I've noticed recently, now that I'm not using a timer and I'm sitting around waiting for the machine to come up to temp, that the group on my Strega slowly drips an ounce or more before it finishes warming up.

Is this normal? I dont remember it doing it when it was new. The machine is only a couple of years old and never been descaled. Ive always had it on timer until recently, and it was already up to temp when I got up in the morning, so maybe I just never noticed before. Assuming the water in the tray was coming from a slow closing vacuum relief valve.

And I did switch out the vacuum relief valve, for a clean one, last year when it was "sticky" and constantly dripping.

Time to descale?

Thoughts?

Time to change your piston seals, or at least lube the chamber and see if that fixes it.

Yep, thats what Im thinking too.