Hello, I bought a second hand La Pavoni Europiccola pre-millenium a couple of months back. It seems that the 200w element does not work. But I've been making coffee without it - by cycling the white switch on and off when it reaches temperature and so far so good. I have ordered a new double element, but in the meantime it's stopped working completely, and suddenly.

Using a multimeter I find that the old brown fuse on the bottom of the boiler element casing doesn't show any current going through it so assume that's what's gone. I have also ordered one of the resettable fuses with the new element.

Anyway, till that arrives, hopefully on Tuesday or so, is it safe to simply not use the brown fuse - to bypass it? I notice some of the four connector element casings (including the one I've ordered) do not have the hole for one anyway, and I've looked at numerous pictures on here and elsewhere that don't seem to have one.

Thinking back, the last coffee I pulled on it was maybe running too much on empty so that could explain why it tripped the fuse.

Here's pictures of the current boiler in situ with the fuse, the fuse itself, the one I have ordered, and one I found on these forums with a similar boiler (with mounting hole for the brown fuse) but not using the fuse:






So, is it safe to use it without that brown fuse at least for a day or two so I can get my fix?

Best wishes,

Jock

Are you sure it's a fuse and not a thermostat?
Anyway, a fuse is a safety device and it is never wise to bypass that.
That may result in a shocking experience for either you or your beloved ones...

Since you have a multimeter, you can test if it's still in good shape.
Disconnect the cabling and test the electrical resistance (Ohm).
Good luck with waiting....

You should also test not only the resistance of the element but also resistance to the chassis from each side of the element to make sure that there's not a short to ground.

That brown thingy is a thermal fuse. It melts and opens the circuit and then must be replaced. They provide some protection against a machine getting too hot, especially when they run out of water.

That thermofuse may not be available, but a better replacement will be one of the newer resettable thermal safety switches. They pop open when they get too hot and usually can be reset by pressing a button.

They are a safety device against overheating. If you temporarily bypass it you need to be extra vigilant, especially about walking away with the machine plugged in.

Checking for ground faults with a multimeter is a good idea, but even if it tests OK it's best to make sure that your La Pavoni is always on a working GFCI protected outlet or circuit.* That, and a good ground provide your safety against ground faults.


* Edit addition: In the UK that protection is usually called an RCD, and is in the circuit panel.