Hello, good morning, funny thing happened on the way to make my morning cappuccino, I think my Olympia Cremina got jealous of my Fear La Peppina machine.... ever since I got the Peppina, I have been pulling shots with it and only using the Cremina for steaming,... But today, after blowing off the false pressure, I made my shot and went to steam/microfoam my milk, and there was no answer. The light was on but nobody was home heating my water anymore. So after my shot of espresso, I unplugged, and emptied the Cremina and turned it over, removed the boiler shield on the frame, and immediately I could see something hot had happened at the safety thermostat. Here's some pictures.

Here's a picture of the heating element, yes I have neglected it, and haven't flossed. The machine is a 1984 issue, that I got from the original owner who had barely used it, so I figured I would use it until something went askew, and I never opened it up, all I have done is piston seal lubrication. I'm sure that since the heating element was working overtime to heat through all that calcium deposit, it melted the safety switch .. D'oh!! Thus, a good lesson on why to Descale your boiler and element...oh, and let's not forget kudos to the little safety switch($14.99) that did it's job! and saved me big bucks on having to buy a new element! ($45-$167.00) Yeah!

Here are some pictures of the Prodigy Safety thermostat 10A. I ordered a new one already because I think this one bit the dust, and I really want to take it apart to see what's inside! Has anyone taken one of these apart ?


pop up button in tripped position


pop-up a button in reset position

OK a couple more pictures, because I got it apart! A little prying, and a gentle but firm grip with some pliers, and it opened up. Inside is a sweet little mechanical fuse/cut-out switch/ with a high-tech Fiberglas insulator. Check out the small scorch mark at the bottom of the insulator, something got hot. Maybe the little contact points burnt?





I can't get signal through from one side to the other. I will try to clean the contacts if I can get at them... but at 35years old who knows... maybe they're just used up?

As far as neglect goes, you could have said I maintain this machine semi-annually. I doesn't look terrible at all.

A new element is $167, excluding shipping, and who wants to see one of those things melt?

I think you were smart to get a new part - I can't recall anyone else reporting this issue.

That safety switch definitely did it's job!

Just to make sure, look for cracks on the heating element after you descale it and take a resistance reading with a multimeter to make sure it hasn't shorted out.

I wouldn't risk reusing the safety and just replace it. Since you have the boiler apart it's worth replacing the gaskets with new rubber, so it could just be one more part on the order.