Replacing a 3 way solenoid valve on Pasquini Livia 90

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ddr
Posts: 155
Joined: 15 years ago

#1: Post by ddr »

Hi folks,
I have been gone for a few years, and found myself coming back for information when I had another 3-way valve failure on my Livia 90. I figured I would snap some pictures as I replaced it since I was not using the standard replacement part from Pasquini.

I am using instead a commercial quality 3-way valve available from 1st-Line:
http://www.1st-line.com/store/pc/Pasqui ... 9p1964.htm

The valve is manufactured by OED, which is the same company that makes the original part for the Livia 90, buy this one has a synthetic ruby nucleus instead of viton. The fact that it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the original part from Pasquini (which cost me about $200 last year!) helps.

Here is a side by side comparison of the two valves. Note that the new valve will not come with the elbows, you have to take them off of the old one:


Here is the space you have to work in (old valve in place):


The process is:
Turn off the machine.
Unplug the machine.
Cool off the machine :)

Carefully remove the old valve by disconnecting the three electrical connections, and removing the three compression fittings (two at top, and one on bottom which goes to the drip tray)

Remove the elbows from the old valve

Wrap the elbows with Teflon tape, being careful to keep the tape away from the end of the threads (you do not want to risk getting tape in the water flow and having it clog things):

Place the elbows onto the new valve:


Attach the drip line to the bottom of the 3-way valve and thread the drip line down toward the drip tray (not shown)

Put the new valve in place, wrap the elbows in Teflon tape, again make sure not to have tape where it will get inside the water flow, and tighten the compression fittings:


Attach the wires, connect the drip line to the drip tray, and tighten the nut holding the solenoid in place such that the wires are not protruding outside of the machine.

Plug back in and turn the machine back on :)
Dan
LMWDP #242

sl55
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by sl55 »

Hi,
Found this awesome thread trying to find some answers.
I am in the process of replacing the 3 way valve (as you described), but I haven't marked the elbows. Turned out they are different. One has a more narrow passage with a thingy like a carburetor injector inside, and I do not know wether to place it upstream or downstream of the valve.
Well, since I am here, I want to ask if this is a 3way valve problem or something else. When I turn the machine on, the lights come on, and then the pump starts dumping water from the bottom drain into the tray. It goes for a long time, and I have to add water to the reservoir and empty the tray. If Livia is in good mood, the pump eventually stops, and the pressure will then go up, and all is good. What else can be wrong?

sl55
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by sl55 »

Well, after having zero response to my inquiries, I took a plunge and started to take Livia apart suspecting internal plumbing issues. Sure enough, the copper pipe filling the boiler was blocked. I think that because I very rarely use hot water or steam, I failed to thoroughly flush the boiler after running a descaler through a couple of weeks ago. Cleaning out the blockage was difficult. The blockage was about one third of the way down from the top u-shaped bend of the pipe. Plain bailing wire would hit the blockage and bend. I filled the tube with citric acid using a syringe and let it sit overnight. At work I found a guide-wire used in the angiography suite to direct angioplasty catheter inside the patient's vessel, and it was slick and stiff enough to penetrate the obstruction, and the pipe was cleaned out. Next, I opened the boiler and cleaned out the grey sludge settled on the bottom. There was very little scale on the heating element. I thought that after 8 years of use there would be much more. After putting everything together and replacing the three-way valve/solenoid assembly as described above, everything is back to normal.

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erics
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Joined: 19 years ago

#4: Post by erics »

The Pasquini Livia 90 is ESSENTIALLY identical to the Bezzera BZ99 and the manuals for that machine have been recently uploaded (thanks Dan) here: /downloads/ .

The elbow with the 1.20 mm gicleur is on the inlet side of the valve but I do not see how it would make any difference hydraulically (see page 39 of the parts manual) whether it were on the inlet or outlet.

The valve ports are marked "1 & 2". Normally with these valves, 1 is the inlet and 2 is the outlet but, and take this with a grain of salt, this particular valve is installed such that the inlet is 2 and the outlet 1.

The problem you originally described is a blocked boiler fill valve/line but the valve with the 1.20 mm gicleur is the brew solenoid 3-way valve.
Skål,

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