Two additional sources of excessive pump noise:
1) Cavitation aka trapped air.
2) Low intake water pressure.

HenryL wrote: - The filter is overdue for replacement, ordered a new one but I don't think this will change anything since I get the proper pressure at the machine. Still, I've worked in IT long enough to ever say never - especially regarding things outside my area of expertise!
-HL

How are you measuring the pressure at the machine? Are you sure the pump inlet is constantly above 1/2 bar?

If the filter is due for replacement, it's nearing the point where it will become clogged. If it is preventing your pump inlet from receiving as much as it's trying to draw, it will cavitate (Draw "bubbles of partial vacuum) and those make noise.

Hopefully this link works. It should take you to the Mechanic's stethoscope, but if it takes you to a kit, change the option.

This is a lot more useful in tight quarters than a cardboard tube:

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-52750-Stet ... 0002SQYSM/

msimanyi wrote:This [Mechanic's stethoscope] is a lot more useful in tight quarters than a cardboard tube...

Perhaps, but there's no chance of electrocution or shorting out something with cardboard. The item you linked appears to have a long, thin metal rod. Sticking that anywhere inside a powered-up appliance is dangerous. Similarly, sticking a screwdriver into a powered-up appliance is dangerous -- it could give you a nasty shock (or so I've heard from a friend ).

Excellent point. You would have to use good, careful precautions to ensure a... calm experience using it.

Hello everyone,

Been a while since my original post, finally getting back to normal here. I finally got a bit of cooperation from WLL and between them, you folk here, and support team from another well known online presence, and this past weekend was able to open up the machine again. WLL asked me to separate the pump from the motor, inspect and run the motor to see if the noise still happened. The band clamp was secure, removed that but couldn't separate the pump from the motor. Lots of corrosion externally where the two pieces meet (at least it looks like aluminum corrosion to me - saw that a lot working on aircraft).



I sent this photo, along with another video, to WLL and they said it's mineral scale and I should ship the whole thing back to them for full descaling and repair. I asked how mineral scale would get on the outer surfaces, seems that would indicate a leak that should be covered under warranty. Haven't got a response to that, but thought I'd toss it out here - are they making stuff up or could that really be scale on the OUTSIDE of the pump/motor interface? Water here is <3gr and I have a filter/softener inline as well (yeah, I have changed the filter since my original post).

They suggested if I couldn't or didn't want to ship the whole machine back I could just pull the pump/motor assy and send that - which I think would be no problem. Just can't wrap my head around the problem being mineral scale on the outside of the pump. I could remove the top nut on the E61 and see if there is any scale there, right? Scale would affect all the internals, not just a pump or boiler or group?

Thanks folks - appreciate all the feedback so far. FWIW, thing still makes good shots...no changes there at all.

-H

Pump shaft seal leak? Just tossing it out there?

I was going to ask how this machine was... but I saw your thread on water filter, that mentioned buying it in Dec 2018.

That is a lot of corrosion for the time you have had it in use. Water quality, environment... what other conditions can cause such rapid corrosion in those parts? Looks like galvanic corrosion...

Oh, I read again your latest post... mineral scaling...

If your water is scaling, you might check the top of the Hot Water Spigot Wand's filter/aerator to see if there are particles of scale trapped there if you use your Hot Water Spigot regularly enough. Hot water from the Hot Water Spigot is drained from the bottom of the Steam Boiler where most of the scale would collect.

How is the Hot Water Pressure out of the Hot Water Wand; is it 'restricted' at all?

This would be the easiest, quickest way to look for evidence elsewhere without serious disassembly or requiring tools.

Take pictures of everything!

Good morning! I do use the hot water wand daily, there's no performance degradation at all in any part of the system. Just the noise. Regarding the "scaling" - frankly I don't believe it's scale at all - that much scale would have required significant water flow outside of the pump/motor connection which would have been all over the counter.

As wachuko mentioned, it appears to be galvanic corrosion. It's on the motor, not the pump, (and likely the band clamp which seems to be aluminum but I didn't remove that completely). The only evidence of any water is hard to see in this photo, but the corrosion has a "path" where one could imagine a thin trace of water running down around the bolt and the black tab. Since water doesn't flow through those two connected parts, it looks to me like at some point water got in there under the clamp (not on it - there's zero corrosion on the outside surface of the clamp), and it trickled down. I'm not talking flow over a period of time, I mean water got on there once and, over time, the surfaces where the water was eventually corroded. Kind of what happens when electronics get wet and dry out - device still works but over time the formerly wet surfaces/components corrode and eventually fail.

At almost $200 to ship the machine back for warranty work, I may try to find one of the local companies that service coffee shops and see if they might offer a repair for a consumer. This is becoming a quest...haha