My Vetrano has a leak from the pressure adjustment nut on the rotary pump, a Fuid-O-Tech Rotoflow. This occurred after I had replaced the inlet fill solenoid and the pressure gauge. In addition, I placed a pressure regulator to decrease the inflow line pressure from 6 bar to about 2-3 bar (25 psi). I had to increase the pump pressure to compensate for the lower line pressure.

Here is a picture of the leak. Drip........Drip........Drip. Landed on the wiring and tripped the outlet GFI.



The temporary solution is to catch the slow drip with a cloth. Now what?

Does this call for a new pump? I searched this site and did not see this particular problem. Only noticed problems with leaks from the motor to the pump (bearing seal).

Dave

Does this call for a new pump?

No . . . at the worst, a new balanced by-pass assembly . . . hoping that you could buy same from FOT USA.

Try tightening the lock-nut (item 21) a touch more.

OK. I tightened that lock nut as much as I dared. I will keep an eye on it. If it continues to leak from the balanced bypass screw, then what?

I would shut off the water supply and remove items 13 through 22 from the pump. Soak all parts in white vinegar for 30-60 minutes and rinse well. Lubricate the o-ring and adjustment threads with some Dow 111 or other food safe lubricant.

Reinstall to the same "depth" as before and recheck for leaks.

Well......
I did take apart, clean and reassemble those parts. Now the leak is worse. My guess is I need a new bypass plunger and o-ring (parts 18 and 19). Any other ideas?

I will call Chris's Coffee service on Monday.

Dave

Or, just simply a new o-ring which you MAY be able to match up at the hardware store.

Hi David,
It seems to be common for the o-ring #18 to harden and become brittle after long periods. My guess is it had bonded to the inside of the bypass nut and once moved, was too hard and brittle to seal again. It is a metric EPDM o-ring. You are more likely to find this size and material o-ring locally at a specialty hydraulics and MRO supplier, but certainly Chris' Coffee, Stefano's Espresso Care or another site sponsor should be able to source it for you. Good luck

Eric,
as always, many thanks for your input. Thanks also to Skydragondave and truemagellen. my guess is a pump rebuild might be around the corner for this 4 year old machine.

I went to my local Ace hardware to their bin of o-rings and found a standard equivalent to the presumed metric size. Bought several just in case size the size was off or one was lost or broken in the change process. They were all $0.59 each. Cheap, gotta love it. Worked like a charm. The old o-ring was hard and brittle. My machine is now assembled and functioning (knock on wood). This forum is priceless.....And so are the service gents at Chris Coffee. I am back to loving my Vetrano.

Thanks all,
Draino, aka Dave