CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote: Yeah why. One of my best memories is watching an F something take off from a carrier under the Golden Gate Bridge. Not exactly quiet but great flying.

While a rotary is much nicer sounding than a vibe, it's still not as nice as a turbine. So I'm just as happy with the silence.

-Peter

pcrussell50 wrote:You could possibly do it by way of a relay to handle the current required to drive a rotary.

I thought of a relay after the fact Waiting for a bunch of T435T-600 triacs coming from China and a vendor here in the States to replace the dead one. I guess I could go without it by hooking up the rotary pump to a separate power source and its own switch, but having it is great as well knowing that the Ulka pump will stop whenever the fill level sensor detects water.

AT...

I disconnected and taped the power leads going to the Ulka pump, when I went to the rotary pump. Of course, there is a second Ulka pump, that is solely for filling the steam boiler. I left that pump alone, and keep a little bit of water in the reservoir so that the steam filling system can work on it's own, without my intervention.

-Peter

Hi Peter, I forgot to mention using the Ulka pump for the initial fill of the brew boiler (having the fill sensor to stop the Ulka pump at certain fill level) as I guess I could use the rotary pump to fill the brew boiler, but I do not know to which level to stop. At one point the rotary pump filled so much water in the brew boiler that (while boiling) there was so much pressure in the boiler that the hot water was being pushed back through the exchange tube in the steam boiler.

This is not a worry, actually. The brew boiler cannot be over filled. When the pump runs to pull a shot, the brew boiler is automatically filled to capacity. No matter if it is the Ulka or rotary. When you are not pulling a shot, the de energized solenoid closes flow to the group and further flow is not possible no matter how long you run the pump. Power the solenoid with the pump running and that is flow begins through the group.

-Peter

I appreciate all the comments and info in this thread.

I have a breville oracle 980 that I might need to change the pump on again. I changed it out about 2 years ago. Now I am having a gurgling back flow issue that I am trying to pinpoint the problem. I came across this thread and am wondering if the same mod can be done to the oracle. The water flow is essentially the same.
I see some mention of possibly wiring the external pump in directly to the leads from the ulka pump. Possibly using some sort of relay that make it so that the 'brain' of the oracle doesn't recognize that a different pump is being operated.
This way the front end user experience would be exactly the same, except of course much quieter because I can place the pump directly behind my wall where there is already filter water and power (furnace/utility room). I have family members that only want to push buttons to get a coffee when they are half awake in the morning, so essentially I would have to set it up that they can still operate it the same way.
Can someone tell me why no OPV is required in this set up? Can it be eliminated? Assuming I can set the pressure of the incoming line correctly using a valve and pressure gauge (which is one of the things lacking on the oracle, no pressure gauge)

Has anyone tried this with an oracle?

athoangphan wrote:Hi Peter, I forgot to mention using the Ulka pump for the initial fill of the brew boiler (having the fill sensor to stop the Ulka pump at certain fill level) as I guess I could use the rotary pump to fill the brew boiler, but I do not know to which level to stop. At one point the rotary pump filled so much water in the brew boiler that (while boiling) there was so much pressure in the boiler that the hot water was being pushed back through the exchange tube in the steam boiler.

Hi athoangphan

Did you ever end up getting the parts you needed to get your machine running again. Did you have any technical know how to know what type of relay system might work to wire the external rotary pump directly to the oracle? So that operation is the same. Still would use power from a wall ply to actually power the rotary pump. But I'm curious about a relay on/off system that might work. Why was the triac failing when you did it?

Hi Emeed, I did get the parts to get my machine running again. It was the triac for the brew pump that I had to replace. As far as the relay goes, I bought this used relay and it's working well, https://www.ebay.com/itm/184027202645. You just need to get a relay that can handle a good range for input (90V-240V) and a good range for control. To wire the relay, I took the hot and neutral from the ulka pump and connect them to the input of the relay. The other side of the relay I took the hot from the main power cable of the machine and connect it to the 2/T1 and I connect the hot wire of the rotary pump to the 1/L1 (L for load). As far as the rotary pump's neutral and ground wires go, I connect them directly to the neutral and ground wires of machine's main power cable. So the relay is essentially working as a power switch, once it receives power signal from the PBC telling the pump to run/stop, it connects the 2/T1 to the 1/L1 completing the circuit for the rotary pump to run. Hope this is clear enough.

Couple of others parts that you will need are 4mm or 5/32 inch check valve and other necessary plumbing connectors. I also bought this relay, but I have not used it, https://www.ebay.com/itm/313297292418

I am currently away from home on my internship, but the next opportunity to be home, I'll take pictures of my rotary setup in my BDB and upload to HB.

Have you (or anyone) attempted/considered to install a drainage tube for the drip tray?