*sigh* wrote:Alright, initial results from 2 layers of PTFE seem good so far. I'll watch it over the next couple of days until the silicone arrives then I'll probably take it apart and reinstall with new tape/silicone.

Good info, thanks. This repair is still new enough that any oddities and how to address them are very much worth knowing about. Thanks for sharing.

-Peter

Ok, I've overcome a few challenges with this steam wand repair. After torqueing down the connections a bit more, is now leaking out the mechanism itself. Looking at this post, it seems there is an o-ring in there as well. Peter confirmed and says this is an #8, which means I won't have this one on hand.

I didn't realize that once the valve is disassembled and the ball is out, the stem will just push into the valve, and then you can inspect the o-ring. Mine doesn't look great - I cleaned it up and put some silicone grease on it and it seems to have helped.



If anyone has a link to a #8, that'd be great too. I think these are my choices, and this appears to be the FDA approved 008 silicone o-ring (I use these for the 007 and 010 rings)

Also - while I'm buying the 008, are there any others I should pick up now for later to save on time and shipping? I have 007 and 010.

Here's what I was seeing before removing the stem, cleaning, and applying silicone grease.

One other note - if you're pulling this apart, the tools that fit the various pieces are a 6mm hex wrench for the inside, then a 13mm, 14mm, and 15mm wrench size for each of the other places a wrench fits.

Since I wasn't able to find a video that talked about how to remove the steam valve handle before doing this repair, I made a video with some pictures. I hope this helps someone out there. Also, the 008 o-ring was delivered, and replacing it fixed the leak on my valve stem. It is a bit of a pain to get the o-ring off, but otherwise straight forward. Thank you @pcrussel50 for all your helpful videos and replies.

Gang... I won't be posting much here for the time being, if ever. If anyone needs to reach me, I'm still very happy to help the amazing BDB community but you will have to reach me by commenting one of my youtube videos or reaching out to my gmail, using my HB user name at...

-Peter

thanks for the post - i am interested in the valve you are ordering can you send me the link? will it work with the 920XL?

Did your valve go bad? Just wondering if you've read the entire thread? It's serviceable if you're handy enough. If you still need to buy a new valve, here is the ebay link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/184826976560?e ... Sw6BpejvUV

Hey, this is Jim, I'm back! Not for long - just to report that my mod is still working! In almost 3 years hardly a leak. I tightened my valve in average every 3 months (3-5 cups daily). Beginning of 2021 I had to replace the Teflon tape. Instead of plumbing tape I used gas installation tape which is more robust. I'll report how that goes - potentially in 2 years time. By the way, my tool for adjusting the valve seal is a small adjustable spanner. Cheers.

DaveB wrote:Jim Vonkas made this post (his first) and one other on the same day in Dec 2019, and presumably rode off into the sunset with his leak-free steam valve - never to be heard from again (mike drop). The quoted post above raises a couple of questions:

• He mentions using Teflon tape on the threads for the short piece connected with the 6mm end, which previously had the threadlocker. Has anyone else done this, and is it really necessary?

• Regarding bolded text above (emphasis mine), Jim suggests the seals can be further tightened against the ball (as future leaks occur) by simply getting some sort of tool on the lower wrench flats (I believe they are 15mm) on the lower part of the valve while it is still fully mounted in the machine. Of course this assumes the threadlocker was previously broken on those threads. If this is actually doable, this would be a great convenience and time saver. It's worth noting that at least for me, removing the 2 horizontal screws and washers holding the valve in place is a bit of a hair-raising experience even with magnetic screwdriver, as it would be exceedingly easy to drop something into the abyss. Same goes for the lower hairpin clip. I'm trying to imagine what sort of tool one could use to get to those lower wrench flats in that confined space. I'm guessing a very stubby wrench. Has anyone been able to successfully pull this off?

I did drop the clips a couple of times and first time I had to turn it upside down to let it drop and the second time was able to pull it out with a dental pick so it is not the end of the world though I wasn't happy when it happened. I ended up buying similar replacement clips from home depot to keep as backup and also started using a piece of string to hold on to the clip. Will try a hemostat next time. I am also using a couple of rounds of plumbers tape because I felt like I had to replace the thread lock but on second thought I don't think it is needed as the seal has a washer and so forms a compression seal as long as you tighten it enough. Plumbers tape is really for NPT type tapered threads where the thread is providing the seal whereas these are BSP straight threads using washers for the seal. I also think you can tight it a reasonable bit after you flip the seals as long as you can reasonably turn the knob with a pair of pliers. The handle provides a lot of leverage. Also when I took mine out for the first time it seemed to be tightened all the way down.
I also ordered this ball valve to see how close of a fit it is to the stock one. Seems like the 1/4BSP valves are common for PC cooling solutions.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F8 ... 4MMF&psc=1

I think the order of fixes should be
1) Flip the seals and clean/polish the ball and put it back. I only cleaned the seals the first time and while it improved it started leaking again soon after. Also I was too afraid of overtightening it and may have under tightened. But flipping fixed it.
2) If #1 doesnt work, try new seals - link below(or maybe a washer)
https://www.amazon.com/IIVVERR-10mmx5mm ... B08LDXM4H4
3) If the above dont work then try a replacement valve (if we can source a stock 1/4 BSP valve then we won't be dependent on the stock valve which seems to be hard to get though for a price it seems like it can be sourced from Australia)
#1 worked for me and seems to work for most people.
I think the more you work on this machine the more comfortable you will be though it is probably too much to expect from most Breville owners. James Hoffman described Breville as a brand for people who want good coffee but don't want to become a hobbyist barista. If that is the case these folks certainly dont want to become hobbyist espresso machine technicians.

DaveB wrote:Jim Vonkas made this post (his first) and one other on the same day in Dec 2019, and presumably rode off into the sunset with his leak-free steam valve - never to be heard from again (mike drop). The quoted post above raises a couple of questions:

• He mentions using Teflon tape on the threads for the short piece connected with the 6mm end, which previously had the threadlocker. Has anyone else done this, and is it really necessary?

• Regarding bolded text above (emphasis mine), Jim suggests the seals can be further tightened against the ball (as future leaks occur) by simply getting some sort of tool on the lower wrench flats (I believe they are 15mm) on the lower part of the valve while it is still fully mounted in the machine. Of course this assumes the threadlocker was previously broken on those threads. If this is actually doable, this would be a great convenience and time saver. It's worth noting that at least for me, removing the 2 horizontal screws and washers holding the valve in place is a bit of a hair-raising experience even with magnetic screwdriver, as it would be exceedingly easy to drop something into the abyss. Same goes for the lower hairpin clip. I'm trying to imagine what sort of tool one could use to get to those lower wrench flats in that confined space. I'm guessing a very stubby wrench. Has anyone been able to successfully pull this off?