I've browsed around this site for the past few days and while I have found a lot of useful information I also have come to realize just how much I DON'T know as well.

I bought a used Rancilio (2 yrs old) about 10 years ago and used it in my restaurant but very minimally - most of the use was for myself. I closed my restaurant 6 years ago and the machine has been stored since that time. I'll admit that I didn't know anything about routine maintenance like that I see here on this site. I thought that I was doing well just to keep it wiped down.

My experience with espresso to this point was limited to walking into the bars in Italy and ordering one - period.

A few months ago I decided to unpack my old friend. I brought it into my kitchen, set it up, filled the water reservoir and turned it on. When the pressure was up I flipped my brew switch. I got a much louder noise than I remembered and only a tablespoon or two of liquid before it stopped on its own. The frother and hot water valve work just fine. They still operate but I get NO water for coffee.

After reading some of the posts on this forum I was encouraged enough to remove a few screws and clean a few screens and such. (NOT bold enough to dissamble as I see some here have done) No change.

I googled a repair person near me and when I called to inquire about maintenance they didn't know the brand name (maybe not uncommon) and their website gave me the impression that they service a lot of the powder/mix machines that I see in hospitals and gas stations. (Not feeling too confident)

Obviously, if this is something minor that I could perform myself I would prefer to do so but I fear that I will get the machine apart and be stuck from that point. I feel so "under-educated" in that I'm still not quite sure what something that seems so simple and vital as back-flushing is.

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Or - possibly someone knows of a local repair expert and/or maybe someplace a lover of good coffee could go to learn the intricacies of making her own at home and maintaining her machine properly.

Thanks for taking the time to read my overly verbose post and, hopefully, for responding.

Greetings from a fellow newbie! I am surprised you haven't gotten any responses, hopefully they are carefully crafting their advice.

It sounds like your machine needs a cleaning. While machines such as yours are built very sturdy to hold up to heavy use (and sometimes abuse), I would not dead-head the vibe pump against a blockage for long periods. If it isn't moving water it is likely to overheat stop vibe-ing altogether.

Although my approach would be to start dimantling/cleaning/studying the thing until I understood and resolved the blockage, you might be better off finding someone who works on these regularly.

Because the repair place you contacted had never heard of Rancilio, I would say you should look elsewhere. Maybe go to your local espresso bar and ask them who does their maintenance?

Once you get the thing up and running, I think you can avoid such problems down the road with regular use and simple maintenance.



Really this post is just a glorified bump, as there isn't much good advice in it... but I wish you the best of luck with your S24!

Thanks Tedzap for the bump.

I'm not having much luck at all finding anyone that can help me. I have started using the steam wand on my milk after I brew my espresso in my Alessi stove top maker. I don't think using the steam wand will adversely affect the blockage but maybe I should stop heating it up altogether???

I asked at my local shops and got nowhere, which really surprised me.

I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised at one shop in particular since I went in and ordered a cappuccino before I started asking for referral names.
The young lady behind the counter showed me the monster styro cup and asked if I wanted that. I said I would really prefer a normal sized real cup/mug if she had one.
"Do you want chocolate on that?" ---- "No, thanks, just froth the milk"
"Do you want cinnamon on that?" ---- "Nope - just the milk"
"Do you want nutmeg on that?" ---- "Really, I just want the frothed milk and I'll be good"

What I got was a 16oz mug with a pull of espresso and a ball of milk as big as a cantaloupe on it - whipped to the consistency of a stiff cream --- and a straw.