Steam stinks

[zoomin]

I can't do a good job of describe what it smells like but the steam and water coming out of my S1v2 smells awful.

I have backflushed with espresso cleaner regularly, but this does not affect the steam/water boiler, is my understanding.

How do I service the other boiler?

Thanks.

[Weska]

Hard to say what's going on there, zoomin. For a start you could drain the boiler through the plug on the bottom. You might want to collect and inspect what comes out of there for clues about the source of the smell.

[MDL]

Do you regularly use steam or hot water from the Vivaldi? If the water has been sitting in the steam boiler for a long time with no use it could get nasty (I presume; since I regularly use steam and water my boiler has never had an issue).

I would do as Weska suggests; drain the boiler completely using the plug at the bottom. I would then fill it will a dilute bleach solution to sterilize it before rinsing with lots of fresh water. Depending on the age of the machine and use history you might also consider doing a descale with citric acid at the same time since you will have access to filling and draining easily.

Good luck,
Mark

[zoomin]

Thanks for the tips.

I make 4+ lattes a day so stale water is probably not the problem.

Do I have to do much dismantling to get at the drain on the bottom of the steam boiler?

[chas]

If you have a fairly standard double sink in the kitchen, the S1 is just wide enough that it will straddle the sink. In that position the brass drain nut is easily accessible where it sticks through the bottom of the chassis on the left side. If your remove this nut and no water comes out, it means a thin crust of minerals is blocking the hole. Just poke a screwdriver through the hole to break the crust. This is the first place minerals will deposit, so a thin crust can block the drain hole even when the rest of the boiler is clean. So this doesn't mean a descale is required.

Since you are having this problem and you say you frequently use water from the boiler, it makes me wonder about your carbon filter. Assuming you have one, it may be ready for replacement. If you don't have on, you should consider it.

[t0m]

I recently bought a second hand, 12 month old vivaldi II and have had the same problem. I took the vacuum breaker off the top of the steam boiler and noticed a small amount of scale build up on the coils, so decided to descale at the same time. After descaling and plenty of flushing clean water through the boiler all is ok again.

You could try just flushing some clean water through the boiler, as using the drain plug on the bottom of the boiler doesn't require any stripping down of the machine, just jack it up on something to get your hands underneath.

[JohnB]

If you are only steaming & not using hot water regularly I'd suggest drawing a couple liters of water out of the boiler at least once or twice a week once you get the boiler cleaned out. You should be able to draw 3.5 cups at a time from the hot water tap before the pressure gives out. I use the hot water tap daily (2-3 ltrs min) & have never had an odor issues.