Mini won't pump water...
Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2018 10:27 am
posted this in the VII forum and then realized this should be over here because it's a mini ... sorry 'bout that.
Friends had a big get together last night so they asked me to set up a coffee bar. Took the Mini over and made lattes, cappas, etc. A good time was had by all. I had prolly made 10 lattes or so and then... suddenly it wouldn't pump water through the porta filter. Nada. Barely a dribble. Then it shut itself down and the boiler light flashed. Let it rest, unplugged it and then tried again later. The steam wand side worked fine. But no water through the portafilter. No water without a portafilter. That big satisfying "chugging" noise we get when the pump is pushing just wasn't there. YUCK.
Get home and try again and this time it made a few espressos. Seemed like it was okay. Now I'm thinking I was just choking it with too tight a grind but that doesn't explain why it wouldn't send water without a portafilter on the head. Something's not right. But it was late.
Get up this morning to make the usual Americanos for the wife and I and I get that nice pump sound for a few seconds and then it quits. I get a dribble and 58 second shot that only gets to 1.5 ounce. I turned her off at 58 because something is obviously wrong.
The machine hasn't been descaled. I'm the second owner. It does some heavy duty evenings at get togethers like this a couple of times a year but mostly she makes two Americanos in the morning and takes the rest of the day off.
Really really do not want to ship it. Would like to see if I can bring her back online with a little TLC. Suggestions and thoughts?
Friends had a big get together last night so they asked me to set up a coffee bar. Took the Mini over and made lattes, cappas, etc. A good time was had by all. I had prolly made 10 lattes or so and then... suddenly it wouldn't pump water through the porta filter. Nada. Barely a dribble. Then it shut itself down and the boiler light flashed. Let it rest, unplugged it and then tried again later. The steam wand side worked fine. But no water through the portafilter. No water without a portafilter. That big satisfying "chugging" noise we get when the pump is pushing just wasn't there. YUCK.
Get home and try again and this time it made a few espressos. Seemed like it was okay. Now I'm thinking I was just choking it with too tight a grind but that doesn't explain why it wouldn't send water without a portafilter on the head. Something's not right. But it was late.
Get up this morning to make the usual Americanos for the wife and I and I get that nice pump sound for a few seconds and then it quits. I get a dribble and 58 second shot that only gets to 1.5 ounce. I turned her off at 58 because something is obviously wrong.
The machine hasn't been descaled. I'm the second owner. It does some heavy duty evenings at get togethers like this a couple of times a year but mostly she makes two Americanos in the morning and takes the rest of the day off.
Really really do not want to ship it. Would like to see if I can bring her back online with a little TLC. Suggestions and thoughts?