Backflushing with detergent w/o shower screen

[cinergi]

Is it ok to back flush using detergent with the shower screen and screw removed?

[HB]

Backflush trivia? OK, I'll play:

I suppose there is the theoretical chance of undissolved granules momentarily preventing the solenoid from sealing, and even that seems inconsequential after a couple more flushes. My vote is that there's no harm.

[barry]

it's not advised on a marzocco.


and, come to think of it, it's probably not a good idea on any machine which has a gicleur between the showerscreen and the solenoid.

[malachi]

NOOOOOO!!!!!!

If you have some loose coffee (on the gasket, whatever) it can get sucked back into the group.

Given that there is no value in backflushing with the screen out instead of in, I cannot imagine why you would do this, regardless of how small the odds are of an "accident".

Having once had to pull apart the entire banjo tube etc rig on a Marzocco I can honestly say you don't ever want to take this risk.

[Ken Fox]

Is it ok to back flush using detergent with the shower screen and screw removed?

I've been doing exactly this with my Cimbali Juniors (mostly the rotary as the vibe is only a backup machine) for two plus years and have never had a problem.

My routine is to do a chemical backflush weekly with water backflushes daily. Every other week I remove the group screen and screw and diffusion disk and soak them in nearly boiling water with Oxyclean dissolved in it (the PF and PF basket and spring and frothing tip go into this bath as well). Since I'm soaking the screen and disk and screw in a bowl they are not in the group head, which I clean with a scrub sponge and group brush then backflush with PulyCaf.

Every other week the group is chemically backflushed with the screen and disk in place, alternating with them being out and soaking in the bowl with Oxyclean.

I do about 10 backflushes of about 15-30 seconds each with the pulycaf, pausing after the 2nd or 3rd to let it sit for about 5 minutes then continue the series to about 10. Then I clean the group again and flush into a bowl and then do water backflushes times ten or so, then reassemble the group components (screen/screw/disk) after I wash them with dish soap after the Oxyclean.

Have had zero problems with this routine.

Cannot speak for LMs and what that company recommends, nor can I speak for Cimbali (the company). All I can say is that my current backflushing routine is about 2 years old and I've been doing it that way with no problems whatsoever. For the record, I am using Puly Caf TABS, not the powder.

ken

[snoboy]

I have often done this w/ Silvia, as I usually pull everything apart and soak the screen and stuff, while I am doing the backflushes. It has never caused me a problem AFAIK. There is usually a fair bit of fine coffee grounds behind the screen when I take it apart anyways...

I can see the reasoning behind avoiding it on machines that have some sort of fine tubing in the head though.

[Ken Fox]

NOOOOOO!!!!!!

If you have some loose coffee (on the gasket, whatever) it can get sucked back into the group.

Given that there is no value in backflushing with the screen out instead of in, I cannot imagine why you would do this, regardless of how small the odds are of an "accident".

Having once had to pull apart the entire banjo tube etc rig on a Marzocco I can honestly say you don't ever want to take this risk.

I always clean the gasket with both a group brush and a scrub sponge before I backflush with detergent, but it is worth adding that the REASON I remove my group screen in the first place, every other week, is that coffee gets behind it. I can't speak to differences in the various group head designs, but if I was worried about backflushing coffee into the group, I'd never backflush at all except after removing the group screen and cleaning it, and that is obviously not practical.

ken