Hey I have a pro 700 too and ran into a similar issue although mine was from sitting for a while. You can get to the pump shaft through the front if you want. You remove the steam gauge and go through there with a long flat head. It's not the easiest but may be worth a shot so you don't have to remove the pump completely. Mine needed to be spun by hand a little. This was over 2 years ago and it's been fine ever since

BaristaBoy E61 wrote:If the pump is connected with flexible hoses that have enough play, I would just separate the pump from the motor just to see if the pump motor by itself functions properly.

The hoses are probably okay for that, but I'd be wary of the very thin capillary tube though. How flexible and fragile are those?

JRising wrote: The fittings in the pump would need to be unscrewed 8 or 9 full rotations out of the pump and that can't happen if the hoses are still connected.

Oooh that's good to know! Thanks, that confirms the hoses and capillary tube will be disconnected first.

Acorazza wrote:. You can get tot the pump shaft through the front if you want. You remove the steam gauge and go through there with a long flat head.

That's actually very clever, but can the steam gauge be removed easily enough? I'll look into it!

EDIT: found a video that shows how to remove the steam gauge:

Acorazza wrote:You can get tot the pump shaft through the front if you want. You remove the steam gauge and go through there with a long flat head.

Wow. I'm going to try this next time I get a Profitec through here... I see what you're saying, it really oughtta work. Good observation, Well done, sir!

I can't take all the credit as I think I read it on this forum but I do know it's possible and hope it helps.

A quick update on this situation. Yes, it's been months but I only just got a bit of time to work on the machine.

I removed the steam pressure gauge and this indeed gave access to the motor shaft. Using a flathead screwdriver I was unable to turn the shaft, so I removed the pump.

After removing the pump, the motor shaft spins freely but the pump itself is completely locked. I don't think I have the time, tools, know-how and confidence to attempt a pump rebuild such as this guy did. So I'll just buy a new pump and hope for the best.

According to the Pro 700 part list I need a 50l/h pump so I guess this is what I need. I'll also email tech support at idrinkcoffee to see for how much they'd sell me one. I'm in Canada so possibilities are slightly more constrained.

I still will try a backwash + torquing the pump but it absolutely won't budge with all the might I can muster and a big screwdriver so I don't have much hope for this. I'll also have work to do removing the L-fittings on the pump itself -- they're very tight and/or loctited, so I'll likely need a vice to hold the old pump.

I'm posting this mainly as an update but also soliciting comments if any on my future course of action... thanks as always.

There are companies that rebuild these for not very much money. Like a service business business related to the drink business as there are used in a lot of commercial drink dispensing equipment. Here's the one I've seen mentioned before:

http://www.jcbeverage.com

Ira

Unless there's a local company that does this (which I strongly doubt), I don't think shipping back and forth to the US will save me anything compared to buying a new pump.

Apart from the pump cost, the most stressing part will be to ensure there is no leak as I had to disconnect several fittings to remove the pump. Is loctite a must? I've never found the one recommended in these forums in Canada. Is Teflon tape a big no no or is it acceptable?

An update on this project...

I ordered a pump on Coffee Addicts and I am happy to report that it seems to work with the Pro 700. It's a variant with a longer set screw but otherwise has the same dimensions and specs as the one originally included in my machine.

Assembling the new pump back is seemingly successful, as I don't have any leak and the pump seems to work. Despite the controversy, I opted for Teflon tape on the fitting threads, carefully avoiding the first few threads and making sure the threads were clean before applying the tape.

However I have a new problem (or perhaps it was there before but I didn't notice it before) -- steam is bubbling back in the water tank when the steam boiler is heating up. I've started a new thread here for regarding this new issue.

Thanks to all for the help.