Boiler won't shut off.

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txrpls

Boiler won't shut off.

Post by txrpls »

I finished making coffee for my wife and just after I finished there was a loud pop and flash and the machine went dead. Pulled the top off and noticed that one of the connector's insulator had deteriorated and shorted out against the support bar across the top of the machine (picture below). The wire connects to some form of a breaker screwed into the boiler. I bent the connector away from the frame and plugged in the power cord. Dead machine. Ok, so I checked the fuse and it was good, Hmm, checked the breaker box and sure enough, the breaker was tripped. Went back into the house and the light was flashing, Yeah! Whoops, not so fast. The boiler was powering up and started making sputtering sounds, like it was over pressuring, Looked at the gauge and it was way in the red so I pulled the plug. The problem now is the boiler comes on anytime the machine is plugged into the wall. Any ideas? My initial though is to replace the breaker on the top, but i have my doubts about that.

Rant: This machine has performed flawlessly, but you would think that they could use a little better insulator than the crappy plastic ones that only last a year or two. This is my fourth Italian espresso machine and they all have these lousy insulators. What would it cost? Maybe a couple extra bucks. Then look at the position of the breaker. What idiot installed this and left the connector up against the support bar? It's hard to get good help these days!

Mark
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peter

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by peter »

Pressing the 'Boiler' button, like when you only want the group boiler to run, doesn't help?
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chas
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Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by chas »

The short most likely took out the steam boiler triac so that it stays on all the time. The other end of the wire that shorted goes to the output of the triac. Definitely get a new set of insulated crimp connectors and replace all those.

What happens - particularly with that wire - is that the heat and humidity in that location eventually corrodes the copper wire. This causes the resistance to slowly increase until the wire eventually melts. I broke down after this had happened at least twice and replaced all the insulated crimp connectors. I think putting solder on the end of the wire before you crimp the new connector works even better. It's the exposed copper strands that cause the problem.

There is a short ~6" jumper wire that goes between the overheat thermostat in your photo and the power terminal of the steam boiler. I actually made a couple of spares for this wire so I could get back in action immediately. Of course, I was lucky enough to catch the issue before things went as far as they did in your machine.

For now you can just leave the boiler disconnected and stick with espressos, americanos, etc. But the final solution is a new triac board from CCS. I think the last person this happened too (within the last 6 months) said the triac board is around $40. Of course, you can always go with the new solid state relay module but that costs more and is more work to install, but it is an option.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
txrpls

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by txrpls »

Thanks for the info. You where right about the triac at least that is what the tech at CC said. Should be here tomorrow. Figured out the part about disabling the boiler. I'm think I'm going to solder the terminal and use heat shrink on it for insulation.
peter

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by peter »

I'm curious about which Vivaldi you have. I opened mine up, a VII, and there is no support bar above the steam boiler.

And to the naked eye, the top of my steam boiler, all the connections and insulators look as new today after 3 years as they did when new. Could it be a case of leaving the machine on 24/7 vs. only for a few hours per day?
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chas
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Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by chas »

Peter, good catch. I hadn't really noticed that. As I recall that notch in the bar is only on the Mini V2. I think I recall Endo saying what a PITA is was on the early models that did not have that notch. It was added to later production runs.

I think the issue was that it was almost impossible if you needed to remove the boiler to do so because that cylinder around the pressure relief valve would hit the bar.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
peter

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by peter »

Thanks Chas. Given that the top of my steam boiler and all its connections/insulators look new, would you see any benefit in redoing/soldering the connectors? It would be easy, except that there isn't enough slack in the wires to cut/strip/solder/crimp, and it would mean running new wires to wherever they originate.
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chas
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Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by chas »

I'd leave it alone if I were you and not do anything unless you eventually see signs of deterioration. The only wire I had trouble with - as previously noted - was the short 6" jumper wire. If it had been the end of one of the long wires going back to the triac board, it would have been a real hassle.

On the V2 I did have the plastic insulator sleeves disintegrate on those long wires but I just lived without any insulation on them since the wires were in good condition and any attempt at a fix would have been a real hassle as you noted.
Chas
LM GS/3 & LaSpaziale Dream v 1.25 (US 120V)
Mazzer Kony E, Customized Rocky
Hottop P/B
peter

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by peter »

Thanks.
txrpls

Re: Boiler won't shut off.

Post by txrpls »

peter wrote:I'm curious about which Vivaldi you have. I opened mine up, a VII, and there is no support bar above the steam boiler.

And to the naked eye, the top of my steam boiler, all the connections and insulators look as new today after 3 years as they did when new. Could it be a case of leaving the machine on 24/7 vs. only for a few hours per day?
I have a Mini VII. The machine has the time installed and it is only on fours a day.
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