Advice on resurrecting a mothballed Rancilio Classe 8 - Page 2

#11: Post by **ira** » October 12th, 2019, 1:23 am

2ndcrack wrote:The hose is the boiler drain. Doh!

I'm still trying to figure out if it is safe to use Dezcal as the boiler does appear to be aluminum. There's nothing online to indicate what Rancilio used for material.

I have a Classe 6 and it's got a copper boiler, I assume the classe 8 is a similar commercial machine and so it's most likely nickel plated copper or stainless. If you can, I'd pull the heating element and have a look inside.

Ira

#12: Post by **cebseb** » October 12th, 2019, 2:31 am

The Rancilio classe 8 was my very first rebuild! Oh the memories. Solid performer but probably the most over engineered water level sensor EVER. The sight glass shows the level of the water inside the boiler, but instead of the water level sensor being inside the boiler, is actually on the sight glass in the form of a board with two metal clips at the top and bottom of the sight glass. When water fills the sight glass, a circuit is completed and the auto-fill does not trigger. When the water moves below the top metal clip, the circuit breaks which triggers the auto-fill until the circuit is unbroken once again. A problem occurs when condensation and/or scale collects on the sight glass. The auto-fill will not trigger in this case. It took me far too long to diagnose the issue. I hope my story helps you avoid the same issues I had.

Cheers!

#13: Post by **Hapje** » October 12th, 2019, 3:36 am

Hey! Good luck with your restoration project! I recently bought a Classe 9 Xcelsius and am trying to figure out why only extraction is failing. If anyone is familiar with the Classe series I would appreciate the help as well! https://bit.ly/33mgveQ

November 13th, 2019, 1:18 pm

So I've been busy off and on cleaning up the machine when I get the time. I reassembled the machine to test and was planning on hooking it up to the 220v receptacle in my kitchen. Unfortunately the plug pin-out was different, which is fine because I now have a few other questions.

A friend of mine who is an electrician indicated that it appeared to be configured for 110v vs 220v, and the electrical diagram does reference any specific way to tell. To make matters worse the machine information sticker is virtually unreadable so I cannot deduce the voltage from there.

The pics below show my connection. Mine differs from the manual in that it is hooked up the L2 vs L1, but with jumpers that should not matter. Is there anything else I can check? I think its far fetched that a 2group would be setup for 110v, but I'm sure it is possible.

#15: Post by **Almico** » November 13th, 2019, 1:33 pm

2ndcrack wrote:That water was actually what was left in the boiler. The water I drained was much cleaner. I'll try soaking the deposits to see if they soften.

If the machine was stored over the winter with water in it, and it took a freeze, there could be other issues.

#16: Post by **ira** » November 13th, 2019, 1:50 pm

Measuring the resistance of one of the elements should answer the 110/220 question, though unless it's a 1 group it's almost guaranteed not going to be 110V. If you remove the control box and take the cover off you might find a transformer with a voltage rating on it. I would also guess from the schematic that the machine can be possible be wired for single or three phase so you need to check for that also. Only because if it's wired for 3 phase and you assume it's single it might be confusing.

Ira

#17: Post by **stuartmac** » November 22nd, 2019, 12:01 pm

The classe 8 can be configured in single or three phase but not 120v. Mine pulls 30 amp at 240v in my kitchen.

The wire may be white but it's not a neutral. If I remember correctly the element feeds from the safety relay are split into three, in three phase each gets a separate terminal and in single the third phase jumps onto one of the others, I will double check this when I get home

You can disable elements if you need it under 30a, it will work for home use it just slows it down.

January 21st, 2020, 12:19 pm

Status Update:

Thanks to all that provided input which enabled me to complete the addition of a new 220 line to the garage and continue the effort to restore the Classe 8. As of now the machine powers on, the boiler heats up, an abundance of steam is produced, but low flow is experienced when attempting to pull shots. To further complicate things I've managed to blow out/disable both group button lights & functionality when hooking up the Classe 8 DE Display while the machine was powered on. I no longer hear the water solenoid near the heating element click when the machine is turned on.

Below references that and includes all the other activities and tests I've performed to date in an attempt to resolve the pump motor failing to activate during boiler fill or shot pulling activities.

Tested the motor and verified that it works. This means that the capacitor works, the motor works, and the pump spins when off of the machine.

Descaled the boiler, the heat exchangers,all tubing, disassembled and scrubbed group heads, including jets, and flow meters.

Disassembled the Lucifer valves for both groups, water valve, etc. They engage when activated.

The water level tube was dissembled and cleaned up. The water level board displays the appropriate LED color when I add/discharge water or move it up or down.

My display continues to have issues, displaying nothing but squares when it chooses to display something. (No way of seeing an error code which would be extremely helpful in this situation)

When I try to pull shots it's a slow rate of pour and the pump never activates. The flow meters blink, and if I continue to pull shots the time to pour a single or double shot increases. No matter what the pump won't trigger.

I'm at a loss at this point.