BaristaBoy, your suspicions were spot on and you are a genius! I fitted a small magnet to a chopstick to mimic the float as you suggested and the alarm/boiler cutoff worked first time, every time. Thanks ever so much....I'm not sure I would have thought about trying a different magnet myself but that's definitely the problem.

Now to figure out why. Removing the reservoir and running the old magnet directly against the sensor sometimes makes it work but nowhere near as well as the external magnet. But even with the external magnet you need to be careful to run it square against the side and take it easy for it to work consistently.

I've noticed that as the magnet gets closer to the sensor something clicks inside (a relay in the Gicar?). Move it further down and there's a second click. Five or 10 seconds after that the alarm goes off and Duetto shuts down. What's interesting is that the Duetto magnetic float also triggers these clicks but only rarely triggers the alarm.

My first inclination was to bend the metal rear out slightly to move the sensor closer to the magnet but for US$10 or so, a replacement is probably wiser. Gives me an excuse to buy a few more goodies.....

Cheers

Stuart

Hi BaristaBoy, I only just saw your last two postings. Thanks for spending the time to help me out, it's much appreciated especially because at the moment I don't have the option of calling a professional to have a look. It's extremely satisfying to not only fix a potentially complicated problem like this but to do it for only US$10 ....that's assuming the sensor is not slowly fading but it worked fine with the magnet on the chopstick.

Cheers

Ah...already sent an email to Chris Coffee about which to buy and already have a reply.

There are three floats available: the original Izzu float is only available in a kit with the sensor (US$60), a La Spaziale float (US$25) which they said activates the alarm slightly earlier because the magnet is located in the middle, and a generic float (US$10) that I think should work but don't know officially if it would.

I'm pretty much obliged to buy the kit if only to make sure the alarm problem is fixed once and for all. Maybe Izzu knows something I don't... the temperatures at the back are not impossibly high but I think they might be high enough to over time desensitise the sensor and float. There's probably a good reason why they're not sold separately.

I'll order the kit today and let you know how it goes - or at least what's actually not working.

Once again - thanks

Stuart

Hi Steve,

My order came through today sidestepping two typhoons to get here. We didn't get it anywhere near as bad as Houston, that's for sure, but the first to hit was probably the most powerful Hong Kong's seen in ten years. The second typhoon was no slouch either.

Anyway, I replaced the old magnetic float with the new one, ran the water down and voila, the alarm came on as it should followed a few seconds later with the machine turning off. So it was the magnetic float - something I wouldn't naturally assume had anything in it that actually could fail. I now know better.

Once again, thanks for your help and advice. It was much appreciated.

Cheers

Stuart

Hi Steve,

And likewise if you're ever in Hong Kong. We even have a spare double room with an unbeatable view over the harbour in the last remaining village on Hong Kong Island. Always happy to make use of it than leave it empty to gather dust. And I do mean that.

Canadians make up a surprisingly large proportion of expats in Hong Kong who've enticed me to Canada several times, although sadly nowhere near Montreal. Had a blast a couple of years ago staying with friends on Cortez Island (off Vancouver Island), mostly salmon fishing and chillin'. It's a beautiful country....and the beer seems to be improving each time I go, which is a definite bonus.

Cheers

Stuart