Leaking Steam wand

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rootbrooklyn

Leaking Steam wand

Post by rootbrooklyn »

My steam wand has a steady drip that started a couple of days ago. It does not appear to be located at the rubber washer inside the head of the wand. And the leak is worse in the few minutes after use. Eventually it does seem to stop if not used for 20 minutes or so. Any ideas what's going on?

Thanks!
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chas
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

Check out the diagram below. The most likely parts causing you leakage are going to be the ones labeled 219, 221, or 223.

s1v2/images/SteamArmAssy.pdf
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

I came across this thread while searching for any hints on a new problem with the steam wand on my Vivaldi 2 (purchased 2007). The steam wand is leaking steam, even when the steam knob is fully closed. As it does, it makes a hissing sound, heats up the wand, and eventually causes a small puddle of water. So I'm forced to turn the the boiler off after each cappuccino.

Is this the same issue as the one from the OP? If so, how could I best narrow down which of the 3 parts you kindly mentioned is the cause of the issue?
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

Yup. Same problem, same likely washers.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

Chas, thanks for the confirmation.

Is there a way to determine which of the 3 washers need replacing, or should I replace all 3?

Are there any disassembly instructions?
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

I would buy and replace all the washers. Even if just one of the washers is currently damaged and causing the leak some of the others may have gotten brittle with age and may break when you take the valve apart.

There was a great post with photos on how to disassemble that valve which was posted 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the gentlemen linked the photos from his own website rather than uploading them to the forum and now that site is gone!

Here are a few key items.
1) Use a very small slotted screwdriver or something similar to pry the round disk in the center of the steam knob off. Then you should see the nut that needs to be removed so that you can pull off the knob. (My recollection is hazy. This could be a large screw rather than a nut.) The exploded diagram also shows a snap ring holding together two pieces of the knob. However, it is my recollection that you do not need to disassemble those two parts.
2) Remove the lower front panel via the 2 screws facing front on that panel
3) Remove the screws along the upper edge of the panel that the steam valve stem goes through.
4) Pull the panel out so that it clears the valve stem. You can either drop that panel down out of the way if there is enough slack in the two ribbon cable or else disconnect both cables and move that panel completely out of your work area.
5) At this point you are on your own to find the correct wrenches to complete the valve disassembly/washer replacement/reassembly. Be sure you have the exploded diagram page for this assembly on hand from the parts manual (bottom of page 3) .V2 Parts Manual
BTW: You should probably review this drawing before you even perform step one since you can clearly see from the exploded diagram what that round disk looks like which will probably help you pry it off.

Even though the previously noted washers are the ones most likely to be causing this leak, you will see from the diagram that there are actually 5 washers in the entire assembly. To be completely safe, it wouldn't hurt to buy a whole set. If you have access to a good hardware store with an excellent assortment of round washers you can probably remove the ones from the valve, take them with you, and pick them all up pretty cheaply. If you don't want to count on this being the case, call Chris Coffee Service, tell them which machine you have, and ask them to send you a complete set of replacement washers.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

Any progress?
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

Hi Chas, sorry for the late reply.

I've been trying to find specs for the washers you mentioned, so I can get exact replacements prior to disassembly, but didn't get far.

I'm planning to perform the disassembly this week; will keep you posted.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

Wow, it turns out I was unable to get to work on this task for no less than 5 years. My previous repair schedule turned out to be too ambitious... :-|

I started disassembly last week on the back of a recent move, and while I managed to take off the knob and remove the valve from the front panel, I'm unable to unscrew part 228 from part 218, which appears to be necessary to get to part 221 which I think is the worn out gasket.

Hoping this transmission will reach some S1 owner who can advise on whether I'm on the right track. I've really given it a good go to unscrew these parts, and am left wondering if these parts are meant to be disassembled for service at all -- that's how tightly those parts are screwed together.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

chas wrote: Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:02 pmAny progress?
/cc chas
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

The good news is that the parts you can't get apart are in the hot water assembly. Only the parts in the top assembly are for the steam wand.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

chas wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2024 9:15 am The good news is that the parts you can't get apart are in the hot water assembly. Only the parts in the top assembly are for the steam wand.
Hi Chas! Thanks for your response, and apologies for the time it took to report back :-P

I just checked the machine again, and it appears the hot water faucet is a separate mechanism, so this part that I removed seems only for the steam, not hot water.

https://imgur.com/QnNb2X1
Image

The parts I’m trying to separate are the ones between my thumb and index finger in the photo. This is based on the assumption that the gasket must be 'before' the T valve that the steam wand attaches to (part 218), but 'after' the flexible plastic hose that connects to the rightmost part (part 228).
If the worn out gasket is not between these parts, which one is the one to replace?
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

Here's a photo of my partially disassembled steam valve, with notes. https://imgur.com/a/qieCgvy

Is the leak caused by the absence of the pair of 219s? These appear to be the only gaskets I can get to without disassembling 218 and 228.
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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by chas »

I forgot to ask where the leak seems to be coming from in your machine. Is it the wand itself that is leaking or is it from the control faucet?

When mine leaked it was the gasket up at the ball joint so the leak was coming from the wand itself. It sounds like your leak is coming from the faucet mechanism. If this is the case, then you must unscrew your stuck parts 228 and 218. Perhaps some penetrating oil applied for several hours. I would use WD-40 here. I assume you have something similar over there.

The two washers labelled 219 are inside part 218 so you can't see them until you can unscrew this assembly.

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Re: Leaking Steam wand

Post by thebearmaster »

There is no leak visible on the faucet mechanism proper; the only symptom of the leak is at the tip of the steam wand, where I can see / feel steam escaping even with the steam knob fully closed. So my guess is that it's a different kind of leak from the one you had at the ball joint.

It's good just to get your confirmation that 218 and 228 are meant to be screwed apart -- I've ended up chipping large chunks off of the angled part of 228 as I attempted to unscrew the parts with spanners.

A parts supplier in Korea has kindly offered to unscrew the parts for me if I ship over the faucet, so I suppose I have this option and the WD-40 to choose from.
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