Hi,

I recently purchased a Gaggia Achille machine. I had some problems with it and sent it back for replacement. That machine had problems as did a 3rd machine.

I'm about to give up

The two major issues I've had are 1) after flushing the machine with no portafilter in place - lever fully down, water continued to come out of the group, and 2) when pulling a shot, water would bubble out of the machine at the place where the base meets the vertical cylinder holding the boiler.

Has anyone had any similar issues of reliability? I'm wondering if these problems might be specific to a bad batch of machines or if there is some kind of design flaw.

Thanks,
Adam

Sorry to hear about more problems with this machine that many of us really want to enjoy (but have trouble getting past a few design or production flaws)! My guess is that all of the Achilles in the US right now were imported around June 2006 by Importika and have been sitting around in upstate NY waiting for a buyer. I think someone else (r-gordon-7?) returned an Achille due to the water-won't-stop problem, among other things.

Regarding the second issue: I'm guessing that's a problem with (drum-roll please) O-RING SIXTEEN! Water coming from the base is certainly a bad thing - that's where all of the machine's electricity lives. I personally wouldn't want to have my hands all over a big hunk of metal while the electric wires inside it are in contact with water. For info on fixing the OR16 problem, you can take a look at the thread here.

Because of the smart HX setup, I really don't want to admit that the machine has any imperfections, but I'm fighting with that right now myself. I've got another week or two to decide if I want to hold onto it any longer and put up with the minor issues. I hope the other Achille owners here can help convince you to give it another try, but I'd certainly say not to hold onto it if you have any doubts. For that kind of money it should be perfect (for you).

Adam - I, too, am sorry to hear about the problems other folks are also having with the Achille. Building a lever with HX is certainly an attractive combination. However, it does seem that there are build quality problems with an unusually large percentage of them...

As Dan correctly recalls, one of the problems I had with mine was a "water won't stop" problem. Actually, my "water won't stop" problem was in the nature of a continual drip - slow but steady - through the dispersion screen whenever there was water in the overhead plastic brew-water reservoir.

Not to influence anyone else's decision, but as much as I wanted the Achille's HX feature, I mostly wanted a machine that was "built to last". As I get that feeling every time I use our other machine - a Gaggia Factory G106, I returned my defective Achille Refurb for a second Gaggia Factory G106 (a refurb, as "that's all that's left" of that particular model). So far, I've not regretted the decision... Others' "MMV"...

r-gordon-7

aporter wrote:The two major issues I've had are 1) after flushing the machine with no portafilter in place - lever fully down, water continued to come out of the group, and 2) when pulling a shot, water would bubble out of the machine at the place where the base meets the vertical cylinder holding the boiler.

Adam. After the third machine I too would be despondent! Such a pity, because it's a brilliant machine when operating as it should.

1. If water continues to drip/trickle from the group, it must be bypassing the non-return valves on the heat exchanger. Some small particle must be preventing a seal. Even with the lever in the down position, water will flow through the piston ball valve and through the HX if the non-return valve is not sealing.

2.There again, leakage past the piston seals due to over pressure on the lever or just bad sealing will force the water up the cylinder, past that top 0-ring #16 and into the cavity of the grouphead and run down the boiler.

All the problems encountered with the Achille are easy fixes (except the crap steam valve)--BUT YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE TO! A refurb machine should arrive A1, ready to work.

Hi all,

Sorry for the slow response. I've been on travel.

Thank you so much for the explanations!

I'll have to mull this over and then decide what to do. The
worst part is that the machine has worked just barely enough
to give me a glimpse of what could be. Drat!

Thanks again,

Adam