Reneka Techno Problem and Parts - Page 3

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
SColeman41 (original poster)
Posts: 6
Joined: 10 years ago

#21: Post by SColeman41 (original poster) »

I found success by using the Reneka user's manual and doing a Google search using the part number. That took me to eevad.com. When I searched directly on that site the numbers didn't work as well.

The part numbers are all shown in the diagrams and in the supporting pages. You just have to make sure that you're looking at your version.

RickH-S
Posts: 2
Joined: 9 years ago

#22: Post by RickH-S »

I have had a Reneka Techno since 2001 and am a very happy owner. I did replace the pump about two years ago, and rebuilt the RPM motor by cleaning up the corrosion at the pump/motor connection, and replaced one bad bearing. The new pump has already started to fail with a similar MO, i.e. water leakage from the pump seal into the front of the RPM motor damaging the bearing. I have a friend who once owned an espresso shop in California, and has lots of left over equipment including a L F Group "Clamp motor" 1240123 and several Procon pumps. To solve the new pump problem I decided to move the pump out of the machine, thus increasing the number rotary pumps that would fit this wonderful machine. As a proof of concept I moved the old pump assembly to a location below my kitchen sink and plumbed it in with a connection made by 10 foot by 1/4 inch icemaker hose. So far all works well other than the loss of the pressure gauge which waits for the correct British Pipe Thread fitting. My question is how to wire this new motor which came with no capacitor, and 5 wires which I have been unable to locate a wiring diagram for. The pump has no identification sheet on it but looks exactly like this one: http://www.cafeparts.com/productDetail1 ... emID=76825

Clamp Motor 165w 230v 50/60hz
Part No.: 76825
Description: Clamp Motor 165w 230v 50/60hz
Price: $279.70

I have purchased the correct capacitor and need to know which wire goes where. The motor has five wires including the yellow green wire attached to the frame of the motor. The other colors are Red, Black, and two identical Yellow wires.

This is probably a very easy question for someone who works on espresso machines, but I have not made any progress yet, after writing the company both in England and Italy twice over the last week, not to mention endless Google searches.
Any help would be Much appreciated!
Thanks, Rick

keepitsimple
Posts: 340
Joined: 17 years ago

#23: Post by keepitsimple »

Hello, Ham

I recently rebuilt a "spare" Techno that I'd initially bought as a source of spares, but then decided is good enough to be rebuilt and put back into service...although at the moment, I don't really need 2 of them.....

All the O-ring type seals - which most of them are, including the boiler gaskets - I got from e-bay after checking the size and material specifications listed in the handbook. It looks a bit confusing at first when you read the dimensions, until it clicks that being French, while all the dimensions are given in metric as you might expect, many of them are actually standard Imperial BS sizes ! Specifically, the boiler gasket O-rings are standard components - size BS340 Viton, and I'm fairly sure you will be able to find them locally. A set of 5 (they came in packs of 5 though you only need 4) was £8.20 including tax and delivered. I also got a small tub of silicon grease from the same supplier, as well as various other o-rings needed where you seal things such as the solenoid valves etc..

I started out thinking it was going to be hard to find stuff, but using the book as reference I found everything I needed with a bit of a search.

I didn't need to source a new group gasket, as I already have a couple of unused new ones, and the original one in my main machine is still sealing perfectly. I'm sure I've seen them somewhere on the 'net, but can't at the moment remember where.

OK - just had a look and found this website - not cheap though

http://www.elvt.nl/a-37377004/special-p ... a-perfect/

Not sure if the ones you looked at would work - are they the right shape and diameter ?

Most other parts are generic components too - standard legris flexible pipe connectors, the pipe itself is standard stuff, the solenoid valves are Parker Lucifer (or equivalents) temperature probes are standard (I did have trouble getting those initially) and the pump and motor are off the shelf parts. Not sure about the flowmeter, but I'm pretty sure it will be industry standard. All in all, you should be able to get almost anything you need for future maintenance. Even the control box, although a Reneka-specific part, is full of standard relays. About the only proprietary thing that might fail is the chip itself. I'm hoping that won't happen, but if it did I now have a spare that I can probably get cloned.

On descaling - yes you can do it - a little messy, but not difficult. You just need to disconnect the output pipe from the filter at the filter end (assuming you have a filter fitted) and dip it into a bowl/bucket of descaling solution. Draw water from the steam boiler until the solution has displaced all the water in both boilers, and also a couple of long coffee shots to make sure it gets everywhere in the brewing system. Then leave for as long as the product suggests before drawing several lots of clean water through the same way. The pump will happily draw water from a bucket to do all of this. Some people recommend temporarily disconnecting the water level probe until the steam boiler fills right up, so the solution gets everywhere. That's easy to do, but beware that while disconnected it will cause the pump to run until you reconnect it, and a full boiler will almost certainly set off the pressure safety valve under the machine when heated, so be prepared and avoid a mess !

Edit: made a few typo changes above and also will add the following: If you fill the steam boiler fully, it's also a good idea to open the steam switch - be careful as scalding hot water will now spurt out (for safety, it may be an idea to remove the steam tip, so there isn't so much force). This will ensure the steam solenoid gets some treatment. This is prone to scaling especially if you normally draw off only steam and don't regularly replace the water in the boiler.

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