Hey guys,

I have a new issues with my Bianca. I can no longer steam milk to a glossy paint like finish. I have no idea what happened, but I am now getting lots of bubbles and really watery steam. This didn't used to be an issue till about a week ago. Unless I suddenly unlearned to make microform...

Any feedback is much appreciate!

Firstly: If the steam tip is not the significant pressure drop between boiler and milk then you'll get a lot of water returning to liquid in the steam wand and really watery steam when it finally gets out from the tip. When there is something else creating a pressure drop before the tip it is usually something stuck in the valve, or the rubbery valve-face disintegrating in the valve and plugging up the ball-joint or the no-burn tubing. If there is such a blockage you probably are also noticing a lack of steam volume and velocity at the tip.

Alternatively: If the steam is far more watery than it used to be but the boiler pressure gauge shows the same pressure, then the boiler could be overfilling. Checking the probe would be a first step...

Lastly: If the boiler pressure gauge no longer reads what it used to, it could be that your boiler temperature is incorrect. If I'm not wrong, Biancas still have 2 NTC sensors on the steam boiler. they're in the same container so they should both read the same. If they're different one is incorrect. If it's only barely incorrect raising the temp might be good enough.

slybarman wrote:Try a different milk or brand of milk. Could be the milk itself.

It doesn't matter which milk I use, the results Are the same.

JRising wrote:Firstly: If the steam tip is not the significant pressure drop between boiler and milk then you'll get a lot of water returning to liquid in the steam wand and really watery steam when it finally gets out from the tip. When there is something else creating a pressure drop before the tip it is usually something stuck in the valve, or the rubbery valve-face disintegrating in the valve and plugging up the ball-joint or the no-burn tubing. If there is such a blockage you probably are also noticing a lack of steam volume and velocity at the tip.

Alternatively: If the steam is far more watery than it used to be but the boiler pressure gauge shows the same pressure, then the boiler could be overfilling. Checking the probe would be a first step...

Lastly: If the boiler pressure gauge no longer reads what it used to, it could be that your boiler temperature is incorrect. If I'm not wrong, Biancas still have 2 NTC sensors on the steam boiler. they're in the same container so they should both read the same. If they're different one is incorrect. If it's only barely incorrect raising the temp might be good enough.

Thanks for the detailed information. I will check everything you suggested once I fire up my machine tomorrow.

I have a feeling it's the steam wand or the plastic tubing inside that is the problem. Should I disassembled the steam want ans check first?

Honestly, not really. I have had things going on that took precedence to fixing the issue. I may have to take out the anti burn tubing.

[quote="If I'm not wrong, Biancas still have 2 NTC sensors on the steam boiler. they're in the same container so they should both read the same. If they're different one is incorrect.[/quote]

How would I read both of these? Is there a function in the PID I have missed?

Ohm meter. They're NTC sensors, negative temperature coefficient semiconductors...
As they get hotter, their resistance gets lower. Since they're both in the same container 3 inches from each other, they should always have very similar resistances when they're disconnected from the controller.

The superfluous one is the one embedded in the level probe. if you follow its red wires, you'll see that the connector is just hanging there.