My 3 month old Brewtus all of the sudden showed pressure fluctuations during extraction and flushing with a blind basket. Contacted WLL, and they sent me a new pump, opv and deairator. When I open the shell, it is in a very awkward place (behind front panel and under one of the boilers). Is there an easy way (or correct way) of pulling this out? I'm worried that I may have to remove boilers. Never done this before and WLL thought I could do this fairly easily. It really doesn't look as easy as all that. Also, do I need to drain the boilers before I change these out? If I need to drain, how do you do this properly?

Sorry about all the questions. I'm new to espresso (and machines) and wasn't expecting for this new (and fairly expensive) machine to need repairs so quickly. Starting to have buyers remorse right now.

Thanks in advance for any tips.

Cindy

Possibly no one has replied because they haven't had a failure needing to address this? I had the Rotary pump model for two years, and it was a trouble free machine, sorry to hear you had a problem already.

I am guessing maybe you have only removed the cup warmer tray and are looking down into the tight confines of the machine? The wrap around enclosure comes off with about 5 more screws at the exterior sides and back. Here's a photo of my rotary pump (at the lower part of photo) and it is fully accessible to replace if needed, I wouldn't expect that the vibe pump model would be any different.

Hi Cindy,

I can't help you with the pump replacement - mine is over a year old and I've had no issues with it (knock on wood). However, I moved from Newfoundland, Canada to Fort Worth, TX, so I had to drain my machine. Here's the instructions I received from Zcafe (the distributor in Canada) for draining the machine. I followed these steps with no issues, and the machine arrived safe, sound and dry. Remember that after you drain it, you have to prime the machine like you did the first time.

I've pasted the instructions sent to me verbatim. I can't take responsibility for grammar errors.

Draining the Boiler for Shipping:
Step by Step Instructions:
Read this page entirely prior to draining your boiler. These steps should be done entirely from start to finish without delay between steps.
1. Turn the machine on, let it reach normal operating temperature and/or pressure.
2. Have 2 large wide empty bowls or containers, 3 cup and 2 cup in volume handy. Place the smaller bowl or container under the brew group (Portafilter handle out) and the larger size under the hot water wand. Have both secured in place as hot water will be dispensed at hot temperature!
3. Empty the fresh water tank entirely.
4. Run the pump as you were to make coffee by lifting the lever on E61 machines (or engaging the coffee brew switch on other machines). Continue running the pump until water stops flowing from the brewgroup. One no water coming out from the brewgroup, pull the Lever all the way down (or turn off the brew switch) and immediately turn OFF the main power switch of hte machine.
5. Disconnect the machine from the electricity.
6. Without delay, open the hot water dispensing valve half way and let it drain until hot water stops flowing completely. Caution: hot water coming out from hot water wand may splash, keep away!
7. Once water stops flowing out from the hot water wand, shut off the valve.

Let machine cool completely before packing it. Leave steam valve slightly open prior to packing. Machine is now ready for shipping.

I was also about to suggest checking the Brewtus google group, but saw you posted there (http://groups.google.com/group/brewtus/browse_thread/thread/d58738e7ad94186e#) and have completed the repair without issues. Congrats!

Yes, it is finally fixed. Took about 2 hours. I wish the vibe pump was located in the same place as the rotary. It would have been so much easier. The vibe is located just behind the group head and under the boilers. Had to get my husband to figure out the easiest way to remove it (had to remove the screws from the bottom of the machine).

Thanks for the info on draining the boiler. Luckily, I didn't need to do that after all.

Cindy