Hi everyone, this is my first post, but I have been reading for years!

The Lusso has been working happily for a couple of years, except two weeks ago the pressure dropped from 1.2 bar to .7. I adjusted the PSAT, quite some way, but normal pressure resumed. Today, after the first coffee I left it on, waiting for my second. I stepped back into the kitchen to find it was up to 2 bar. I shut it down, released the steam and hoped for the best.

Well it cooled off, took the cover off, refilled with water and figured on adjusting the pstat back to where it was. Problem is, it lights up, but the boiler is not heating.

So, should plan to replace the element and the pstat? I will need to get those from http://www.lamacchinadelcaffe.com/ who I used before.

Any advice please.

Many thanks

Nick

Your initial symptoms imply a pStat problem, initially failing to open, and possibly now stuck open. Before buying anything I'd say do a little troubleshooting with a multimeter.

Unplug the machine, and test that you have continuity across the terminals of the pStat. No continuity there tells you it's the pStat that needs replacing.

I don't think your machine has a protective thermofuse, but if it does, check that. It would be a sheathed wire, or some device with two contacts affixed to the boiler. If you have one, it probably would have tripped or burned when your pressure went to 2 bar.

With the wires removed from the element, check the resistance across the element terminals. It should be stable, probably in the neighborhood of 40 ohms (assuming 220V 1200W element.) Also there should be no continuity between either terminal and the boiler body. I'm guessing the element may be fine.

Also, it might be good to check that for scale in the pipe leading to the pstat by removing and inspecting. If you have scale, and you have a stuck-open pStat you want to clean and descale - you may even get the old pStat working again.

As above, plus if you only need to replace the pressurestat, there are options here in NZ as i think a standard mater xp110 1/4" will work fine. Let me know if you need sources or help finding the part

+1 stock pstat on my sama tends to wander a little, usually +/- .2 bar. I keep meaning to change mine but it still works so I don't bother. If you don't have a multimeter, wire the element straight to the power to bypass the pstat. If it works, then its your pstat. Sometimes they can be cleaned and continue to function, or you can just replace it.

homeburrero wrote:I don't think your machine has a protective thermofuse, but if it does, check that. It would be a sheathed wire, or some device with two contacts affixed to the boiler. If you have one, it probably would have tripped or burned when your pressure went to 2 bar.

There's no fuse, no thermal cutoff, no safety of any kind, actually. SAMA badged lussos have nothing in the way of complex electronics, just a circuit to run the element. Makes them easy to work on. PV lussos, however, have a brain box that's prone to failure.

Oops, put this in the wrong thread.
Sorry.

Sometimes the Pstat just needs to be cleaned, but they are also likely to fail. It's also important that the safety valve is working, so check it, and keep an eye on the pressure. If it's up past 2 bar you need to turn off the machine and let pressure off the steam valve.

I think you need a multimeter to test the heater for conductivity, but I do not know how. You need to get good qualified advice there!

PC

My Sama Lusso does have a thermal cutoff,just like on the newer Pavonis

It has a red thingy you have to press to reset , maybe you have it to .. or a melting type , that has to be replaced , but is cheap . if so , get a resetteble instead
A temp of steam at 2 bars would trigger it

I dont think the heating element would burn , as long as there is water in the boiler

Hi
Good News!
Yes, it does have a reset button, and the boiler reheats.
I adjusted the psat, and its stable on 1.2 - in the old position of a couple of weeks ago.
I will remove and clean it on the weekend, and fit the orphan espresso elbow I purchased months ago.
Thanks Kitt on parts supply - I found one at Espresso Co for $70. it's range is 0.5 to 1.5 bar, whereas the one at La Macchina del Caffe for the Pontevecchio is Euro35 is 1 - 2.5 bar. I guess those Italians enjoy the pressure.

Thanks guys