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Steam boiler hasn't reached full pressure after 2 hours

Postby F.M. on Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:50 pm

Hey All, looking for second opinions from those more knowledgeable;

This morning I found my Isomac Millenium hadn't reached full pressure after being on for ~2hrs. Details:
Boiler pressure reads .5bar (typically 1 bar)
Grouphead thermometer idle reading ~196f (typically 216f)
Some steam pressure available at the wand
Pump works fine
Autofill seems to work
Red (boiler) light comes on, but seemingly only after I release steam or hot water. I can hear the boiler heating when red light is on, and pressure/temp rises to .5b/196f
Red (power) light stays on, machine seems to have constant power, reservoir is full
Green light has not come on at all
Interior of machine seems dry & quiet- vacuum breaker replaced 6 months ago
Machine was descaled 2 weeks ago

Based on all that, and some searching here, I am thinking the OPV is the most likely culprit. Thoughts?
I'm not against replacing several components if that will possibly get me back up & running sooner.

As always, appreciate the help...
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Postby EBSpokane on Mon Nov 29, 2010 3:54 pm

I'd look at your pressurestat- it may be faulty. It's not likely the OPV on the machine, as the OPV regulates water pressure from the pump, not steam pressure in the boiler.
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Postby HB on Mon Nov 29, 2010 4:02 pm

My first thought was false pressure, but if you've equalized steam boiler pressure by opening the steam wand, then that leaves the pressurestat. How old it is?
Dan Kehn
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Postby F.M. on Mon Nov 29, 2010 4:16 pm

Thanks for the help!
Yes, I ran the steam wand for 20-30 seconds, ran water through the grouphead, and hot water tap. The steam kept coming and after all that the pressure/temps came back up to .5b/196f.

The machine's history is somewhat unknown, as I am not the original owner. I replaced the vacuum breaker, grouphead gasket, heating element seal, fixed a few other leaks, thoroughly cleaned the grouphead when I bought it in early summer. Since then it's been descaled a few times and backflushed religiously.

edit-I can try replacing the pressurestat for starters- I gather the jaeger is a worthy optional upgrade if available.
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Postby erics on Mon Nov 29, 2010 5:06 pm

You can use the below for troubleshooting purposes but . . . if the green light does not come on, that indicates to me that the pressurestat is not being satisfied and therefore replacement would be a real good choice.

Image

For this machine, I would simply replace it with what's there (probably MA-TER) because all you are doing is switching an SSR.
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at erols dot com
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Postby F.M. on Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:21 am

Installed a new pressurestat and the machine works perfectly now. Thanks again for the assistance! :D
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