phillybride Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012, 1:51pm Subject: Help! Francis Francis x5 exploded!
This morning, after I made one shot, I was puttering for a bit before making the second when my x5 made a high pitched alarm sound, them EXPLODED steam! We ran to flip the circuit breaker as it steamed all of the water it had in reserve. As you can guess, the company blew me off and told me to look up the repair company's number (which they didn't even have, and the repair company won't call me back. Did I do something wrong? Probably. And obviously, whatever overheating safety mechanism that was supposed to be there failed. I'm just grateful I had stepped away or I'd be at the ER right now. Does anyone have any advice about how to fix this? Or should the fact that it could have scalded me enough to keep me from ever trusting this brand again?
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,805 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012, 2:29pm Subject: Re: Help! Francis Francis x5 exploded!
I don't know much about that company or their machines. I remember them being offered as combo packs on the Illy website for half price with a commitment to a year of beans.
There are some guys here who might know the machine insides better and, if so, they can tell you if there's an improved OPV you could upgrade to in order to make the machine safe to operate in the future (without having to worry about another explosion).
Sad to hear they couldn't care less when you contacted them...tells me a lot about ever recommending them (not that I probably would have anyways).
Most of all...I'm glad to hear you weren't injured!
Oh, and you probably did not do anything wrong. Although it could be (speculating here) that the machine needed descaling.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,772 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012, 6:33pm Subject: Re: Help! Francis Francis x5 exploded!
It hqs been years since I was inside the X5 I used to have. My total guess is that the thermostst stuck in the heating position
Best advice I can offer is to thank the Lord you were not hurt and use this as a reasin to upgrade to a better machine.
FF uses very small boilers and when you CAN buy parts, they are very expensive but that is Ok as nearly everything is only serviceable by a dealer/ repair shop anyway
YMMV!
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
I don't know the extent of damage or danger you were in with your 'explosion', but there should be overpressure relief and additional fail-safe measures to prevent these dangerous situations. High temperature steam in a high pressure boiler can make for an extremely dangerous bomb. Glad you were not hurt.
Sadly, though rare, I recall one other incident when a commercial machine exploded in a busy cafe. Edit: i see Randy just posted a link to the story here....
The FF's were never well-regarded around the various forums for anything other than decor, and even there it is a debatable subject. Be thankful, turn it into a table lamp, fountain, or night light, and move on.
phillybride Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2012 Posts: 2 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012, 7:33pm Subject: Re: Help! Francis Francis x5 exploded!
Wow. That other story wasn't even the same brand! I shudder to think what would have happened if my toddler had been in the room. He's not allowed to be within three feet of this thing, but in this case, that wouldn't have mattered. This is nonsense, and Im shocked that the company representatives didn't even ask for my name - they clearly didn't care since it was out of warranty. I'm going to report this to CPSC and hope enough other people have done this to maybe force a recall. I'm riled up now!
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