Bezzera Strega for dummies! - Page 6

#51: Post by **another_jim** » March 14th, 2019, 1:29 pm

The tank switch will kill the pump. If it is intermittent, it could be causing all your problems. Fix the contacts or short out the tongues with a wire.

If you have the problem with the orange light on (the videos aren't heelpful, being too closeup). It can be two possibilites - a bad pump or a bad OPV. If the pump is bad, then the boiler will not refill if you run hot water. You'll have to take turn the machine off and replace the pump. There's enough info about removing the Strega case and changing out Ulka pumps to make this doablee even if you aren't handy. If you really never want to do plumbing of any sort; you'll need to take the machine to a repair shop. The OPV is located at the pump output; it's easier to fix than the pump, built requires somee familiarity with how the machine works. There are posts about it.

#52: Post by **ciaodown** » March 14th, 2019, 10:40 pm

Thank you Walt! I assumed it was related to the pump (the boiler is hot and pressurized, but the group doesn't get filled) ...I'm not super handy... how would you run the pump once you took it out? .where would you buy a replacement?

Thanks a bunch!!

#53: Post by **ciaodown** » March 14th, 2019, 10:47 pm

Thank you Jim !! Until today, the orange light was on, boiler pressurized and hot, even though I couldn't get the group to fill or pull a shot.

Today, the light went off, even though the tank was full, and the machine lost the pressure, so I shut it off.

I have taken off the top (did the mod for draining everything out of the front... also have pulled the guts out of the group to clean the original greasy goop)

This was all a few years ago when I first acquired the machine. Since then, I really haven't done anything except pull shots and smile.

#54: Post by **ciaodown** » March 15th, 2019, 9:11 pm

You know Jim, I think the pump is refilling the boiler, so maybe it is the OPV... I plan to open it up tomorrow and hopefully figure this out. Thanks again.

#55: Post by **another_jim** » March 15th, 2019, 9:21 pm

if the pump is refilling the boiler, it's a problem in the OPV assembly (there's also a check valve). If the pump is going silent, then it is completely blocked (if it were by passing water, you'd see water streaming from the little spout under the group).

#56: Post by **ciaodown** » March 15th, 2019, 10:24 pm

Well Jim,

The plot thickens ... just came home and turned it on, and....

#57: Post by **another_jim** » March 15th, 2019, 10:47 pm

OK you've got me. The tank fill thing is malfunctioning; but I have no clue how that would affect the pump.

Do you have a model that can be plumbed? In that case, it may be the that. Call your vendor's service department.

#58: Post by **ciaodown** » March 16th, 2019, 12:18 am

Oy. At least I'm not crazy

Thanks so much for trying

#59: Post by **ciaodown** » March 16th, 2019, 12:24 pm

Jim, it can be plumbed, but I've always used the tank. Never plumbed.

#60: Post by **another_jim** » March 16th, 2019, 1:26 pm

The problems in the tank and the pump can both be caused by the plumbing valve and switch being out of whack, so the machine sometimes thinks you're plumbed (in which case it turns off the pump and stops worrying about the reservoir). I don't know that version of the machine, so I can't tell you what to check.