Hi all. I have a 1985 Olympia Cremina 67 that I just finished rebuilding--it hadn't had the gaskets or seals replaced, ever.

As a final step, and because the sight glass would not fill, I descaled with citric acid. This caused the copper plating on the inside of the boiler and the heating element to flake off, so I had to open up the boiler (which was also a good excuse to replace the boiler gasket, I hadn't yet because there were no leaks), and scour the boiler and the element clean.

I did a wiring diagram of the connections to the boiler, followed all of Barb and Doug's instructions, reconnected everything, and--uh oh, the boiler won't sustain a full boil to create pressure. I hear a bit of rumbling inside the boiler, then it stops. I played with the pressurestat to try to get it to come on again, no dice.

So I figure, maybe it's a short. The heating element did get wet when I was cleaning it, and one of the posts has no glyptol left around it at all (after 28 years, perhaps not so surprising).

I got the multimeter and post replacement kit today and...the first resistance reading--placing the probes on the terminals--wandered all over the place. It would not stabilize.

The second reading, terminal and base plate, was 1. Which I take to mean, no resistance.

So, does this mean I don't have a short, but have a burned out element? If so, how could that have happened? The element was working fine before I took everything apart. Could I have burned it out? Is there some other issue? Should I replace the element itself?

Thanks very much in advance.

Have you reviewed this page?

http://www.orphanespresso.com/Olympia-a ... 620-1.html

While I've never had to deal with these problems, this statement sounds relevant to your situation:

"This test should give a stable reading (for a Cremina 12.5-12.8 ohms) but most important is that the reading is STABLE......if this reading wanders and fails to stabilize this may mean that the element is actually burned and cannot be repaired."

Unfortunately, OE just parted out a bunch of Olympia Express parts. They may be fresh out of good used heating elements. But you can keep an eye out here:

http://www.orphanespresso.com/CLOSEOUT- ... 7-1-4.html

Hey, yeah, I did read through that thoroughly--it's just weird that it functions partially, and then stops. And it was functioning well before.

I was going to go the replacement route for the element, not OEM:

http://www.orphanespresso.com/1000W-Rep ... _3575.html

Thanks very much for responding, I'm just befuddled as to how this could happen.


J

Agreed. That sounds like a symptom of false pressure, not a damaged heating element. But based on your "handle," it sounds like you know the false pressure drill. (Plus you boiler cap may have a pressure release valve built into it.)

At least a replacement part is available if you need it.

This entire area is a bit murky, and trying to come up with universal observations when there are a LOT of possible combinations of readings, meters, users can lead to confusion BUT

it was working fine before
It heats up then shuts down
You got it wet

Do your tests on the element with no wires hooked to the terminals OR do you tests on the prongs of the power plug with all the wires hooked up.

no continuity means no current can flow means interruption in the circuit
Continuity means current can flow, interruption in circuit

Wandering readings mean a water short usually
Continuity when there should not be means a dead short

Any heating function means the element is not burned out.

Heat the element in an oven to make sure the is no water in there and do the tests before you install it.

Your report has conflicting statements so far....your wandering readings test may be reading through your fingers.

Take your time and don't jump to hasty conclusions.

Hi, Doug, thanks for writing back!

I did my tests on the element with no wires attached. I was very careful not to be touching it with my fingers. I followed all of your instructions to a T, with the multimeter you sent.

I will take off the posts and bake the element, and we'll see what happens.


James

Well, I baked the element and ran the tests again last night. I got a stable reading when testing with a probe on each terminal, so a definite success.

One thing I noticed is that you must only have the tip of each multimeter probe on its respective terminal. If you lay the probe across a terminal, even by a little bit, the readings go haywire.