Putting Nuova Simonelli Oscar on a timer and loud pop/noise at turn on - Page 2

[HB]

Maybe I'm missing something but I just turn my machine on without releasing steam. After about 30 minutes to an hour I give the steam knob a quick twist and the heater light comes on then goes out again in under 10 seconds. Is the Oscar not properly ready to go at this point?

Yes, if the boiler pressure drops for a moment and recovers, you're ready to go.

The problem occurs when the boiler cools and depressurizes. Most HX machines have a vacuum breaker valve that opens when the boiler depressurizes so the gauge returns to true zero. Without one, the pressurestat can have a "false reading" and turn off the heating element when in fact the boiler isn't up to temperature. The symptom is an HX machine that according to the gauge is up to temperature, but the gauge drops suddenly +0.5 bar when the steam wand is open and the heating element kicks on for several minutes.

Oscar models don't have a vacuum breaker (IIRC, they have an anti-syphon valve on the steam wand so they qualify for NSF certification). Chris' Coffee offered a conversion kit at one time, but I hear they dropped it when they were inundated with post-sales install questions.

[caeffe]

Just to follow-up. I've put the Silver Grouch on a timer - BTW, there aren't too many timers out there with 3 prong plugs.

I get the same behavior as nixter - after the initial warm up, turn the steam wand open, after less than 1 minute, boiler turns off.

I've also gone ahead and done a descale - HX and boiler. I did the descale by
1. Drain boiler using drain plug
2. Fill reservoir with descale soln (citric acid diluted according to instructions)
3. Let boiler overfill by moving the autofill sensor up to overfill the boiler.
4. I let the soln sit for some and turn the brew button on a couple of times.
5. I then turned on the brew button to drain the reservoir and refilled with fresh water. Drained boiler 3x etc.. etc..

No more loud pop.
Draining the boiler via the drain plug is somewhat a PITA. I'd like to setup something with a valve and a line that leads out of the case to make draining easier - but that's for another free weekend.

I did notice that after draining the boiler and the initial warm up - it takes longer for the boiler to reheat after opening the steam wand. Opening the steam wand almost sounds like it 'burps' rathern letting steam out. The follow-on reheat and reopen of the steam wand is a much shorter time-frame.

[RapidCoffee]

Draining the boiler via the drain plug is somewhat a PITA. I'd like to setup something with a valve and a line that leads out of the case to make draining easier - but that's for another free weekend.

I did notice that after draining the boiler and the initial warm up - it takes longer for the boiler to reheat after opening the steam wand. Opening the steam wand almost sounds like it 'burps' rathern letting steam out. The follow-on reheat and reopen of the steam wand is a much shorter time-frame.

Glad you got your problem solved. IIRC, it took my Oscar an additional two minutes to reach full pressure after venting some steam. But that was after a much shorter initial warmup (8-10 minutes vs. 30-60 minutes).

You can drain the boiler through the steam wand, although I'm sure it drains more completely through the plug. Remove the wand tip first, let it heat up, turn it off (unplug it), and open the wand over the sink. Tilting the machine on its side helps.

[nixter]

Glad you got your problem solved. IIRC, it took my Oscar an additional two minutes to reach full pressure after venting some steam. But that was after a much shorter initial warmup (8-10 minutes vs. 30-60 minutes).

You can drain the boiler through the steam wand, although I'm sure it drains more completely through the plug. Remove the wand tip first, let it heat up, turn it off (unplug it), and open the wand over the sink. Tilting the machine on its side helps.

The 30-60 minutes I stated for initial warmup is just the amount of time I prefer to let things FULLY warm up. If I just turn the machine on from cold it only takes about 10 minutes for the boiler light to go out initially.

[nixter]

Well I went out to buy a timer today but ended up with a remote instead! This actually works better for me. I don't exactly have a set daily schedule so it's anybody's guess what time I'm going to get out of bed. I do however usually wake up a good while before I actually get out of bed. So now I'll just keep the remote next to my bed and turn on the Oscar when I first wake up. Then when I get out of bed she'll be all warmed up! Love it!

n

[espressoheadyvr]

I was thinking of installing a vacuum too; but found an alternate technique seems to work for me.

My Oscar is on a timer; but usually in the evening I open up the steam knob completely for about 5 minutes (machine is off). If i apply my hand to the steam wand I can feel residual air from steam wand..it gradually disappears completely...after 5 mins i close the knob and turn the machine on (it's actually off because the timer is not on) and in the morning when the timer kicks in oscar seems to heat up ok without popping and such...

not sure if others have tried it but it seems a low tech way to work around oscar's antipathy to a timer..