Isomac Tea Water Wand Too Much Steam
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TheAdamBomb
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 5 years ago
My Tea is about 15 years old, and I assume that it's a version 1. I need help troubleshooting this issue.
There are two main symptoms.
1. When I pull a shot, liquid now goes through the puck in about two seconds, and the pressure is only about two bar during the pull. Previous to this, it use to take about eight seconds with about eight bar of pressure.
2. The hot water wand now spews a lot of steam before any water comes out.
If anyone has any troubleshooting tips, I would be most appreciative.
There are two main symptoms.
1. When I pull a shot, liquid now goes through the puck in about two seconds, and the pressure is only about two bar during the pull. Previous to this, it use to take about eight seconds with about eight bar of pressure.
2. The hot water wand now spews a lot of steam before any water comes out.
If anyone has any troubleshooting tips, I would be most appreciative.
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JRising
- Team HB
- Posts: 3730
- Joined: 5 years ago
If I am understanding what you're saying, it sounds like you may have 2 separate issues...
Is your cooling flush taking longer than normal or does it seem the same?
After you let a bit of steamy water out of the water wand, does the boiler refill seem reasonable, ie. boiler refills for about 7 or 8 seconds to replace 15-20 oz from the water wand?
Is the group head scalding hot?
The water bursting through the puck without the gauge ever exceeding 2 bar sounds to me like the heat exchanger is mostly empty. What little liquid water is in there escapes as steam through your puck when you open the brew valve and let it out to atmosphere. The heat exchanger, of course, shouldn't be empty. If it is losing water it could be leaking over the brew valve when the valve should be closed, it could be escaping backward across the check valve before the heat exchanger injector, if the check valve is calcified and leaking internally. It could be leaking over the expansion valve if the expansion valve is calcified or old and hard.
As for the boiler, you could remove the boiler-fill probe and look at the level of the water inside to rule out over/under filling. I don't know which way to diagnose your steam inbstead of hot water issue without seeing it.
Is your cooling flush taking longer than normal or does it seem the same?
After you let a bit of steamy water out of the water wand, does the boiler refill seem reasonable, ie. boiler refills for about 7 or 8 seconds to replace 15-20 oz from the water wand?
Is the group head scalding hot?
The water bursting through the puck without the gauge ever exceeding 2 bar sounds to me like the heat exchanger is mostly empty. What little liquid water is in there escapes as steam through your puck when you open the brew valve and let it out to atmosphere. The heat exchanger, of course, shouldn't be empty. If it is losing water it could be leaking over the brew valve when the valve should be closed, it could be escaping backward across the check valve before the heat exchanger injector, if the check valve is calcified and leaking internally. It could be leaking over the expansion valve if the expansion valve is calcified or old and hard.
As for the boiler, you could remove the boiler-fill probe and look at the level of the water inside to rule out over/under filling. I don't know which way to diagnose your steam inbstead of hot water issue without seeing it.
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TheAdamBomb (original poster)
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 5 years ago
Lots to experiment with after work. I will gather more information and report back later.
There was one other thing that I failed to mention earlier. After I experienced the free flow of water through the puck. I opened the hot water wand and lots of milky white water flowed into my cup. I assumed that it was mineralization of some sort; it was actually kind of gross. Anyway, I used Dezcal on it after that, but that did not help.
There was one other thing that I failed to mention earlier. After I experienced the free flow of water through the puck. I opened the hot water wand and lots of milky white water flowed into my cup. I assumed that it was mineralization of some sort; it was actually kind of gross. Anyway, I used Dezcal on it after that, but that did not help.
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JRising
- Team HB
- Posts: 3730
- Joined: 5 years ago
Wow... Let more water out and examine it...
The insulation inside your heating element is a white silica type of material that looks cloudy when an element bursts and releases its insulation into the water. Cracked element shorting to ground through the boiler-water could also explain the boiler overheating to the point where the hot water blasts out as steam, and the Heat Exchanger heating to the point where steam blasts through the puck.. I hope I am jumping to a wrong conclusion. I hope it's not a ruptured element.
You may want to disconnect both of the electrical connectors from your element and check each for a short to ground with your ohm-meter set to its highest range.
The insulation inside your heating element is a white silica type of material that looks cloudy when an element bursts and releases its insulation into the water. Cracked element shorting to ground through the boiler-water could also explain the boiler overheating to the point where the hot water blasts out as steam, and the Heat Exchanger heating to the point where steam blasts through the puck.. I hope I am jumping to a wrong conclusion. I hope it's not a ruptured element.
You may want to disconnect both of the electrical connectors from your element and check each for a short to ground with your ohm-meter set to its highest range.
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TheAdamBomb (original poster)
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 5 years ago
The element doesn't appear to be shorted to ground; I actually replaced the heating element about four months ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's already broken. Anyway there is about 10 ohms across the element as well.
I also noticed that the copper attached to the other end of the boiler have heavy electrolysis action around them that was not there four months ago. The copper even turned black.
I turned it back on and it shot up to eight bar very quickly. The bottom line is that the unit never seemed right after I replaced the heating element, and my wife thinks we ought to get a new one at this point, so that's probably the plan.
BTW, the group head was not scalding hot, but the water wand was for sure.
Thanks very much for your help!
I also noticed that the copper attached to the other end of the boiler have heavy electrolysis action around them that was not there four months ago. The copper even turned black.
I turned it back on and it shot up to eight bar very quickly. The bottom line is that the unit never seemed right after I replaced the heating element, and my wife thinks we ought to get a new one at this point, so that's probably the plan.
BTW, the group head was not scalding hot, but the water wand was for sure.
Thanks very much for your help!
