Super hot pump/low steam from one wand

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CantComplain
Posts: 19
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by CantComplain »

Hi All-

Renovating a La San Marco 85e semi-auto 2 group commercial machine. I've replaced some components in one of the groups, dealt with a tripped thermostat, and generally cleaned and de-scaled it as I've gone along. Almost everything seems to be sorted now, except for a couple things.

First: The machine gets super hot. OK I expected that. But the pump and attached hoses seem to exceed 150 degrees F (measured by infrared thermometer) which I was NOT expecting. Mind you this is with the machine idling and the pump not running. Is it possible that water from the boiler is making it back down to the pump and is that normal? Pump works fine and is set at 9 bar.

Second and super minor: the steam wand on the right side seems to be having a hard time letting out the correct steam pressure. I've cleaned the wand thoroughly and cleared the holes in the tip completely. I've taken apart the valve and ensure everything is clean and clear. it seems to put out about half the pressure as the left wand. The tube from the boiler to the valve has also been completely cleaned and is clear as well. I have not descaled the boiler but it is relatively clean and I don't believe one of the larger channels (feeding the wand) could possibly be blocked as there is minimal scale inside. Pressurestat and other components seem to be fine, and the machine seems to be working OK other than that. System maintains pressure at .9 bar

Any help on either of these would be greatly appreciated.

petr0x
Posts: 81
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by petr0x »

Hi,

take care when using infrared thermometer or thermocamera. It works good on dark, matte surfaces, but is useless on shiny surfaces. The infrared waves reflect just like light does and maybe you can be pointing to pump, but it reflects some infrared from other parts. Use just a normal contact thermometer to check your measurements.

Steam-I cannot imagine any other possibility, that there is some blockage in the line or boiler. Maybe check your pipe ends go straight on the fittings (they can end in an angle, which blocks it partially). Descaling the boiler is a good idea when completely renovating machine. After that, you know everything has been done and you can forget on this for some time.