Owner experience with Bezzera Strega - Page 134

#1331: Post by **Billys79** » May 6th, 2021, 2:45 am

Hi I think I have some issues with my pump.I have my strega 5 years.This happens once in a 2-3 months.When I open my machine the pump starts working a few seconds...not always.After I pull down my lever it doesn't work so normal...it's making a bit more noisy pump and it's working much more than usual to bring the water in my portafilter.The last time I put some citric acid to see if it's working better and it did..but now after one month almost it did it again....Is it the pump or should I check something else?

#1332: Post by **another_jim** » May 6th, 2021, 11:46 am

The boiler refill will make the pump run a few seconds at startup. That's normal. If the pump is slow at the beginning of the shot; it might be the OPV (over pressure valve) or you may need to replace it -- five years is about average for these pump's life.

#1333: Post by **Catherwood** » May 6th, 2021, 11:29 pm

Had the Strega in for repair and now the drip tray doesn't lock to the the body as before. Can't figure out how it connected with the case. Would someone please explain how it's done or direct me to a source that can show me what to do? Contacted the dealer where I purchased it and they couldn't help me.

May 9th, 2021, 3:25 pm

Sorry, but I am just posting to say that I have looked at my setup and I see nothing obvious.

Right now the left (my left) side does nothing, but the right side closes as if there is a very weak magnet acting when it closes. (I didn't see any magnet.)

However, I can change the 'strength' of closing by adjusting the level of the machine. For example, if I extend the two feet at the back of the machine, then the 'strength' disappears. On the other hand, if I extend just the front two feet, then the 'strength' increases.

Perhaps the machine is now in a slightly different location, or, if the machine was previously levelled, then maybe the service technician screwed all the feet in all the way?

Hope this helps. Good luck!

#1335: Post by **DanoM** » May 22nd, 2021, 2:06 pm

Catherwood wrote:Had the Strega in for repair and now the drip tray doesn't lock to the the body as before. Can't figure out how it connected with the case. Would someone please explain how it's done or direct me to a source that can show me what to do? Contacted the dealer where I purchased it and they couldn't help me.

Let's see if I can articulate this issue as I've had it happen to me:
On my Strega when fitting the case "shroud" and fastening the screws it's important to fit the drip tray at the same time. If you pull that shroud all the way forward when screwing it in place you can prevent the drip tray from reaching the point of "locking" in place. It works fine without the drip tray clicking into place though.
You can use an allen wrench and loosen up the shroud, fit the drip tray and then re-tighten the shroud again.

Hopefully that's your issue.

#1336: Post by **BOA** » July 31st, 2021, 11:47 am

I had the same issue but a little worst.

I had to replace my heating element because it finally popped a fuse every time I turned the machine on.

Your heating element is starting to fail the sign is burning/melting connectors from drawing more current.

I ordered a new heater and gasket and replaced my heater. Not a big deal.

Now works great again.

I have had my Strega for 10 years. So far so good.

zara wrote:well, after five years my machine tried to immolate itself. As the machine was warming up I noticed an electrical burning smell (kind of an astringent burnt popcorn and plastic smell). Shut her down and was able to get under the hood today. Kind of scary considering many of us have these machines on outlet timers and leave them unattended

Found the relay behind the power switch to be the culprit as well as some scorching on one of the wire leads to the boiler.
Has anyone seen anything similar?
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from happier times lol...
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September 10th, 2021, 6:37 am

Hello I'm doing some deep research before pulling the trega on the strega , is the very tight portafilter fit issue resolved on new machines ?
Thank you for your time

October 12th, 2021, 9:43 pm

Sorry it's my first time hearing the problem.
My Strega is the 2nd version, and I have replaced the gasket with Cafelat E61 red (taller) which has made a super tight portafilter.
As many of the members here, I also overdose, and overdosing also requires tight portafilter X gasket.

Just go with it! Awesome machine

#1339: Post by **teh** » November 5th, 2021, 7:12 am

Hi everyone! New Bezzera Strega owner here. Finally got my machine the other day. Still trying to figure everything out...

I have a question concerning the opv. I have seen it discussed here quite a bit especially in the earlier pages of this thread. I have not been 100% satisfied with the espresso I produce (manly lacking a bit of mouth feel and texture and also crema I think...)

I have read about some of you talking about the pump switching off after a few seconds during pre infusion. Mine does not do that. Instead, after a few seconds the opv opens up and pushes out quite a steady stream of water. Shortly after the first few drops appear and when the lever is released the flow from the opv stops. I have shot a quick video of my extraction to illustrate.

I use the standard double basket with 16g in aiming for a 1:2 ratio.

Extraction starts around 1:15

Is this something I should be worried about? Could this be down to user error? Would love some feedback.

Thanks a lot in advance.

EDIT: Looking at the video I realised that my shot took quite a long time. I have gone back and used a little coarser ground which improved the time but did not change anything about the opv and surprisingly tasted worse then that very long extranction from the video...

November 5th, 2021, 10:07 am

Your machine is operating normally in my eyes.

What people do is lift the lever a bit to stop the pump.

For example, once the group is (almost) full of water the pump's noise will slightly change. This happens just before the OPV opens. As soon as you hear that change in noise, carefully lift the lever just enough to turn off the pump and carefully (use both hands) hold the lever in that position. Once you see a drop, then release the lever carefully - using both hands.

You can further control pre-infusion pressure by lifting the lever (just enough to turn off the pump and holding the lever there until drips) earlier in the process, e.g., based on pump noise in your video, somewhere in between 1:28 - 1:33 in your video. The lever will grab in different positions depending on when you lift as a result. I would typically lift at about 1:31.

In a nutshell, the Strega is an instrument. You control the temperature with flushing and the pressure with the lever. Just like a musical instrument, there's a learning curve before the instrument - and the espresso - sings.

Good luck!

ETA: For example, this morning I was pulling a very light roast. To get a high extraction temperature, I did not flush the group before pulling. (I typically only flush the group for traditional Italian-style blends, but that's my taste.) To get a low pre-infusion pressure, I lifted the lever to turn off the pump just as the pump noise started to change. (Again, my preference. Someone else might prefer the taste arising from letting the pump pre-infuse longer, and thus leading to a higher pressure.)

ETA2: Have you seen the three videos in this thread? Bezzera Strega - The Movie