a new spring from Stefano.

-phillip

I pushed a large screw driver between the frame and point where the motor mount touched and slightly adjusted where the pump sat with respects to the frame. It only needs to be not touching and the sound difference is amazing.

Mark