Two year old Rocket Giotto, and I am having the following problems:

1) Turn on the machine, and wait about 10 minutes to warm up.
2) When it warms up, water starts spurting out of the top valves, which I believe to be the pressure release valve.
3) I am forced to turn the machine off as the spurting doesn't stop.

Other symptoms prior:
1) Water pump usually came one only very ocassionally for me, either after hot water, or after a lot of activity.
2) Yesterday it started coming on about every 30 to 60 seconds.
3) After this, I occassionally heard and saw a big pressure release.

I would appreciate any clues on possible problems and guidance thanks.

I assume you mean valves on the boiler and not the steam and hot water on the front panel.

There are probably two valves : Over pressure and vacuum breaker. If the pressure on the gauge is normal @ ~1.1bar, then it's likely the vacuum breaker that needs service. IMO, they're cheap enough to replace rather than service.

If the pressure is higher, then the pressure stat needs attention

If water is coming from the safety valve and the vacuum relief valve the boielr is overfilled. That is casued by one of the (most-likely) causes:
- scaled water level sensor
- disconnected water-level sensor
- failed black box
- disconnected water-level sensor wire at the black box
- if plumbed, a leaky fill solenoid.

To elaborate on Randy's first point, to operate properly, the steam boiler must be partially empty. If the water level sensor fails to detect ground, it will call for water until the steam boiler overflows. Scale buildup on the sensor can act as an insulator, preventing it from detecting ground as the water reaches it. Chris' Coffee Service FAQ How to properly replace a liquid level sensor probe explains the steps for removing/replacing the probe.

Thanks, Dan. I assumed too much and should have explained the details as to the whys as you did.. But I am finishing a tall vodka rocks and just got my dog home from major emergency surgery. It's been a long freaking weekend... But the dog is gonna be ok, and as soon as I finish this drink, I will be as well.

Some pictures of the offending valves would help to confirm. A video would be even better. As Ian mentioned, most probably vacuum breaker and safety pressure release.

Can you describe a series of events that would help us point you in the right direction? For example:

- turn machine one
- hear pressure stat click on
- hear water getting heated
- hear vacuum breaker sputtering/closing
- can see pressure building up on pressure gauge
- etc

Not having more info, i would start like others mentioned by checking the connection on the water level sensor. If that seems ok (connector is not loose, no corrosion, etc) then i would probably pull out the probe and clean it. Don't forget to make a note of the position of the probe before taking it out. On my Rocket, it's almost all the way in so it's easy to put it back.

When you are done, start the machine up and drain the boiler via the hot water wand until the pumps kicks in. With a clean sensor, it should refill the boiler to a more appropriate level. For all of this to happen, the boiler must seal up do have some towels handy and give the vacuum breaker the time it needs to close and let the boiler build pressure.

As for the safety valve, it should be closed with no pressure in the boiler. If it is not, there is something wrong with it.

Thank you everyone for your amazing quick help. I ask you to please bear with me, as I am not too knowledgeable or technical, but always willing to learn.

The valve is on the inside of the machine. When I open it up, there are two valves. It is the valve on the left that is the highest, and has a tube connected to the steam wand from it. The other valve on the right does not have any tubing coming out, but just sits on top of the boiler. Here is picture of how it looks from the top. It is the valve on the left that is spurting.



The current sequence of events is:
- turn on machine
- wait about 5 minutes
- pressure starts rising slightly (about 0.5 bar)
- sputtering happens with the water coming out the steam valve
- turn off machine as sputtering doesn't stop.

Here's a video of the sputtering ...

That is the vacuum breaker. This little device is open when the boiler is cold. When you turn the machine on, the heater brings the water to a boil and as steam starts to form the pressure will push on vacuum breaker and cause it to close. You can see it in action, it's the little pin jumping up and down in the middle of the fitting. Once the breaker is closed your boiler can then pressurize. When you turn the machine off, the boiler will cool, pressure will drop and the vacuum breaker will open again and "break" the seal of your boiler.

You definitely have too much water in your boiler. The vacuum breaker sometime sputters steam and drops of water a little bit during warm up but not that much. I would start with the easiest culprit, the water level probe. It's the connector on the right side. Check that the connector looks good and solid on the metal pin sticking out of the boiler (water level probe).

After that, i would pull out the probe and check it for scale. Have you descaled this machine? Are you using hard water? Here is an example of my probe after about a year of use. It's pretty clean but you can see some white stuff on the end. Someone posted a link to Chris' procedure. TAKE note of its vertical position. Then loosen the top nut (not the one on the boiler) and SLOWLY pull out the probe. Clean, sand with very fine sandpaper, and reinstall.



You will need to drain your boiler a bit. If you can't get it to seal up and pressurize, you won't be able to use the water wand to drain it... What happens if you let it warm up some more? Does it eventually close? If you can get the machine to pressurize a bit you may be able to use the water wand. If not, you could always remove the vacuum breaker (again undo the top nut only) and siphon a little water (500ml max) out of that fitting.

The idea is to drain enough so that the heater is still submerged, turn the machine on and let autofill do its work. Since your probe will be nice and clean, it should fill the boiler to a correct level and let you use the machine.

If it still overfills, then it's something else, like a faulty control box or control box connection...

Whew, hope that helps

That's the vacuum breaker valve. It's normal for the valve to sputter after 5 minutes as the unit warms up and pressure rises in the boiler. The valve should close as the boiler pressurizes. If the valve isn't closing, then the valve may have scaled up or it may have failed.

If you're not familiar with working on the machine, you may want to contact your dealer. If you want to try fixing it, I'd recommend getting the Rocket DVD from Seattle Coffee Gear. The DVD has details on maintaining your machine.

I am, in part, repeating what others have said with some slight mods.



(1) Vacuum Breaker Valve
(2) Boiler Safety Valve
(3) Water Level Probe Assembly
(4) Probe Gland Nut
(5) Probe Adaptor to Boiler Nut
(6) Safety Thermostat

With the machine off and unplugged, measure the distance between the white nylon insulator on the probe wire and the teflon tube that the probe slides in. Use a matchbook cover or similar. Alternatively, you could just mark the probe with a felt pen.

Disconnect the probe wire - it is usually a tight fit.
Loosen the gland nut (4) with a 1/2" wrench.
Try to loosen the adaptor nut (5) - that can be a two person job with one holding the boiler steady.
If succcessful, loosen completely and remove entire assembly from boiler.
Syphon about a cup of water from the boiler

Clean the end of the probe with sandpaper/emery cloth until it is nice and shiny.

If there is a copper washer beneath the adaptor nut (5), it would be nice to replace it but that's not a "must do". If there is teflon tape, clean old off and replace with new.

Replace the assembly and tighten just snug. Reconnect the terminal to the probe and adjust the probe height as you found it. Tighten the gland nut (4) snug. This nut compresses the teflon sleeve around the probe and provides for a leak-tight unit.

Turn machine on - autofill should initiate almost immediately and you will be good to go - hopefully. The potential problem in simply loosening the gland nut and twisting/pulling the probe out (even though I have done this) is that the deposit build-up on the end of the probe can scar the teflon and make re-sealing difficult. Yes, highly unlikely but . . .

When's the next party at Social ??