Noisy vibe pump on Quickmill Anita

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ultrabean
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#1: Post by ultrabean »

Hello,
I have my Quickmill Anita on a timer that turns it on about 45minutes before I wake up in the morning. When it comes on after being cold for a long time, the pump make a very loud noise as it tops off the boiler. Because of this I usually turn it on briefly before going to bed at night so it won't make this loud noise in the morning. But the problem is that sometimes I forget this little evening routine and then it wakes up the whole house very early in the morning when the timer turns it on automatically.

Is there anything that can be done about this (either a way to shut it down so that it doesn't make noise when it turns on or a way to quiet the pump) ?

-Patrick

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pizzaman383
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#2: Post by pizzaman383 »

Do you know if it is the pump making the noise or something else vibrating? I have found that the heat of an up-to-temp boiler makes the metal parts expand. It is possible that when everything is cold there is metal to metal contact that is making lots of noise. I have needed to adjust the position of tubes and fittings to ensure there is no contact when cold or hot.
Curtis
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“Taste every shot before adding milk!”

ultrabean (original poster)
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#3: Post by ultrabean (original poster) »

Okay I opened it up. It's definitely the pump that's making all the noise. And it's not located anywhere close to a metal part. It's sitting up mounted on the original sheet-rubber mounts. I did notice, however, that one of the tubes attached to it is hard plastic and that this tube was vibrating considerably and was able to contact the case so I put a piece of neoprene between it and the case.

However I can see that the pump itself is basically quite noisy and it seems that considerable vibration is still being transferred to the case even through the sheet rubber mount. Perhaps the rubber mount was slightly softer when brand new but I don't think that could have made that much of a difference.

Does anyone know if there's anything in particular that makes these ulka pumps get especially noisy over time?

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erics
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#4: Post by erics »

Order some new mounts from Chris' Coffee (or possibly someone closer) and use a 3/16" fender washer to more evenly distribute the tightening load. These new mounts are much stiffer than those originally fitted.

How old is this Anita?
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com

ultrabean (original poster)
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Joined: 17 years ago

#5: Post by ultrabean (original poster) »

I think it's about 6 or 7 yrs old because I bought it used in about 2007...
I've attached a photo showing the vertical sheet rubber mounts.

Wouldn't "stiffer" mounts result in a noisier machine?


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erics
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#6: Post by erics »

Wouldn't "stiffer" mounts result in a noisier machine?
Not necessarily. As you can imagine, these mounts degrade with time and, after 6-7 years, it would be a smart move to replace them . . . certainly if you ever replace the pump. However, it does appear from your pic that you have these better mounts.

The mounts originally fitted to my Anita (12/05) were likely sourced by Quickmill and had the Ulka name embossed on them. They were very soft compared to the ones now sold by Chris' Coffee.
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com