I am hoping that someone can help me troubleshoot my Brewtus III-R PID.
It is displaying 1.05. And I have no heat from the brewgroup. Everything else is working.
The PID is a Gicar.

Also wondering if there are expobar approved descaling instructions? Was told descaling would ruin the coatings and not to do it (?).

Thanks,

Mike

Can you interact with the PID such as changing the temperature setpoint? Can you get into the PID programming mode? If not, it may be that the PID box needs to be replaced.

Would stay away from a descale... More hype than good management in general. There are pros and cons and in a major re build, worth while but as per regular maintenance = NOPE.

Do you have Steam if YES that is good...

What temp is the water from the Brew group ?

What is the flow rate like ?

Not sure but could be a temp cutout or dead element or the PID, but that would be my last option....

(If you find bird sh** in ya back yard; don't go looking for a Bald Eagle, it will be a common bird of sorts.)

Same for trouble shooting, while there can be the odd curly one, in most cases it will be something much more simple.

AngerManagement wrote:Would stay away from a descale... More hype than good management in general. There are pros and cons and in a major re build, worth while but as per regular maintenance = NOPE.

Really? I think most of us try to maintain our machines, and for most descaling is a real part of it.

I think espresso equipment vendors and manufacturers are concerned about warranty claims from ill-informed owners that use harsh descalers. But that doesn't avoid the fact that scale happens:




The goal of water softener systems and "preventative descaling" is avoiding serious buildup. Assuming the water is properly treated, preventative descaling removes the minor scale buildup using a weak descaler solution (i.e., 1-2 tablespoons citric acid per liter or ordinary white vinegar). The problem is some owners aren't qualified for DIY repairs and use descalers much stronger than necessary and do real damage. They'd be wiser to hire a certified repair technician to handle annual maintenance.

Tested the elements today, both good. Getting good steam, water hardness looks like 50ppm or less...

The PID reads 1.05, I was able to change to PrS and get to change setting from deg Celsius, Fahrenheit...now nothing so I guess it's a PID....
Display was staying blank until temp came up, was eventually getting display back...but still only reading 1.05.

After a closer look the PID body is disintegrating from the heat, anyone ever try insulating their PID?

AngerManagement wrote:Would stay away from a descale... More hype than good management in general. There are pros and cons and in a major re build, worth while but as per regular maintenance = NOPE.

Do you have Steam if YES that is good...

What temp is the water from the Brew group ?

What is the flow rate like ?

Not sure but could be a temp cutout or dead element or the PID, but that would be my last option....

(If you find bird sh** in ya back yard; don't go looking for a Bald Eagle, it will be a common bird of sorts.)

Same for trouble shooting, while there can be the odd curly one, in most cases it will be something much more simple.

Have good flow, water is Luke warm, pretty sure it's the PID now... Thanks.

Hi Dan, I would like to give my machine a light descaling.
Just as a preventative measure, awhile back I had taken apart my solenoid and found it a bit of calcium on it.

So it is true that there are coatings that can be ruined by descaling?

What would you recommend? Lowering the concentration of descaler or shortening the time soaking?

When I plumbed in the machine I installed a bypass so I could still use it if I lost the well. (Live on a farm) Makes it real easy to pump in the descaler.
I'd just then need to siphon the steam boiler water to clean it out?

Thanks for the help,

Mike

Hi Curtis,
I can change some settings but all the instructions I have are in italian...
Display remains blank until heat comes up. Then stays on 1.05. Not able to reset anymore, did a couple days ago.

Would love to find a troubleshooting chart for this. In English.

Cheers,

Mike

Rayban wrote:What would you recommend? Lowering the concentration of descaler or shortening the time soaking?

I use concentration strength within the ordinary white vinegar / lemonade range. For the light dusting of scale I see, it's gone in less than 20 minutes. The water in our city is naturally soft, so a treatment is only necessary once a year. If your espresso machine doesn't have a boiler drain, it's easy to remove a fitting top of the boiler and add/syphon descaler through it.