Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

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manishr

Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by manishr »

Hello, I own a Vivaldi I. I think I may have blew out the pump (not sure). The machine is connected to a FloJet (external pump) which is then connected to a 5-gallon water tank. Also, I have the machine running on economy mode since my apartment is not wired for 20-amps.

The 5-gallon water tank was on empty while the machine was trying to pull water. The machine (I'm assuming the pump) made the usual rattling sound (when trying to pull water) for approx 15 seconds then the entire machine turned off. I also noticed excess steam coming from the top of the machine after it failed.

When this happened, it caused the circuit to trip. I had to reset the circuit (pushing the button on the outlet plate). Waiting a few hours, I powered the machine back on. It did not make the usual noises when starting up, so I knew something is broken. I leave the machine on for 20 minutes. The boiler never comes one. HOWEVER, the two-cup button works but the one-cup button does not. I only use the one-cup button.

I'm thinking about buying a new pump, but I want to make sure with the experts out there that this is right thing to do.

Any thoughts. Thanks!
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chas
Vivaldi Dreamer
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Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by chas »

I do not suspect the pump if the boilers are not coming on. If the pump failed, the boilers would still work assuming they are not empty. If you let the boiler(s) run dry it is more likely that you fried either the heating element or the triac that switches power to the boiler. Some questions to narrow things further:

1) Do both boilers not work or just one?
2) If just one, which one?
3) If the control board tries to switch on power to one or both boilers, it checks that within a given period of time there is evidence that the boiler(s) are heating. If not the control board will cause an alarm which is noted by a specific set of lights being on. This will give you a code that you can look up in the User's Manual.
4) Those type of alarms are referred to as blocking alarms. This means that even if you correct the problem the alarm will not clear and allow the machine to function until you unplug the machine and then plug it back in.

Given my suspicion that you may have fried one of the heater elements, you should do the following test with the unit unplugged if you have an ohmmeter. Unplug the power leads from the boiler and them ohm between them. You should see something like 10 ohms for the steam boiler and 33 ohms for the group boiler. Also ohm between each boiler connector and the boiler itself to ensure that the element hasn't shorted to ground.

I've seen elements in a dry group boiler actually bend down and touch the bottom of the boiler. However, this failure is more likely to trip the GFCI at least initially
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
manishr

Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by manishr »

Chas, Thank you for replying. Here are my replies to your questions. If I don't answer them as you intended, please let me know.

(Questions 1 & 2) Since the two-cup button pulls water, I would say that only the group boiler works. The steam boiler is not working.
(Question 3 & 4) Unfortunately, I'm not getting any codes. The boiler light stays blinking the whole time. I will attempt to troubleshoot tomorrow and keep the machine on longer. My only concern is if something is not working, keeping it on longer may damage the machine even more.

Thanks for the information on ways to determine the root cause. I will try to troubleshoot tomorrow with your advice below. I will repost with the results.
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chas
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Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by chas »

I'm still not convinced that you have burned out your pump. However, given the way you have stated your facts, there is a way that the pump could be shot and you'd still get the responses you are seeing. The boiler light blinks while the steam boiler is heating. However, it also blinks as a blocking error indication if the controller board has signaled the pump to refill the steam boiler and it does not receive a filled indication from the boiler water level sensor within one minute. This error can happen if the pump is either not running or if it is running but there is a water line blockage between the pump and the boiler.

You say that when you press the Two Cup button you get water flow from the group head. What you did not specify is whether this water is delivered at the pressure from the accumulator tank or whether the V1 pump is turning on and delivering full 9 bar pressure at the group. If the pump runs and delivers 9 bar at the group then it is OK and the problem is probably an open circuit in your steam boiler element. However, if the pump doesn't run even when you press the two cup button, either it or the motor is probably shot.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
manishr

Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by manishr »

Chas, I had a friend (whom I purchased the La Spaziale from) take a look at the machine. He opened it up and noticed a lot of scale around the boiler and the wires and fittings. Also, there's a button on top of the boiler. He pushed this down saying this resets the boiler. Also, he cleared out some of the scale in the tube that goes into the boiler (that sets the water level). The combination of these got the boiler working again.

However, he did say the pump is bad. There is no pressure in the group and only small amount of water is coming out when the two-cup button was pressed. I called Fluid-O-Tech directly and purchased the replacement part.

When I get the pump, I will install it as well as descale the boiler and group. I will update the forum on my results.

Also, the boiler and one-cup button are working again. I'm assuming resetting the boiler fixed the boiler button. I'm not sure what fixed the one-cup button. Thanks for the advice and support.
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chas
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Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by chas »

Given that you stated that you saw steam coming out of the top of the machine which indicates the OPV blew off, the steam boiler really overheated. So it makes sense that the thermal circuit breaker tripped at the same time. So this did it's job and probably saved the heater element.

While debugging the pump issue did you try removing the collar that attaches the pump to the motor to ensure that the motor is OK and just the pump is shot?
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
manishr

Re: Broken Vivaldi I (...pump??)

Post by manishr »

haven't done that yet. I will do that when I install the pump. How do you determine if the motor is bad?
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