Search found 82 matches

by stevendouglas
January 1st, 2017, 9:14 am
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 4
Views: 314

Elektra A3 No Brew Flow

Just to conclude this post, the group valve was clogged. I replaced the group valve and all is well. In fact, the Elektra is back to an almost new condition
by stevendouglas
December 28th, 2016, 3:01 pm
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 4
Views: 314

Elektra A3 No Brew Flow

Grant, Thanks. I just tried that, no joy. It didn't look bad and wasn't jammed, but I cleaned it, reassembled, and still zero flow. It's possible the solenoid is not working, but I don't know any way to determine if it is or isn't. However, it looks like that solenoid directs water either to the
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by stevendouglas
December 28th, 2016, 11:12 am
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 4
Views: 314

Elektra A3 No Brew Flow

Still no luck. However, I thought I'd provide an update on the troubleshooting (refer to the schematic below from EricS, "Article Feedback: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love HXs"). Since I have pressure at the outlet of the pump, I thought maybe there was a problem with scale build up and s...
by stevendouglas
December 27th, 2016, 7:09 pm
Forum: Repairs, Restorations & Mods
Replies: 4
Views: 314

Elektra A3 No Brew Flow

Based on Dan's excellent review, I purchased an Elektra A3 over 10 years ago. Other than "Elektra A3 Steam Problems", it has performed flawlessly day in and day out. Yesterday, I flushed a couple of cups of water, then dosed and tamped with the same coffee, from the same grinder at the same setting ...
by stevendouglas
March 18th, 2010, 9:11 am
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Some stuff came out, but I can't say there was a torrent of stuff that I noticed. The first blast of steam had a lot of gunk. I left the steam tip off for the first few blast so it wouldn't get gunked up. Thanks again for all the help. Steve
by stevendouglas
March 13th, 2010, 9:47 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Thanks to everyone who provided comments. I just thought I'd provide a quick summary of how this turned out. I descaled the machine (not as hard as I thought it would be), but the steam flow was still weak. I then took pipe cleaners to everything between the steam tip and the boiler. It's very
by stevendouglas
February 28th, 2010, 2:01 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Shut down, cooled down, and SCALED...badly scaled. I think I've found the problem. I'll descale the A3 this week. I'm ashamed to show these. Thanks for your help. I'll let you know how the descale goes. {image} {image} {image} I assume this will mean a longer soak for the
by stevendouglas
February 28th, 2010, 11:28 am
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Thanks for the help. I shot this video this morning just to show the steam flow when I pull my first shot in the morning. I'll cool it down and then get some pictures of the internal with the cap removed. Thanks again for the help. That's a great cutaway of the group. {video}Is
by stevendouglas
February 27th, 2010, 12:46 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Dave, Thanks for the advice. I have never descaled the Elektra. However, my water is between 0 and 50 ppm, so very soft. However, I tried soaking the steam wand to no avail, and with the steam wand removed, it appeared the steam flow directly from the valve was fairly anemic, which is to say, unless
by stevendouglas
February 25th, 2010, 5:56 pm
Forum: Espresso Machines
Replies: 22
Views: 1503

Elektra A3 Steam Problems

Thanks Dave - I'll give it a try. Vad, thanks for the information. I hope I don't have to go down the descaling route, but if so, I certainly will. Not sure how I'll pump the water through with the rotary pump, but I'll look that up if and when the time comes.