La Marzocco GS3 constantly heating - Page 2

Equipment doesn't work? Troubleshooting? If you're handy, members can help.
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JohnB.
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#11: Post by JohnB. »

If the steam boiler element was running/heating constantly the pressure would keep increasing, not holding steady. Maybe that fizz noise is a small leak?
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maccompatible (original poster)
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#12: Post by maccompatible (original poster) replying to JohnB. »

Maybe? I don't remember it doing this before repairing the vacuum breaker, but I don't see any bubbles or hear any funny noises coming out of any of the connections I loosened/reconnected.
Also, I'm fairly certain now that it isn't constantly heating. I see the light cycling on the boiler for a brief moment every few seconds. Which looks about the same as it always has. It just sounds like it's always boiling.
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Peppersass
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#13: Post by Peppersass »

The steam boiler isn't constantly reheating. The cycling of the "light" on the display is one indication. The boiler holding constant pressure is another.

I bought my GS/3 new in 2009. I didn't hear fizzing noise coming from the steam boiler for several years, maybe five or more, but in recent years I do hear it from time to time. It's almost always in sync with the heating indicator in the display. When it first started it was louder than it is now. I don't notice it much.

My sense is that the fizzing noise is caused by mineral deposits on the heating element reacting with the water when the element is heating, and that the deposits are related to the composition of the water. My well water is pretty hard: 150-220 ppm hardness and about 150 ppm alkalinity. I started with a commercial cation softening system, which removes all the hardness but none of the alkalinity or other minerals. After a few years, I switched to a Claris Everpure system, adjusting the bypass for about 50-70 ppm hardness. I used it for a couple years, then discovered that the pH of the Claris water was lower than recommended by LM. So I switched back to the cation system. The fizzing noise began at least a year after that, maybe more. A couple of years ago I found that the resin in my cation softener was exhausted and replaced it. The fizzing noise seems much reduced in loudness since then (just checked yesterday and the hardness is still zero ppm and alkalinity is 140 ppm).

I understand that you're making you're own water according to the Barista Hustle recipe, but are you checking the mineral content of the result? If not, I recommend getting good quality testing kits for hardness and alkalinity, preferably Hach kits, to verify the mineral content. You might also consider trying water with different mineral content, so long as it doesn't have high hardness.

Given how many years it took before my steam boiler element started fizzing, and how short a time it took for yours and Wattbe's to start fizzing, I wonder if LM is using a different supplier for the heating element or the supplier is using a different alloy. Or the difference could be your water. As I recall, Wattbe was using bottled water. This is where the testing kits can be very helpful.

Wattbe
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#14: Post by Wattbe »

Dick is correct - I was using Volvic for the 18 months leading up to the issue. I always believed that it wouldn't scale but evidently, I was wrong.
I now use an RO system that remineralises the water to around 60 ppm (Volvic is 109ppm as tested).
I purchased a TDS meter from eBay so I can periodically test the water going into the machine. TDS is a very basic measurement as it won't tell you what minerals are in your water - just the total (hence the name!)

I've also learnt that Alkalinity is potentially more important and simple test kits are available to check your water with - I'd recommend doing both to give you an idea of how likely/quickly your water will deposit scale.

I very much doubt that you have a leak, if, like mine, the noise stops after 10 - 30 seconds after lowering the temp or turning off the machine.
I've had my new element installed for a few months now and only get the occasional 'fizzing' noise when the element is heating (which mine always has done since new).
Changing the element wasn't too tricky - just a bit time consuming being the first time I'd attempted it. If I did it again now, it'd be a fairly quick job.

Let me know how you get on.

All the best,

Ben

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