Mini Gaggia Shock Hazard

[Quadrifoglio]

It was like something out of Ghost Busters, only I was the one Venkman was testing. "Ooh, close, but definitely wrong." Zaaapp! "The effect?! I'll tell you what the effect is! It's pissing me off!"

I was cleaning up a "new" Mini Gaggia and made the mistake of touching the machine and a cast iron sink at the same time. Definitely a shock hazard. It has the two pole European plug with a spade plug adapter.

I was wondering if anyone had retrofittd a Mini Gaggia with a three prong plug or if a GFCI would resolve the problem. I could just not touch the sink again but I would like a better resolution.

[orphanespresso]

Frank! Be CAREFUL with that thing!

Seriously though - sounds like there's a short somewhere. A friend knowledgeable in electricity, has explained that American wiring standards for appliances - the polarized plug standardized - has gone back many decades, but European standards vary from country to country. At issue may be the polarized plug, that pesky 'fat' spade should be the neutral, in older plugs, without the 'fat' spade, the neutral spade is ever so slightly longer, so that it engages the neutral before the hot touches (when you plug the machine into the wall). All US swtiches are wired through the hot, so the hot wire is interrupted at the first point in the machine (the switch). Depending on the country, some Euros are wired through the neutral. Running the neutral to the switch is often how a person gets shocked (because the hot isn't interrupted when the switch is open).

If you do decide to rewire - the wiring diagram may be useful to you (it's at the bottom of the page):

http://www.orphanespresso.com/ind...e&id=20&chapter=40

A useful thing to do is to look at the wiring in the appliance, and carefully make a wiring diagram of it, tracing it back to the plug - and check each connection for a short while you do it.

Of course, a good electrician is always a good professional to hire if you are not qualified to mess with electricity...

[mhoy]

...
or if a GFCI would resolve the problem. I could just not touch the sink again but I would like a better resolution.

I strongly recommend using a GFI circuit for all your testing and for when in use. It will see if there is a difference in current between the current paths and if some is by some chance flowing though you to an alternative ground it will trip. Even a two wire circuit has protection with GFI. These things should save your life, but as with all things they are never perfect, but way better than nothing.

Now that said, shouldn't the Gaggia case be isolated from the power???

Mark

[Quadrifoglio]

I tried out the polarity of the plug. So much for orderly thoughts. On a 90 degee plug, the cord shoul point down, right? WRONG! Cord down, the case is hot as soon as it is plugged in.

Ok, try it with the cord up. Good, the case isn't hot. Turn it on. The case is hot.

Time to open it up and track down the problem.

[Quadrifoglio]

While disassembling the Mini to replace the plunger gasket, I found that the power cord had three wires. One wire went to each of the two pins and one wire went to the exposed metal strips on the outside of the plug. I determined that this is a "Type F (German 2-pin, side clip earth)" "Schuko plug". "Schuko" is short for "Schutzkontakt", which means "protection contact". I had been looking for info on converting to a grounded plug and it already has one.



The adapter that came with the Mini was absolutely the wrong one to be using. It doesn't have a ground and there is no indicator of polarity. Additionally, Type F plugs do not indicate polarity. I had learned which pin was neutral by the orientation of the plug that kept the Mini from being energized until it was turned on.



I found a Type F to Type B (US grounded) adapter and bought two. With shipping, they were about $12.00. It is a cheap, quick alternative to rewiring.





On this Mini, the cord faces up to orient the neutral correctly.



Now I just need to reassemble the Mini and test it.

I recommend that if you have a plug that you don't know. Figure out which one it is and which adapter is the right one. Wikipedia has a good write-up on AC plugs and sockets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome..._plugs_and_sockets

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