CraigTurner Senior Member Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 9 Location: Chapel Hill Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Anita Grinder: MACAP M4
Posted Sun Jul 13, 2008, 2:39pm Subject: Anita and My Memory....?
I just returned from a prolonged out-of-town trip. I fired up my Anita and after about 45 minutes I attempted my first shot. No problem in flushing the E61 or in pulling the shot.
A couple of hours later, I tried to pull another shot and an unusual thing happened: As I tried the simple flush, the machine pump came on just fine, but no water came out the grouper for at least 10, maybe 15 seconds. Then came a rather thin stream that then petered out. Then a pause. Then the water finally started to come through in the expected flush.
Now, the shot I drew was just fine. But I don't remember having to use an extended time to get the water out of the machine. It almost seems like the internal line had dried out and had to be refilled.
This pattern has continued for a couple of weeks or so. I called Chris Coffee and the technician suggested that I first check the plastic filter on the tube in the reservoir, and take off the top bolt on the E61 and check the screen there. The plastic filter seemed fine, I blew it out to make sure. The top bolt and screen had just a bit of crust on one small part, so I cleaned it off. But I still get the sluggish start up in flow when I've had the machine on for a while, through the day. The first flush of the day seems not to have this problem if I make a shot within the first hour of start up.
Funny, I don't remember having this pattern before, but maybe I've forgotten my habit with my machine?
Posted Sun Jul 13, 2008, 5:36pm Subject: Re: Anita and My Memory....?
CraigTurner Said:
This pattern has continued for a couple of weeks or so. I called Chris Coffee and the technician suggested that I first check the plastic filter on the tube in the reservoir, and take off the top bolt on the E61 and check the screen there. The plastic filter seemed fine, I blew it out to make sure. The top bolt and screen had just a bit of crust on one small part, so I cleaned it off. But I still get the sluggish start up in flow when I've had the machine on for a while, through the day. The first flush of the day seems not to have this problem if I make a shot within the first hour of start up.
Funny, I don't remember having this pattern before, but maybe I've forgotten my habit with my machine?
Hi Craig! Yes, with the crust (scale) on the gicleur screen., a piece must of sluffed off of it there or somewhere in the HX line/s & temporarily plugged up the gicleur jet in the top of the mushroom valve., under the top bolt on the top of the E61 group.
The same thing was evident on the Expobar Office EB-61 Leva that I bought from you. In my email to you some time ago (Monday, September 24, 2007) I described what I had done to date & described the following: The shower screen was approx 90% blocked up with disintergrated rubber bits from the E61 preinfusion & closing valves. Also the gicleur in the top of the E61 group was approx 50% plugged with scale deposit. It runs excellent since I serviced it back then though!
How old is your Anita now & have you descaled yet? I'm sure you don't want the same trouble to get any worse, so I'd nip it in the bud right now. {;-)
CraigTurner Senior Member Joined: 28 Jul 2003 Posts: 9 Location: Chapel Hill Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Anita Grinder: MACAP M4
Posted Sun Jul 13, 2008, 5:53pm Subject: Re: Anita and My Memory....?
Hey, Craig, long time no talk!
Hmm. The Anita is almost exactly a year old. Actually, I asked Chris of Chris Coffee about descaling and he was most firm in saying not to do that. In his experience, descaling had caused many problems by itself, so he just said to use the softest water I could. I'm on a double filter thing that I use for drinking water as well.
The scale on the gicleur covered, maybe, 5% of the screen.
If the scale blocked temporarily, then what is still causing the behavior? Are you talking now about the internals I can't directly see?
The descriptions I've read of the descaling procedures on this site are a bit scary to me, frankly.
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