Nuova Simonelli Oscar steam smells musty

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
merc
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by merc »

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a 2 year old Oscar, it seems to be working great minus the weird smell coming from the steam. I'll try my best to explain the smell, it almost smells a bit musty and a little like brass...any idea what or why it's doing that? I tried steaming water and the smell was injected into the water, i let the water cool and it still smells.

Thanks,
merc

contraflow88
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Posts: 176
Joined: 10 years ago

#2: Post by contraflow88 »

This could be due to the previous owners negligence and lack care for the machine. Perform a descale then a flush of the boiler with your preferred water of choice. It could just be old water in the boiler that's been sitting there. But to be on the safe side and optimal performance I would descale!
Cheers and congratulations on your new machine.

merc (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by merc (original poster) »

Thanks for your response. Is there a preferred way to perform a descale and then flush the boiler? I found a couple of methods but they contradict each other. The other method I found only cleans the heat exchanger (which I do not understand)? I upgraded from a single boiler Gaggia so this whole heat exchanger plus no water outlet thing is very new to me. There's plenty of instruction out there for Gaggia's, however, not as much for the Oscar, unfortunately. Any help or direction regarding which method to use is greatly appreciated.

contraflow88
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#4: Post by contraflow88 »

Descaling the Oscar is simple. If you have the tank version you simply put the descale solution or tablet in the tank while the machine is ON. If your using a tablet like Dezcal let the tablet fully dissolve in the tank. Then run the water that is present in the tank through your steam wand and brew head until you have to refill the tank. Now that the solution is present in the lines, let the solution sit for 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the scale and build up to dissolve and since the machine is on the heat makes the descaling a little more effective. After a half an hour you should be able to see some deposits and scale present in clear glass if you flush the machine. Continue refill your tank and flush the machine until your water smells better and the water is clear of any deposits.

merc (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#5: Post by merc (original poster) »

Wow, thanks, that's much easier than the others methods I read. Since the boiler doesn't fill all the way up due to the sensor, is that a concern? Should I disable the sensor so it fill the whole boiler? Also, you say to run water from the steam wand...how do you do that?

Thanks

User avatar
sweaner
Posts: 3013
Joined: 16 years ago

#6: Post by sweaner »

You can try tilting the machine, which can trigger the pump to fill the boiler a bit more.

This video may help with the boiler emptying:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eXlC-Eo1h0
Scott
LMWDP #248

gashuebr
Posts: 29
Joined: 10 years ago

#7: Post by gashuebr »

merc,

Within the last month, I had a similar experience with a 2005 Elektra T1 Off flavors in the water of an old but never used Elektra T1and a Semi. These were old stock units from Williams & Sonoma. The 2006 Semi had never been out of its factory sealed box and it is questionable that the 2005 T1 had seen service as well. The T1 was especially foul Elektra T1 Rehab and the Semi a bit better, but there were still off-flavors imparted to water and steam.

I cleaned all of the disassembled parts of the T1 in a 3.5 % citric acid bath solution for 36 hrs to remove contamination in the boiler and hx. It took that much time to remove ALL contamination traces. The semi was partially disassembled and the boiler and hx filled with 3.5 % citric acid solution for a couple of hours. This was insufficient, there was still strong flavors present in both the steam and hx water.

Some research disclosed a similar issue with water storage tanks in RVs and Boats and one approach is to sanitize the storage tank with a solution of 5 ml household bleach per liter of water. This procedure in the Semi resulted in the discharge of very dark (blackish) murky water. After the sanitation I repeated the citric acid solution till a cotton swab rubbed against the interior of the boiler revealed no dis-coloration.

I know it sounds daunting and it was. If your machine sat unused for an extended period of time with water in it, you may be in for such an exercise in deep cleaning your machine. Don't be surprised if a quick de-scale does not resolve your issue.

I am not an expert in these matters, but these are the routines I employed with my two machines. Both machine have been rid of off flavors in water and steam. Passing on my experiences with two machines having a similar symptom.

merc (original poster)
Posts: 4
Joined: 10 years ago

#8: Post by merc (original poster) »

Thanks Geoff, if I had the time I would definitly take everything apart and do a thorough cleaning, maybe next year. 36 hours, wow, yeah, that machine must have been bad.

Thanks everyone for your responses, they were very helpful. I ended up playing it safe by unplugging the boiler leads and the fill sensor, drain via drain plug, refill, drain, refill, drain, etc plug everything back in then refill. It seemed to have worked well, I only get a hint of must for about one or two seconds of the steam and then it really doesn't have any smell. Thanks again guys