Lelit Bianca's flow control leakage causes a bigger problem
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Yousef13
Hello
I tried to clean the mushroom in the flow control in my friend's Lelit Bianca, it has been more than a year since he cleaned it so I tried but when I turned on the machine there was water leakage from the top, I recorded it :
I don't know what caused it, but as I try to re-install the flow control, something else happened, and being me I turned on the machine again and recorded it : what to think is the problem that caused the leakage? and is the leakage responsible for the other scary problem?
Thank you
I tried to clean the mushroom in the flow control in my friend's Lelit Bianca, it has been more than a year since he cleaned it so I tried but when I turned on the machine there was water leakage from the top, I recorded it :
I don't know what caused it, but as I try to re-install the flow control, something else happened, and being me I turned on the machine again and recorded it : what to think is the problem that caused the leakage? and is the leakage responsible for the other scary problem?
Thank you
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Giampiero
Such leakage can only be caused by an improper installation, did you forgot some ptfe gasket, did you tighten correctly the valve assembly?
About the fire cracker, it's well know that water and electricity require..... a separation,
Does the boom happen immediately once you switch on the machine or after a moment when the pid get power?
For sure is better check if the water flooded some electric component first, i don't know where are the SSR ( solid state relay) inside the Bianca, try to locate them and see if they are wet, or maybe has been just a coincidence and the electric problem is not even related with the leakage, try to give us more info about your operations.
About the fire cracker, it's well know that water and electricity require..... a separation,
Does the boom happen immediately once you switch on the machine or after a moment when the pid get power?
For sure is better check if the water flooded some electric component first, i don't know where are the SSR ( solid state relay) inside the Bianca, try to locate them and see if they are wet, or maybe has been just a coincidence and the electric problem is not even related with the leakage, try to give us more info about your operations.
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Yousef13 (original poster)
I checked if water damaged other parts, and I found something :
the heating element seems to be damaged, but how can I know what caused it ?
Thank you for your reply
Thank you for your reply
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HH
It would be helpful to know a little more about what you mean when you say 'I tried to clean the mushroom in the flow control on my friend's Bianca'. Can you talk us through what you did? Have you done this before?
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JRising
- Team HB
I'm not terribly concerned about the element, I fear for the condition of the electronics after making them do that.
Luckily the elements are powered by relays in a Bianca, so the Gicar may have survived that skit. If you're serious about wanting to make that into a safely usable machine, I suggest that you have someone who knows what they're doing check it over completely. They'll need to disassemble the grouphead and reassemble it properly to un-do whatever was done to make it flood the machine. Then test components in both heating circuits one by one to ensure they can be operated safely. Then, if it seems safe, the machine will need to be thoroughly tested to make sure it works.
Luckily the elements are powered by relays in a Bianca, so the Gicar may have survived that skit. If you're serious about wanting to make that into a safely usable machine, I suggest that you have someone who knows what they're doing check it over completely. They'll need to disassemble the grouphead and reassemble it properly to un-do whatever was done to make it flood the machine. Then test components in both heating circuits one by one to ensure they can be operated safely. Then, if it seems safe, the machine will need to be thoroughly tested to make sure it works.
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Yousef13 (original poster)
HH wrote:It would be helpful to know a little more about what you mean when you say 'I tried to clean the mushroom in the flow control on my friend's Bianca'. Can you talk us through what you did? Have you done this before?
I have done it a lot of times, but I just realized that this time I forgot the ptfe gasket
There is no one in a 100 miles radius that can operate the machine let alone disassemble it, so unfortunately, I am my best chance which is concerningJRising wrote:I'm not terribly concerned about the element, I fear for the condition of the electronics after making them do that.
Luckily the elements are powered by relays in a Bianca, so the Gicar may have survived that skit. If you're serious about wanting to make that into a safely usable machine, I suggest that you have someone who knows what they're doing check it over completely. They'll need to disassemble the grouphead and reassemble it properly to un-do whatever was done to make it flood the machine. Then test components in both heating circuits one by one to ensure they can be operated safely. Then, if it seems safe, the machine will need to be thoroughly tested to make sure it works.
As i said, I forgot the PTFE gasket after cleaning the mushroom. Is that enough to just replace the heating element and try again?
If it comes to it, I can disassemble the machine and check the part to the best of my knowledge, if anything went wrong I will ship it to someone who will probably charge 25% of the machine price for fixing it
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JRising
- Team HB
Okay, then what's wrong with it now?
I don't see anything in the most recent video claiming that there's something wrong with the element, but I also don't see how that element is being tested. It it powered up and not heating? It appears to just be connected to the machine's normal wiring. Is that little drip of black near the connector on one side of the element concerning?
Do you own a multi-meter? Have you checked voltage across the element with the machine on? Have you checked resistance across the element with the machine unplugged? Have you checked for ground faults? Does the LED on the SSR illuminate?
What is wrong with the machine? What is working, what isn't?
I don't see anything in the most recent video claiming that there's something wrong with the element, but I also don't see how that element is being tested. It it powered up and not heating? It appears to just be connected to the machine's normal wiring. Is that little drip of black near the connector on one side of the element concerning?
Do you own a multi-meter? Have you checked voltage across the element with the machine on? Have you checked resistance across the element with the machine unplugged? Have you checked for ground faults? Does the LED on the SSR illuminate?
What is wrong with the machine? What is working, what isn't?
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laupetre
I think it simply cracked and leaks water. It happened to me that it cracked inside and the element was heating all the time just by grounding with the water. You might have to replace the Solid State Relays as those are the ones that power the heating elements. The controller should be just fine, it's isolated.
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