Whiterock214 wrote:Peter, many thanks. I will order the Parker ZB09 Valve & solenoid today ($50). Thanks for the tips on how to swap out the pump. I plan to do both.
Cheers,
Richard

Also, KEEP the PTFE discs that come with the stock Olab solenoid and re use them. They are one part that is actually waaay better than the o-rings that sit under the Parker solenoid. If you lose them, order up some 9mm OD PTFE washers off eBay and use those.

-Peter

Richard... as promised...

The elbow for the Parker solenoid


The barb fitting for the elbow

Peter

Peter, many thanks. Solenoid should be with me by e/o month.
I have ordered a new plastic OPV as well ($7). I found a reference to a brass OPV but it seemed to only be readily available in Australia (Expobar E614). Is there a US equivalent?
BTW, any idea what kind of glue they use to hold the thermal cut out in place? Hopefully something I can pick up at Home Depot.
Thanks again,
Richard

My BES will be out of warranty in two months (unless the last repair has extended it, I'm not sure I will ask about the 6 months extensions after repairs that I think I read about somewhere ).

What would be a budget for a good set of spare parts to keep home? The intent would be to avoid to sent it out for repair and minimize the downtime by not having to source parts when you need them and preventive maintanance. $100? $200?

Whiterock214 wrote:Peter, many thanks. Solenoid should be with me by e/o month.
I have ordered a new plastic OPV as well ($7). I found a reference to a brass OPV but it seemed to only be readily available in Australia (Expobar E614). Is there a US equivalent?
BTW, any idea what kind of glue they use to hold the thermal cut out in place? Hopefully something I can pick up at Home Depot.
Thanks again,
Richard

LOL, bless your heart for being such a go-getter. But you're trying much too hard and it's leading you to much more difficult solutions...

-First of all, the plastic OPV rarely fails. I've never had one fail. Nor have I heard of a confirmed case outside of myself of one failing. Now mind... mine nearly "failed" when I took it apart one day and a little internal part of it flew out and got lost. But the next morning I found it (whew!) and put it back and all was good again.

-The reason to go with a brass OPV is noise suppression. A brass necked OPV in conjunction with a brass necked pump makes for a much more solid, damped, and quiet operation. For many people, myself included, that was worth it. This is the brass OPV I used. It is from a supply house in Oregon. But you can probably get it at any well stocked espresso supply. This is the brass necked pump. $23 Prime on the 'Zon. But again, it's an industry standard part and if you didn't want to do business with Amazon, you should be able to get it any respectable espresso supply house.

-You don't need any glue to hold the thermal cutout in place. Just slip it into the pocket until it's firmly seated and you will be good to go

This BDB stuff is much easier than you think. Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

HTH

===

Moka 1 Cup wrote: What would be a budget for a good set of spare parts to keep home? The intent would be to avoid to sent it out for repair and minimize the downtime by not having to source parts when you need them and preventive maintanance. $100? $200?

- a baggie of silicone, #007 o-rings: roughly $2.00

- group collar inserts $7 plus shipping. not everybody needs these, some do, some don't. If you are easy on jacking your portafilter in place, these might not ever wear out. Still, you never know, so I would get some. You can probably order them from Breville as long as you give them a part number, and are willing to agree to not hold them responsible if you hurt yourself or your machine. They are easy to replace. It is an external job. You don't even need to take the cover off.

- solenoid $35 plus shipping. Because Breville uses very few proprietary parts, I use a different, higher quality solenoid. It cost me nearly twice as much. So hopefully it lasts at least twice as long.

- you might want to have a cigar lighter or a creme brûlée's torch or a propane torch in case you need a little heat to separate your steam ball valve when it eventually develops a drip. Sometimes just 10-20 minutes in boiling water is enough. Or a candle flame. You are just softening some adhesive here, not freeing up rust. A propane torch is way overkill though so use sparingly. Sometimes it take no heat at all to separate the halve of the ball valve.

-some silicone lubricant This is the expensive food grade stuff. It is more than you will need for the rest of your life. BUT you can get the same stuff which is chemically the same, without the food grade cert at a swimming pool supply or scuba supply.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote: ....
-Peter

That is a very reasonable list. Thank you very much.
I still have those o-rings that I purchased last year, I think I had read one of your posts in which you mentioned them. I'll order the silicone and other parts from ereplacementparts tomorrow, if you think that something else is needed I'll add it to the shopping cart.

If you want to split hairs and go super geek, get your #007 o-rings in AFLAS. According to Jake, and the documentation, it's better suited to steam than the silicone ones Breville uses. I have silicone ones because I didn't know about AFLAS at the time. And my bag of 100 will last me the rest of my life anyway.

-Peter

I ordered those parts. They are a special order so it would take up to 20 days for the solenoid before shipping, I would not want to wait that time in case of a failure. Thank you again.


(by the way, this is a 0.5 Oz NSF 61 certified silicone https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Silic ... 000DZFUPC/ that I use when replacing the seals on my faucets)

Thanks for all the help. The pump fixed the issue. Back to full pressure. The pump came with the little clip and I used that to hold the thermal cut out.

Thanks for the link to the brass OPV. I saw little technical value in getting one - I just liked the idea of a little more refined noise!

I considered the OPV + pump + solenoid replacement as a kind of 100,000 service. For <$100 all in I should (hope to) get several more years of service (famous last words). I could of course have bought a new machine, but where is the fun in that?

Richard

Whiterock214 wrote:Thanks for all the help. The pump fixed the issue. Back to full pressure. The pump came with the little clip and I used that to hold the thermal cut out.

Richard

Well done!

Now that you have espresso flowing again, and you clearly have the skills for the kind of repairs to keep her running pretty much indefinitely.

At the risk of sounding like re-using paper towels... if you are "maker-minded", go seek out the check valve parts that failed in your old pump. It is not a Breville pump. It is an industry standard pump. Shouldn't be more than a few dollars for the service kit. Replace the broken bits, and then your old pump should be ready for service again sometime down the road. There are threads here about servicing and diagnosing the Ulka pump.

-Peter