I noticed a water leak coming from below my plumbed in ECM Synchronika. I shut off the plumbed in line and powered off machine.

When I opened up the panels, I was able to find the source - right at the inlet valve here. When I put my finger over the leak, I can determine it is coming from the lower larger silver threaded piece - almost as if there is a hole in it.

What are best steps to resolve? Is this something I can easily do at home? It seems I may need a replacement piece and this may require some level of disassembly?

I am wondering what the cause may have been? I had previously had my machine turned off for a couple months and then noticed it. I wasn't aware at the time I should have purged the filter first, maybe it got some mineral build up?

I will try to post a video soon.

Here is a video showing the leak described above:

As an additional update. I switched the machine to reservoir mode (both on the bottom switch and the switch under the drip tray). Powered it up to full heat. When I switch the brew lever up, only a very little bit of water comes out while the pump works. It doesn't look like the reservoir tank really is dropping.

Makes me think the whole inlet valve assembly may be plugged or clogged with mineral deposit due to having it plumbed in but unused for a some longer stretches, without purging the filter first?

Hard to say from the angle of the video, but that is quite the leak!

It looks like it is leaking from between the bulkhead fitting that is secured to the machine frame and the adapter that the copper tube is threaded onto. Probably not much easier to get a better vantage point, but it's removing the both of the tube nuts on the copper pipe to remove it, and then remove the adapter threaded into the bulkhead fitting. It could just need some new thread sealant to be good as new, or you might find a crack or hole in one of the fittinga and at least know exactly what it is you need to replace.

Cheers!

- Jake

Thanks! How do you think that would have happen? Is it anything to be concerned with regarding the rest of the machine?

My guess is that the smaller fitting was over-tightened into the bulkhead fitting and that the bulkhead fitting is cracked vertically. You'll have to take the fittings out and inspect them to confirm that, then replace whichever is cracked. (It's almost always the outer fitting that cracks, the inner fitting is being held tightly together while the outer is being forcibly split open).

ECM Part# P3023 if it is the bulkhead fitting FF 1/4

Ah thank you, so not actually due to leaving my filter off for a couple months but an assembly error? Why did it manifest 1.5 years into ownership and not sooner?

Was the machine moved around in those couple of months? Could the swivelling fitting below the bulkhead fitting have banged against something as the machine slid on the countertop or was pushed down into a box or anything?

No the machine was not moved or transported.

A couple months prior I worked on it on the counter top and moved it around a bit there to change the vacuum break in the boiler, but I'm generally pretty careful. I don't think it bumped anything in that area and if it did it would have been pretty gentle.

But, perhaps I missed something sliding it on the counter that could have somehow put tension on it? Or turned on/off the plumbed in line too many tokens could have caused a pressure spike to get applied too many times?