Hi all,

After replacing the filter and cleaning the tank, I went to pull a shot. Though it looked like it was extracting normally, the pressure gauge read in the 5-6 bar range. I had used this grind earlier in the day, and everything else looked normal, so this was a very strange reading. When I went to pull the next shot, the pressure gauge never budged from zero.

Even after turning it off and letting the machine cool down and then restarting, the machine is still reading 0. Any ideas on what's going on? I have a few weeks left on my warranty, but would prefer to due the repair myself, if it's easy.

This thread:
Breville dual boiler pressure gauge broken?

talked about a kinked tube going to the pressure gauge, but I don't know how I would see it. After removing the back panel, I couldn't see that part of the machine, and removing the top seems difficult.

Any suggestions? Time to bring it to a professional?

Thanks for your help.

These machine gauges are pretty cheap (as in build quality). You do not repair them, just get a new one. You could take the capillary tube off, if it disconnects from the gauge some are soldered on, and see if you can blow through it to make sure it is not plugged. Other than that, new gauge.

Thanks Dave,

Sounds like I need to get this taken care of while it's under warranty.

hey stanford, i'm the op on the thread you linked.
taking care of it under warranty is the best option (although it'll be a few painful days between when your baby gets sent out and it (or a replacement) arrives.
next best would be dismantling the top, which is what i did!

Breville offered to let me wait until my replacement machine arrived before returning the defective one under warranty. They even ordered the shipper to pick it up from my home. They merely put a hold on my credit card for half the retail price.

Because of the marginal construction quality, you are much better off getting a complete replacement machine.

Finally fixed the problem. Here's an update.

Breville wouldn't offer a warranty repair because I bought the machine on Ebay, which is not an authorized seller, but they did offer me the $350 replacement. Instead of taking them up on the offer, I took it to an out-of-warranty repair center. They quoted me around $350 for a tune-up and a repair, though they were concerned about being able to get replacement parts for my machine.

Instead, I fixed the problem myself. The culprit was a faulty center o-ring on the Solenoid gasket. I wasn't able to get a ceramic solenoid gasket, but did replace it with a F-152 O-ring, acquired for a ridiculously low price from espressoparts.com.

After making the replacement, the pressure gauge works perfectly, and I get much more water flow through the grouphead (a problem I didn't even know I had).

Nic's directions for replacing the Solenoid gasket proved extremely helpful.

http://nic.steve-tek.com/?page_id=500