Vibiemme Domobar Not Heating

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

Hello.

Machine is < 1 year old. Has been great. This morning, made a latte just fine. 30 min later, nothing...pump still pushes water through grouphead, but it is not very hot. Steamer does not work, hot water wand does not work. The temperature light is on. Plenty of water in the reservoir. Consulted the manual at https://www.espressocare.com/assets/upl ... Manual.pdf

As per instructions on p.37, I checked the temperature thermostat. It does not appear to have been tripped. By this, I mean I find the thermostat and I see the button. I push on the button with a small screwdriver but it does not budge. The button is a small cylinder that has a diameter of a few mm and length of 5 mm. It is not flush, but I don't think that it is supposed to be.

See here: https://www.cafeparts.com/Contact-Therm ... TGLDOMM165

So, at this point, I am stuck. I guess the boiler is not working, but I don't know why, or how to proceed (beyond what the manual suggested). No unusual use recently. Unit is on 1-2 hours every morning.

regards,
Dave

ira
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#2: Post by ira »

Do you have a volt meter and how comfortable are you working around electricity?

Ira

dfhkvs (original poster)
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Joined: 4 years ago

#3: Post by dfhkvs (original poster) »

Yes. And quite comfortable. I do much electrical work on the house.

This is my first espresso machine, and I'm just not sure clear on the proper sequence of things to test in terms of diagnosis. I have reviewed the 44 pg manual, but it is of limited use in this regard.

Based on the circumstances (temp light on; safety thermostat not tripped, etc.), it seems as though the heating element just up and stopped? That seems unlikely, but, again, I don't have experience with these machines. It has been flawless for the 10 months I have owned it.

I would be grateful for any pointers or suggestions on how to diagnose / proceed. I have also had a hard time online finding a good diagram (wiring, etc.) of the inner workings. This is the single boiler domobar junior.

Regards,

dfhkvs (original poster)
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Joined: 4 years ago

#4: Post by dfhkvs (original poster) »

Would it be something as simple as scale buildup on heating element / water level sensor?

Dave.

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#5: Post by HB »

It's unlikely that scale is at fault if the espresso machine is only a year old, unless your water is crazy hard. The water level sensor wouldn't prevent the steam boiler from reaching temperature, it'd just overfill, resulting in really wet steam. Assuming you're comfortable with electrical work and have an ohm meter, I'd check the heating element resistance (reminder: unplug the machine). It may be shorted.
Dan Kehn

dfhkvs (original poster)
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#6: Post by dfhkvs (original poster) »

So, with a multimeter set on resistance, when I touch the leads to the heating element, I get a '1' indicating very high resistance. What I see online suggests it should be close to 20 ohms.

does that indicate a faulty heating element? NOTE: do I first need to disconnect the wires to these leads before measuring?

And, if it is a bad heating element, should that be under warranty for such a new machine?

We don't live in a large town, so getting something like this serviced is probably not very easy. I've looked into replacing the heating element, but it seems like a big job, requiring essentially full disassembly of the machine!

Dave.

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#7: Post by HB »

dfhkvs wrote:...do I first need to disconnect the wires to these leads before measuring?
Yes. There's lots of tutorials on YouTube that explain multimeter usage in detail.
Dan Kehn

dfhkvs (original poster)
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#8: Post by dfhkvs (original poster) »

With the leads to the heating element terminals disconnected, the resistance is infinite.

My understanding is that the heating element has failed.

That seems odd for a unit < 1 year old.

Dave.

dfhkvs (original poster)
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Joined: 4 years ago

#9: Post by dfhkvs (original poster) »

For some additional information, our city water (according to annual report) is considered 'soft' at 25 mg/L. Given that, and < 1 year of use, it seems hard to believe that a heating element would fail due to scaling? Just curious what typically makes these elements fail.

I assume the manufacturer would warranty this?

Dave.

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#10: Post by HB »

They typically fail because they're exposed to air and overheat.
Dan Kehn

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