Hey fellow coffee lovers,

first off i would like to apologise for yet another, how to empty boilers and what to do when machine is left off but all i could find was preping machine for a shipping or moving etc.

So here is my questions, what do you think is the smartest and possibly the least hassle method to do when leaving machine being unused?
In two weeks i am leaving for a long trip and my Duetto III wont be used for at least a 3-5months..

I know the best thing would be probably completely emptying the boilers and disconnecting all the tubes to really get everything out or even better unplug the boiler itself and such it all out with a external pump (dont have one)..

My wife will be home, is it much better to ask her to just fire up machine once a week to fully heat up purge a 200ml of water thru brew boiler and open up a tap water knob to refil the steam boiler or is it too much of a work without any real effect?

Please dont laugh, but i have read somewhere that i could pour in a 1L of vodka and let it pump thru all the system (both boilers tubing etc) and it would prevent bacteria and scale to build or grow.

What are your thoughts on this and please let me know what would you do if it was your machine..

Thanks a lot guys!

I've never had to do this, but we were told to do this if we ever went away for an extended vacation. Since your machine will not be left in a freezing situation, you don't need to drain it. Just give it a good cleaning, descale it and unplug it. When you return, run through it about a litre of water mixed with a cup of white vinegar, followed by a litre of water to flush well. Then you should be good to go.

If you really want to drain the boilers, there is a link on the resources page to a how to video.

Gaius wrote:My wife will be home, is it much better to ask her to just fire up machine once a week to fully heat up purge a 200ml of water thru brew boiler and open up a tap water knob to refil the steam boiler or is it too much of a work without any real effect?

You still have time to teach your wife how to use the machine. Why not do that? Maybe by the time your are back she will meet you with a nice cup of espresso?

Gaius wrote:Please dont laugh, but i have read somewhere that i could pour in a 1L of vodka and let it pump thru all the system (both boilers tubing etc) and it would prevent bacteria and scale to build or grow.

That's a fresh idea - make espresso with vodka instead of water. Let us know the results.

Any more thoughts guys, would really appreciate it!

Depends on your water. If it is filtered and not hard, I just drain the steam boiler and leave the brew. When returning after ~3-4 months per year, fire it up, a few purges of the brew boiler with the steam boiler refilled it works great. To drain the steam boiler just turn off the machine from a heated state, and open the water wand till it is done...empty except for a few drops....Never used vinegar, etc and mine is one of the first Duettos ~9yrs old and when looking in the grouphead at the upper (mushroom) chambers it is still very pristine...
Draining the brew is a pain and it is easily flushed....
When firing up leave the steam boiler element off till filled....
Again, what's your water source. Ours is very good water...
The other thing is to do the backflush cleaning with detergent, remove and clean the portafillter screen prior to decommissioning...

I rebuilt a machine, single group, that had water in it for 10 years. It drained out clear since it was boiled and under pressure. Vinegar kills bacteria but also tastes like vinegar, don't use it