glcoffee Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 67 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Taiwan Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Izzo Alex II Grinder: Vario Drip: Hario V60
Posted Fri Nov 30, 2012, 12:28am Subject: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
A friend of mine got her machine about 3 weeks ago. I have been trying to dial it in and no matter what I try, the puck is overly wet. Most times, a bed of water resides when the PF is removed,
Have tried over dosing, under dosing, different grinds and no matter what, the puck is still very wet. With the same settings (coffee, grind, tamp) on my Alex Duetto, my puck is at most 'damp' and never wet. Same setting is inferred as taking my equipment and trying to dial in her machine with the following:
- Single basket 7-8g, 20-24 second at 1oz - Double basket 16-18g 20-24second at 2oz
I will try to take a photo of the wet puck and bed of water when possible.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
Markarian Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 474 Location: Seattle Area Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Modded Nuova Simonelli Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Mazzer Super Jolly Drip: Moka, Aeropress, Melitta 102 Roaster: Wear-Ever Popcorn Pumper
Posted Fri Nov 30, 2012, 1:12am Subject: Re: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
Sounds like a bad 3 way solenoid valve. Try backflushing and see what happens, but if that valve is bad, the pressure buildup could be dangerous, so please use caution.
Try this.. Backflush with a blind basket and watch the base of the E61 group when the lever is pushed down. Do you get a spurt of water out of the base?
Now, can you knock out the puck or is the puck "Soupy"? What is the puck like when you use an 18 gram dose?
Are you still getting a decent shot from the machine despite the water on the puck? Let's start there.
SStones Senior Member Joined: 24 Nov 2012 Posts: 207 Location: Canada Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Giga 5, ECM Giotto, Rocket... Grinder: Anfim Milano-Best Vac Pot: No :( Drip: Some $30 thing from Walmart Roaster: I buy pre-roasted.
Posted Sat Dec 1, 2012, 6:40am Subject: Re: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
Apart from the wet puck, are there any other symptoms? Is the shot pulling slowly, ie. taking a good 18 seconds to dispense an ounce? I'd like to ask "Does it sound normal?", but I know it's a new machine to both you and the owner... But does it have any noises that make you think something is strange? Do you have a way of checking and setting the relief valve's opening pressure? Has it been set to something reasonable like 9.5 to 11 Bar? If you don't have a gauge to check it with, you can see if it has been left closed by listening to the pump wiuth the blind filter in. If your machine runs up to pressure and you can hear the pump stall (Drop to a hum instead of its normal buzz), then the relief valve isn't yet set. DON'T do this pump-stall test over and over. The brand new pumps can actually develop quite a lot of pressure and if the relief isn't protecting your machine it is stressful to your tubing and fittings.
Was it purchased new or used? Does the previous owner/dealer have any suggestions or info about things that might have to be set, adjusted or fixed before the machine will be optimal? From what I've seen of the batch of Cuadras sold through DirectBuy, the machines are complete but relief valves are all the way closed, not adjusted, hoses aren't always routed to the channel over the drip-tray and pressostats may be adjusted to anything from 0.6 to 1.7 Bar(Or whatever they left the MaTer factory at). You'll need to set these machines up to your needs just like the grinder. When I've suggested before that these things need to be set-up, I have been corrected. A couple of owners say theirs came pre-adjusted. Maybe some retailers or their suppliers are different than others.
I wish you luck with you and your friend's new machine. Post more if I/we can be of more help.
glcoffee Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 67 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Taiwan Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Izzo Alex II Grinder: Vario Drip: Hario V60
Posted Mon Dec 3, 2012, 9:55pm Subject: Re: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
Thanks for all the replies. I have asked my friend to take photos or a video if possible.
There are no strange symptoms that I am aware of, to be honest, I have only my Alex II as a comparison. The Cuadra was purchased new from Amazon.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
Posted Thu Dec 6, 2012, 3:51am Subject: Re: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
Maybe the seal of the brew valve isn't working properly. Had this before and gave me wet pucks all the time. After renewing the seal all my pucks where dry. There is a check to see if it isn't working properly. Let the machine heat up as normal and don't run the pump while warming.
When the machine is heated set the lever to the brew position to turn the pump on. If it takes a couple of seconds for brewwater to come out of the group and air is coming out first then it could be the seal of the brew valve.
glcoffee Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2012 Posts: 67 Location: Los Angeles, CA & Taiwan Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Izzo Alex II Grinder: Vario Drip: Hario V60
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012, 12:25am Subject: Re: La Nuova Era Cuadra - very wet puck
Erik82 Said:
Maybe the seal of the brew valve isn't working properly. Had this before and gave me wet pucks all the time. After renewing the seal all my pucks where dry. There is a check to see if it isn't working properly. Let the machine heat up as normal and don't run the pump while warming.
When the machine is heated set the lever to the brew position to turn the pump on. If it takes a couple of seconds for brewwater to come out of the group and air is coming out first then it could be the seal of the brew valve.
Reply from the vendor regarding wet pucks and stating it is normal. Should I be voice concerns?
An overly wet puck is normal, not all machines produce a dry hard puck. We have the solenoid set so it will drip a little to eliminate excess pressure from building up in the handle.
“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night ------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------ I am Taiwanese.
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