Descale questions. Boiler Cap melted

If something breaks post warranty, let us know about it. Tell us how you fixed it. Let us know how much the parts cost.
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mswanson

Descale questions. Boiler Cap melted

Post by mswanson »

Hi,

I finally got around to taking care of the automatic boiler refill alarm, and I did clean out some deposits as you guys suggested in that previous post. Thanks!.

I decided to also descale the boilers. I took apart the steam boiler, but before doing so, I noticed that a couple connections looked melted or burned slightly. The black plastic cap that goes over one of the heater elements has melted and was easily cracking. It's part # 489 in the book I believe.

Also on the steam boiler, I noticed that one of the solderless connection insulators was blacked slightly and all of them seemed to have suffered from heat damage and are cracked. I don't see how the former issue is a problem as they are right on top of a heat source, but I wonder why it looks burnt?

On the issue of descaling, it seemed like my steam boiler and heating element was covered in a light, but formidable black soot. I scrubbed off as much as I could, but I could reach all the way into the boiler to scrub. Is this good enough, or do I need to use some kind of stronger chemical? As has been noted before, vinegar didn't seem to touch it at all! It took forever to get down to the copper on the heating element and there is still some between the rings that I can't get to (not sure if this is too much of an issue....

With the group boiler, the heating element and boiler it self looked pretty good, except where some amount of the typical green scale formed around the ring where the boiler halves meet. I scrapped and removed as much as i could. But it looks pretty good.

Lastly, I didn't really notice a gasket between the boilers, perhaps it's melted away? I'm assuming that I should replace it. I'm referring to part #499 and #7418.

Thank you for any help. I feel like I'm taking apart the space shuttle without a manual!:)
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BrewHaHa
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Re: Descale questions. Boiler Cap melted

Post by BrewHaHa »

mswanson wrote:Hi,

I finally got around to taking care of the automatic boiler refill alarm, and I did clean out some deposits as you guys suggested in that previous post. Thanks!.

I decided to also descale the boilers. I took apart the steam boiler, but before doing so, I noticed that a couple connections looked melted or burned slightly. The black plastic cap that goes over one of the heater elements has melted and was easily cracking. It's part # 489 in the book I believe.

Also on the steam boiler, I noticed that one of the solderless connection insulators was blacked slightly and all of them seemed to have suffered from heat damage and are cracked. I don't see how the former issue is a problem as they are right on top of a heat source, but I wonder why it looks burnt?
There's a lot of electricity flowing though those connectors! I had the same thing happen - I found one of the plastic caps melted. It appears that over time a less-than-perfect connection results in carbon or corrosion (I'm not sure what it should be called) can build up, causing increasing resistance in the connection. That, in turn, will cause the connection to heat up, causing even more corrosion, resistance, and heat. In my case, I didn't realize what was happening until the steam boiler wouldn't heat up fully. It would stay on (as indicated by a continually blinking boiler light), and the pressure wouldn't ramp all the way up.

After I thoroughly cleaned the connectors, the issue went away. (Although my first attempt at cleaning was not thorough enough, and the problem quickly came back.) Some have suggested tinning the connections after cleaning. I'd probably do that next time.
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JohnB

Re: Descale questions. Boiler Cap melted

Post by JohnB »

I don't have the parts list, which gaskets are you looking for? There should be a gasket that fits between the steam boiler & cover & an o'ring that seals the brew boiler cover. Without either one you would have had big leaks so they must be there.

Chas had the same issue with the black connector covers. L/S had done away with those by the time my machine was built (12/07) & was using clear heat tubing slipped over the crimp connector. I think they found that those black covers held in too much heat while the clear slip on covers just offer protection but allow heat to escape. I would make sure that the connectors fit tightly & adjust if necessary, clean them thoroughly & replace the black covers with clear heat shrink tubing as shown in the photo below.

How long did you soak the parts in vinegar? It will take hours/overnight for anything to happen. Hot citric acid solution is the other remedy for those of you that don't have a bead blast cabinet in the garage. :grin: I'm surprised that your scale was black as mine was white.
Steam Boiler.JPG
Steam Boiler.JPG (133.3 KiB) Viewed 7392 times
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