I've been using my Appia almost every morning for 6+ months and there has been no variation in pump pressure. it has always shown 9-9.5 bar on the gauge even when flushing, backflushing or brewing.

Suddenly this morning I had finished pulling two shots and was doing a quick flush before pulling a 3rd when suddenly the gauge dropped from 9 bar down to around 6.5-7 range and group head flow dropped significantly for a few seconds. I checked the flow at the sink and noticed no difference to the normal flow.

I proceeded to check the filter system, the inlet expansion valve, the group connections and the brew solenoid for any blockages or leaks. I found nothing. So I reassembled the machine, re-calibrated the pressure regulator to around 3 bar and the pump to 9 bar on the gauge. What I quickly noticed upon putting in a blind basket was that the gauge jumped up to 11+ bar. So I re-set the pump to around 9 bar with the blind basket in and the gauge continued to show around 6.5 bar without the PF locked in. Pulled a couple shots and the machine goes up to 9 bar under the load of the coffee.

But the gauge continues to behave differently to how its always functioned. Only goes up to 9 bar with coffee or the blind basket. What am I missing here? Is the pump on it's way out? Is the gauge broken or has some sort of air trapped in it? Am I certifiably insane? I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Thanks Guys!

Hi Jon,

I had this issue with the rotary pump in my Appia right when it was giving up the ghost. That said though, it was screaming like a banshee before it went because the bearings were shot in it.

Does it make any weird noises? Any vibration that wasn't there before?

HI Dave,

I was hoping that you would reply to this one because I remembered that yours went out.

Exactly at the same time that the problem occurred it started to make a sort of winding down noise when you turn off the pump. Its really hard to hear where it is coming from and almost sounds like the pressure that its built up to get to 9 bar is escaping slowly. But no PF sneeze and the 3-way works perfectly.