LUCCA M58 - Possible Issue (?)

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Zanderfy
Posts: 149
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by Zanderfy »

Hi guys,

I've been wrestling with my machine for the last week or so, dealing with inconsistencies, oscillations, and overall erratic behavior (pertaining mainly to the brew boiler's behavior). Importantly, the subjective observations I've gathered are a concern, but I am only one data point. I only make note of these after 4 months of consistent-enough behavior: something has changed, and in response I am paying closer attention. I spent the better part (read: all) of my Saturday attempting to remedy the situation myself.

I have tried F/C, factory reset, 15 minute pauses between 1°F increments, warming flushes, cooling flushes, hard unplugs, PID parameter adjustment (to match other users' recommended settings), only touching I1, only touching B1, only touching E1, styrofoam cup temperature tests in F, styrofoam cup temperature tests in C, 15 amp, and 20 amp modes. Here are my findings:

Flow rate: EricS recommended a test of the machine's flow rate (sans portafilter). Over three 30-second tests, an average of 204.8 ml was pulled. This is in line with recommended flow rates for espresso machines (~475-525 ml/min).

20 amp mode: consistently undershooting brew boiler PID set value (SV). Unable to hold temperature, constant heating element pulsing (even when display matches the SV). Only occasionally does SV hold with the heating element light off. Styrofoam cup readings (C and F) measure 6°F below SV.

15 amp mode: consistently overshooting brew boiler PID SV. Once display hits SV, heating element pulses again, bringing display to a maximum of 4°F above SV. Styrofoam cup readings (C and F) are 6°F below SV, and upwards of 8°F below D.

In both situations, a 5-10 second flush provokes further instability (even with display matching SV), with the machine unable to reach SV again for between 3-4 minutes. "Reach" is used loosely, as the display value rarely rests properly at the SV.

I have had this machine for 4 months, and have only recently encountered these issues. The only thing I can think of that has changed is that first accidental activation of the factory reset, which displays "PrS" on the PID. I believe that these issues only occurred after the PrS event, but correlation doesn't equal causation. Gil from Clive told me that there wasn't anything irreversible or damaging by pressing that sequence, but I am really at the end of my options without further guidance/others' experiences.