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Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:15 pm
by alsterling
My S1 is about 3 years old now, and left on 24/7. Just recently, there is a water drip from the steam wand after the steam valve is closed. I can also hear a tiny bit of steam escaping the tip, which makes me think the "steam shutoff valve" is not doing it's job. (?) I'll probably call Chris Coffee, but would appreciate hearing from someone else who may have gone through this........ ? I did a search on this subject and only found one post from earlier last year. With the age of the machine, I won't be surprised to hear that it's normal, but wonder what else generally fails at this point?

Thanks, Al Sterling
949-305-0488

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:34 pm
by zoey
I had a similar issue. Turns out that there is a small bracket, which is hand-bent, that holds the valve/lever to the frame of the machine. This bracket is not extremely sturdy and it bent just enough to keep the lever from moving to the completely closed position (the lever rests upon the housing surrounding the lever, thus keeping it slightly open---if that makes sense).

I just bent the bracket to the appropriate position.

May or may not be your problem.

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 11:55 pm
by chas
Al, check out this page: s1v2/images/SteamArmAssy.pdf

Given the age of your machine it could very well be one of the O rings or gaskets numbered 219, 221, or 223. You'd have to disassemble it to figure that out, but the exploded diagrams should help that effort or more like help to put it back together again.

Is the water just dripping directly out of the tip or is it leaking up by the swivel valve and just running down the arm. If it's the latter you might just need to tighten the nut that surrounds the swivel joint. (part # 8273). I have this problem myself and am just trying to get around to tightening the nut.

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:05 am
by alsterling
Geeeeze.......... you guys sleep much! :lol: It's almost 9p here in SoCal and I'm alone in the house; wife's playing cards with her friends. Anyway, the dripping is only at the tip, and amounts to a small frothing pitcher overnight. I'm sure it involves the valve. There's so much loose play at the ending 20 degrees of knob turn, that I figured maybe the O-ring or gaskets were the culprit. But not having taken the time to dig into the machine, and hearing about that bracket, I wonder if that could be the issue? I'll definitely look at the diagram-breakdown and then contemplate taking it apart. If I shut off the machine overnight, it's a non issue, and frankly, leaving the wand pointed into the tray is another option if I don't want to deal with it. But if it's an easy repair, I'll gladly dig into the valve area or valve and do whatever is necessary. Having an office at home, to just take a break, I sometimes go downstairs and into the garage to make cap's or whatever as a getaway from the phone and computer graphics, etc. It's like tending to a garden just to get one's mind off of "stuff." However, that dripping is just enough to drive my neurotic personality up a wall........... not enough yet to make it up the whole wall, but at least enough to make me want to hop a bit! :bounce:

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:00 am
by chas
Keep in mind that the lever Zoey mentioned that has the bracket holding it in place is unique to the V2 Mini. I don't think you'll find any such bracket on the S1. So I think you're out-of-luck hoping for such a simple fix. Even if it ends up being mineral deposits rather than a rubber thingee, you'll still have to disassemble the valve.

If I were in your shoes, I'd call CC and order every washer and "O" ring in the exploded view diagrams of the steam valve and wait til they arrive. Then I'd replace them all while I had the valve apart even if I find that mineral deposits are the likely culprit. Save any washers and "O" rings you remove that still look in OK shape and keep as emergency spares.

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:16 am
by alsterling
Chas......I did look at the diagram and realized quickly that there was no bracket. That would be like when the toilet doesn't reset after flushing. It's usually not the valve assembly but the lever and chain assembly. Not so lucky here. How much hassel is it to get to the valve? I'll guess there's a step by step dissassembly photo set on this website.......right?

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:13 am
by chas
There aren't any step-by-step instructions on disassembly of the valve, mostly because I haven't had to do it yet. However, a number of folks here have done so. I think the only non-obvious step is how to get the steam knob off so you can get started. You have to carefully pry out the middle piece of the knob to get at the screw that must be removed in order to get the knob off. This middle piece is shown in the exploded diagram but the screw itself is not!

Unfortunately, you need to remove the top front panel as part of the process which will require removal of the side panels and cup warmer grate as well. So I guess you also need to look at this as an opportunity to give the entire innards of the machine a once over, clean up, and inspection.

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:51 am
by zoey
Keep in mind that the lever Zoey mentioned that has the bracket holding it in place is unique to the V2 Mini. I don't think you'll find any such bracket on the S1
My bad! I forgot about the S1 having a dial valve. :roll: Sorry.

Re: Steam valve evidently not closing?

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:42 pm
by JohnB
You can remove the steam valve without taking off the top front panel/side panels as you can access both the water/steam feed hose connection on the rear & the steam arm attachment nut by just removing the cup warmer cover/lower front cover. Once the hose & steam arm are disconnected & you remove the nut under the knob the assy would lift right out.

I'll order the parts...and what about the new dispersion scr

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:02 pm
by alsterling
JohnB wrote:You can remove the steam valve without taking off the top front panel/side panels as you can access both the water/steam feed hose connection on the rear & the steam arm attachment nut by just removing the cup warmer cover/lower front cover. Once the hose & steam arm are disconnected & you remove the nut under the knob the assy would lift right out.
John.......... you've just described a repair that I figure I can handle! :shock: I really didn't want to have to finally clean off my work bench and bring it back to a "MIL-45208" workspace level! (that means you can actually see the table top without knocking over a paper coffee cup.) :oops:

Anyway, I'll order all the rubber Chris Coffee has. I actually, only a few months back, used the extra brewgroup gasket that came with the machine. I'll use this opportunity to order a couple of them plus want to look into the "newer thinner dispersion screen." Any of you know if it will actually make a difference?

Thanks for all the response, Al