Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

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Doodee
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Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by Doodee »

Hello,

Hoping that someone here might be able to help.
I recently had an issue with my mini where the steam boilers was on even when the machine was in stand by.
Through troubleshooting with members on home-barista I was able to identify the SSR as being the cause of the issue.

I have since replaced the SSR with a near identical version from the same manufactuer.
The issue with the boiler switching on in Stand by is resolved! But now the machine has presented with new problems.
When I switch the machine on the Steam boiler starts and continues and doesn't stop. This is regardless of the steam boiler switch being in the on or off state (LED on or off). At the same time the brew boiler is stone cold and does not switch on (even on the broken SSR this worked).
The steam boiler is also going over pressure and triggering the overpressure valve.

Does anyone have any ideas about what might be causing these new issues and what I could try to resolve it?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
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chas
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by chas »

I saw something similar to this happen years ago when a member disconnected the triac boards (predecessor to the SSRs) then reconnected the input wires backwards to the replacement devices.

The correct action when turning on the machine is for the coffee boiler to come up to temp and then the steam boiler turns on until they are both at their final temperature. If you reconnected the wires so that the coffee boiler control wire is attached to the input on one SSR but the output wires from that SSR are connected to the steam boiler, exactly what you are seeing will happen.

If you have the coffee boiler control signal connected to the SSR that controls the voltage to the steam boilers, when you turn on the machine voltage is applied to the steam boiler instead. Since the computer board is monitoring the heat from the coffee boiler which is not on, the computer board never turns off the voltage so the steam boiler pressure valve will likely pop open or the machine will throw an error and shut-off, whichever comes first.
Chas
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Doodee
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by Doodee »

Thank you for the very detailed reply!
I thought I had wired everything exactly as it was from the old ssr.
07E3305B-DA4C-4B2E-A6C6-954B7E966832.jpeg
So I will recheck everything next to make sure.
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chas
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by chas »

I am fairly confident that swapped wires to the SSR module is your issue. I see that both sets of power leads use brown wires so it's possible those are the ones connected backwards. you can either swap the control leads OR the power leads as it does really matter which SSR controls which boiler. They are both identical. Just don't swap both sets of wires or you will end up with the same problem.

From what you indicated in a previous message, it seems that the SSR on the original device that was connected to the steam boiler failed but the one connected to the coffee boiler was still working. I was reading that, while SSRs fail much less often than the old triac board, when they fail they usually fail shorted; i.e. boiler on at all times. This sounds like what happened in your case.
Chas
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Doodee
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by Doodee »

Chas thank you so much. You’ve made my Christmas cappuccino filled again!

The brown wires were indeed reversed. Brew boiler is now switching on and when at temp the steam boiler switches on as expected and then stops when it gets to temp.

Thank you!
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chas
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by chas »

Great news. Glad to hear it. Now you can enjoy your Holiday with a Cap (or several!)

BTW: I used the Search function at the upper left and found another machine photo on the S1Cafe Forum that used the original SSR. It had the control wires in the same order as in your photo, so my final conclusion was that the brown wires were reversed. Thanks for the confirmation.
Chas
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Doodee
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Re: Mini Steam boiler active when switch off and brew boiler doesn't work

Post by Doodee »

I sure will!

I thought I’d also share this from the SSR manufacturer in case anyone finds themselves in a similar position and needs to order one. It’s worth knowing.

SOB542440-F is a specific reference we sell to WMF. But the SOB542460 has also 2 independant controls, so it should work and switch on both boilers.
The only difference between SOB542440-F and SOB542460 is that the SOB542440-F has an Outputs overvoltage protection by TVS (Transient Voltage Suppressor).
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