Any help diagnosing my faulty La Pavoni? - Page 3

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Gatewood (original poster)
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#21: Post by Gatewood (original poster) »

Mine has the white markings, too, and I couldn't decide what CE meant. Or if it mattered. :)
Gatewood

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cannonfodder
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#22: Post by cannonfodder »

Hogfire, the hissing I was referring to was from the steam wand. I open it to relieve false pressure as it heats, poor man's vacuum breaker valve.

I have a Gaggia Factory which was made by Pavoni, 98% of it is identical.

Gatewood, I have never had my pressure valve open under heat so having one hiss and spatter while heating would be disconcerting to me.

I suppose the valve could have been stuck open. You could try soaking it in some descale for a while to see if there is any lime buildup in there. I can compress the pin (push it in) with the blunt end of a ball point pen. It is stiff but moveable.

Is your unit a two switch or do you a single power switch and a P-stat controlled element? If it were venting after only 4 minutes I would almost say the cap valve is stuck open. It should take several minutes for the machine to come to full temp/pressure.

The white print on the boiler cap looks like a manufacturer's stamp or possibly a certification body (UL, NFS etc...)

I believe the photos you are referring to are in these threads.

Gaggia Factory, the forgotten lever


New Cocobolo Handles for my Lever Machine
Dave Stephens

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Gatewood (original poster)
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#23: Post by Gatewood (original poster) »

Mine is a single switch. I think lime buildup on a brand new machine is a strange thing. I'm not going to try to fix it, so they will honor the warranty. I'm afraid I could get it to work, then have it go out on me in the future. Of course, they don't seem to be in a hurry to let me know when they will replace it. :roll: I do think something must have stuck the valve open. It shot steam and water around in a hurry.

(love those photos! Beautiful machine!)
Gatewood

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cannonfodder
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#24: Post by cannonfodder »

I missed the part about it being a new machine. They do fill and heat them at the factory for QC, but it would be very unusual to have any buildup from that.

I have a pretty good cold so my head is a bit swimmy, I will use that as my excuse for being a little slow this evening :mrgreen:. I am sitting here on the couch watching the pro bowl drinking a cup of orange spice tea (the French press works for more than coffee).

Thank you for the compliment, she is not an Elektra, but it works pretty good.
Dave Stephens

Hogfire
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#25: Post by Hogfire »

Right then, I just had to prove to myself that I hadn't gone totally nutter and wasn't relying on some false memory about my machine's behaviour during warm-up, so I conducted a "lil' test." I filled the boiler to the top of the sight glass, switched it on, and sat with my eyes glued to the machine the whole time. And just as I recall, the heating element starts its chuffing business for a few minutes, then steam starts to sputter n' spit out of the cap for about 4-5 seconds, then "FFFFFTTTTT!", the valve in the cap audibly snaps shut, and immediately afterwards the pressure gauge needle starts to climb. Dunno if this is a true vacuum breaker (are you familiar with this phenomenon Gatewood?), but when I open the steam wand after the element stops heating there is no noticeable drop in pressure on the gauge. There has never been anything released from the boiler cap while I'm using the machine, so I assume it's functioning as designed.

As Cannonfodder has already stated, it sounds as if your boiler cap valve is getting stuck open during warm-up, yet you've already confirmed that the centre plunger moves freely when you apply a bit of pressure on it. Hmmm, I wish I had some other advice for you Gatewood, but it appears the only safe thing to do is wait on a replacement. Hope your patience is stronger than mine. . .

Hogfire
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Gatewood (original poster)
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#26: Post by Gatewood (original poster) »

No, I don't know what a vacuum breaker is; not familiar with it except that when you interrupt a vacuum, it's bound to fill quickly with air (or whatever is there). But I've not heard that term, especially not with coffee. You can hear the valve shut? I'm surprised at that. My instructions say that If I fill to the top of the sight glass, some of the water/steam will definitely escape from the valve, but not if it's not all the way full. Also, they say to open the steam wand pressure knob until the green light goes back off, to stabilize the pressure (I don't have the gauge; mine is the Europiccola type) and let it come back on before pulling a shot. I am confused about why yours shouldn't have the gauge drop when you open the steam wand. Are you getting steam out of there?

I'm not patient. I will call and bug them incessantly until I get results. :D
Gatewood

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Brink
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#27: Post by Brink »

Gatewood wrote:Mine has the white markings, too, and I couldn't decide what CE meant. Or if it mattered. :)
This is a "European Union"-thing.

The CE brand declares that the product has been tested and complies with European Standards.

In other words - don't bother if it is there or not, it doesn't matter :lol:

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cannonfodder
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#28: Post by cannonfodder »

Interesting. My Factory does not do that. Just the rumble bubble as the element heats until it completes the heating cycle. I am home sick today and my lever is at work so I can not play with it. Here is a quick little test. Take the cap off, turn it over so you are looking at the plunger. Then fill the cap with water, up to the hole in the threads. If it is a normally open valve (vacuum breaker) then the water will drain. If it is a normally closed valve (pressure relief) then the water will pool until you push the plunger, then it will drain.

I am 95% positive that it is an overpressure release valve but I have been wrong before. Gatewood, if you are going to call Pavoni, ask them if that is a pressure release/over pressure valve or a vacuum breaker, that should clarify everything.
Dave Stephens

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Gatewood (original poster)
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#29: Post by Gatewood (original poster) »

I did it; filled the cap, and it drained without my having to push the valve. So, it's open. Pressure should close it, right? Or wrong? :?:

I don't get to call Pavoni; I have to talk to European Gift and Housewares, the importer. They aren't responding too well. I may call in a bit just to see what the progress is on the cap, and ask that when I do call.
Gatewood

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cannonfodder
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#30: Post by cannonfodder »

What do you know, I guess it is a vacuum breaker, or yours is stuck in the open position or has bad gaskets. I would have sworn it was normally closed and only opened to vent excessive pressure.

I took a sick day and went to the doctor. I will have to try my cap when I get to work tomorrow.
Dave Stephens