Hi all,

I've owned my 2003 Millennium Europiccola about a month now (so I am definitely a beginner). After buying, I had it all apart to replace seals. Up until this morning, it has been running flawlessly. I've run about 1.5 pounds of coffee through it since the rebuild.

So, after this morning pull, the heater clicked on as usual. But it never shut off! I first noticed the element making noise similar to a cold start. Shortly afterwards, the pressure release was steaming away. I checked the boiler wall temperature and it was 255F. Normally it is spot on 242F with equates to 0.75-0.8bar. I shut it down and now wondering if the Pstat is toast.

My water is on the soft side of neutral. After only a month, I would be very surprised if scale built up on anything. I have not descaled yet and was planning to inspect any day now. Based on what I have read, with water that is slightly soft as mine, I thought I might get away with only a yearly descale. Guess we will see . . .

I recall reading that scale can clog the tube to the Pstat. The boiler wasn't full of scale a month ago when I rebuilt it (including the boiler bottom oring) and the tube looked rather open. However, there was very minor flaking scale in very sparse areas of the boiler that appeared left from a long ago scaling issue that wasn't thoroughly cleaned, but cleaned ever since. I thought I cleaned it all out, but perhaps a flake or so remained and is now clogging my tube to the Pstat. I plan to open it up this weekend and check.

All this said, I have not tried to restart the unit up from a cold start. Maybe the issue will clear itself. But I'm not sure I would trust it, so it will come apart this weekend.

My questions to you folks are:
1) How often do these Pstats last?
2) Do they typically fail "on"?
3) What fails, the switch contacts, diaphragm or something else?
4) Have any of you added some sort of filter/screen to the Pstat tube entrance to mitigate anything from clogging it? I'd be interested in such a method of filtering. Seems to me this tube opening on the boiler floor is vulnerable to crud getting into it.

Any comments welcome.

They're about $65usd new to buy or you can try repairing it.
https://www.espressocare.com/products/l ... nes/10/P30
https://www.espressoparts.com/pressures ... ver-models

Franceso's site below re PS repair.
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pa ... to_eng.htm

Thankyou Robert. I have done business with both suppliers for the orings and other parts that were needed when I rebuilt this machine in September. If my tube is not clogged, I am not going to hesitate with ordering another Pstat. But if I have to do this, I would like to know what caused the failure and if there is something I should do to prevent another failure.

My main concern is possible scale that may still be flaking in the boiler. Perhaps I should do a better job at removing it. Plus, I think a filter on this tube may help.

I'm not sure I would trust a repair (by myself) to the actual Pstat. If the switch fails, I would assume the diapham is far along its life as well. Not to mention the scale and crud that could be inside the unit. I'd go new.

Ok, I done some searching and this is a very common problem. I probably should be ready to go out and get a new Pstat.
Tonight, I filled the boiler and turned on the machine. The boiler temp went to 245F and Pstat shut down the heat. Then, temps dropped to 238F and the Pstat turned the heater back on. Then, as time went on the boiler settled to the normal 242F. SO, it fixed itself. But I think, based on many threads that I should take it out and give it a good cleaning with white vinegar. So that will be tomorrows task (after coffee!).

So, has anyone put a Jaeger Pstat in a La Pavoni? Was it any more reliable??

I've had a Jaeger PSTAT fail this way too. I descaled it using 50/50 white vinegar/water, and it works fine again. The use of white vinegar instead of citric acid ensures that another hard precipitant doesn't replace the limescale.

Gary,
I'm not certain what is failing. I am speculating that it is scale or other crud in the unit or tube. But it could also be a micro switch that is going bad. Could be contacts getting fused together due to increased contact resistance and getting hot. But, based on a LOT of folks posting with similar issues, my bet is the white vinegar will do the trick for a while.

So, did the Jaeger fit and work in the La Pavoni? I'm sure scale will kill any Pstat. I'd actually like a big Sirai in my La Pavoni due to its longevity. But I bet it won't fit.

Thanks for the feedback!

The Jaeger's a tighter fit. La Pavoni pressurestats work fine. The pressurestat isn't the key to controlling group temperature anyway. That's where thermometry helps and the use of half pumps to heat the group with the machine idling at 0.8 bar.

Yes, you could have a bit of debris or some precipitant if you descaled with citric acid. If you try descaling you can safely test it but shutting it down if it starts overheating.

Its been over a week and I would like to post my findings . . .

Based on advice, I removed the Pstat and sure enough there was quit a bit of flaked off scale in the unit and tube. Using white vinegar,syringe and pipe cleaner, it cleaned up very well. I also mixed up a liter of Puly descaler (hot) and descaled the boiler and group for one hour. I thoroughly flushed the unit several times and I think all the flaking grey scale is gone. Naturally, I made myself a very fine cup afterwards! So, time will tell. I plan to keep a closer eye on the scale buildup in the boiler. Right now, the stainless steel bottom of the boiler is shiny when viewed from the cap. I'd like it to stay that way.

BTW, while I was at it, I pulled out the piston and re-lubricated it. It is super smooth now.

It has been over two years since I fixed my pressurestat.

Since my fix, I've been using water I knew didn't scale at all. And for the past year, I have been mixing distilled water with potassium bicarbonate. No issues at all and very consistent pressure. In fact, my Pstat cycles rather quickly once warmed up. On for 5 seconds, off for 15 seconds type rhythm. Probably not a good thing. Yesterday, after warmup I pulled the lever up and thought wow, that seemed lighter than usual. I probed the tank temperature and it was about 235F, which is only 0.55bar. After pulling a shot, it remained low at 237F. Then, while not touching the machine, the boiler came on for a longer than usual time. Temp was now 248F, which is 0.95bar. By the next cycle it was back to 237F. Clearly it has gone bonkers. I do plan to check it out this weekend, but I quickly ordered a new Pstat. My LPE is a 2003 and this pstat could be really old. It lasted >2yrs for me after an issue with scale, so I should have a backup anyway.

But it does make me wonder what typically happens when these things go bad due to age only. Assuming there is no scale ever, how long are they expected to last? I use mine every day and it gets shut off after use. Do people get 10+ years on them? Just curious.