Lelit Bianca Steam Boiler Hissing/Sputtering
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vilgrom
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 2 years ago
Hey all,
A couple weeks ago, my Bianca started to hiss and push out steam/water from the front nipple about every 20 seconds. I lowered the temp on the steam boiler to 125C, which reduced the dripping to every 45 seconds or so, then I took a deep dive into the inner workings and searched through forums to figure out a solution. I was pretty sure I isolated the problem -- a leaking vacuum breaker valve. I contacted the seller, got a new one sent, installed it.. and no change whatsoever. I poked around, and it seemed like the tube coming from the safety valve was pretty hot -- most likely this was the problem. After looking it up, I contacted the seller and was given this word-for-word from the part's description on 1st Line's website:
In the time it took to ship the descaler over the holiday, my machine had started sputtering steam and water frequently from the front nipple even when at 125C. So, I descaled my Bianca twice. First, using the exact directions from Lelit and the hard to find, expensive import descaling liquid that they recommend. Nothing improved. So I removed the safety valve and soaked it in a citric acid water bath for 15min. Then I descaled once again using 1.5 tablespoons of citric acid dissolved into 2 liters of water.
Following three rinse cycles, the machine is performing better, which is to say it's behaving just as it did a month ago -- intermittent steam and sputtering when the boiler is set to 130C or above, mostly quiet at 125C, except now it's also hissing gently from the safety valve. I checked the fitting and re-tightened it, but it didn't help.
I don't know what else to do besides another descale, and maybe letting it sit longer than ten minutes in the boilers. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Additional thoughts and context:
- I bought the machine new in February of this year. I leave it in standby mode, and about once per day I'll turn on the steam boiler and make a mini latte or americano, then it returns to standby after 2 hours.
- I've set the steam boiler to 135C, as I'm used to heavy duty commercial machines. At 125C the steam power from the Bianca was simply underwhelming and couldn't properly whirlpool even small amounts of milk. I read somewhere that 135C is the max rating for this machine.
- I now know to regularly empty the steam boiler for proper maintenance -- it was only fully emptied once prior to this.
- The needle on the steam pressure gauge was bobbing about half a bar, from 1.5 to 2 bars every 30 seconds or so at its worst -- it's relatively stable now, ranges maybe .25bar over 45 seconds, but the safety valve hissing is constant
- The position of the venting nipple is really frustrating on the Bianca -- I have to remove the drip tray and wipe the water that gets stuck underneath the back ridge after every warmup even under normal behavior
Thanks!
A couple weeks ago, my Bianca started to hiss and push out steam/water from the front nipple about every 20 seconds. I lowered the temp on the steam boiler to 125C, which reduced the dripping to every 45 seconds or so, then I took a deep dive into the inner workings and searched through forums to figure out a solution. I was pretty sure I isolated the problem -- a leaking vacuum breaker valve. I contacted the seller, got a new one sent, installed it.. and no change whatsoever. I poked around, and it seemed like the tube coming from the safety valve was pretty hot -- most likely this was the problem. After looking it up, I contacted the seller and was given this word-for-word from the part's description on 1st Line's website:
with the recommendation to descale my machine. I was hoping I wouldn't have to descale more than once every few years -- I use Seattle city water, ~40 TDS, and don't pull more than two shots per day on average. But heating/cooling the water in the boiler once per day could leave deposits behind, I realize. I also don't know how long the dripping had been occurring before it became loud and obvious, which could have caused more water to go through the boiler than expected.If this part leaks steam, it means the boiler is overheating from limescale on the PID sensor and the steam boiler gauge is over 3 bar. If leaking steam when the boiler is under 3 bar on the steam boiler gauge, then it means particles from limescale or oxidation keeping the valve open.
In the time it took to ship the descaler over the holiday, my machine had started sputtering steam and water frequently from the front nipple even when at 125C. So, I descaled my Bianca twice. First, using the exact directions from Lelit and the hard to find, expensive import descaling liquid that they recommend. Nothing improved. So I removed the safety valve and soaked it in a citric acid water bath for 15min. Then I descaled once again using 1.5 tablespoons of citric acid dissolved into 2 liters of water.
Following three rinse cycles, the machine is performing better, which is to say it's behaving just as it did a month ago -- intermittent steam and sputtering when the boiler is set to 130C or above, mostly quiet at 125C, except now it's also hissing gently from the safety valve. I checked the fitting and re-tightened it, but it didn't help.
I don't know what else to do besides another descale, and maybe letting it sit longer than ten minutes in the boilers. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Additional thoughts and context:
- I bought the machine new in February of this year. I leave it in standby mode, and about once per day I'll turn on the steam boiler and make a mini latte or americano, then it returns to standby after 2 hours.
- I've set the steam boiler to 135C, as I'm used to heavy duty commercial machines. At 125C the steam power from the Bianca was simply underwhelming and couldn't properly whirlpool even small amounts of milk. I read somewhere that 135C is the max rating for this machine.
- I now know to regularly empty the steam boiler for proper maintenance -- it was only fully emptied once prior to this.
- The needle on the steam pressure gauge was bobbing about half a bar, from 1.5 to 2 bars every 30 seconds or so at its worst -- it's relatively stable now, ranges maybe .25bar over 45 seconds, but the safety valve hissing is constant
- The position of the venting nipple is really frustrating on the Bianca -- I have to remove the drip tray and wipe the water that gets stuck underneath the back ridge after every warmup even under normal behavior
Thanks!
