Steam leak and pressure outside bounds (I think)

[RobertD]

I had my S1 for about three months when I ran into the same problem covered on other posts - my heating element died. Returned it to LaSpazialeUSA to fix (how I got it from them is a long story ). When I got it back, it had developed a leak. I don't know the object's function, but the leak appears to be coming from the tall brass fitting on top. In picture 4, it is the object being touched by the purple(?) wire, directly "under" (from a 2-demensional perspective) the manual valve for the steam wand. In my machine it is covered by a thin piece of folded plastic. Question: can this be tightened safely?

Because of the leak, the pump is going on every 2 minutes! It turns on at 1.25 bars, and off at about 1.5 (in the red). Is there a way for me to adjust that setting, assuming I can get rid of the leak? I think I read somewhere it is supposed to go on at .8 and off at 1.3

Thanks for your help!

[chas]

Robert. This is the pressure relief valve or perhaps a vacuum relieve valve. It alway seems to open when the boiler cools. On mine, as the boiler starts to come up to pressure, it closes. In the process it often spits a tiny bit of water and steam for a few seconds before it seats.

I sounds like yours is never completely seating. You might try putting a tea towel over your index finger for protection and they push down on the pin in the middle a few times (with the boiler up to temp) allowing it to pop up in between. Perhaps this will clear out whatever is preventing it from sealing completely.

If that doesn't work the next thing I would try would be to unscrew the valve (with the boiler completed cooled) and see if there is anything that can be cleaned out to unplug in from the underneath. The final option would be to order a new one and replace it.

[padillatim]

The valve can be cleaned - on my old Expobar, the valve would need to be removed and cleaned every couple of months. A bit of dust can build up and keep it from sealing. It is very easy to remove/replace, it probably will need teflon tape when you replace it. I used to give mine a soak in Cafiza (just because I had it near the machine) and scrub it with a wire brush.

I leave my S1 on 24/7 except when travelling, so the valve stays sealed. It was off for a couple of days this week and the valve was spitting for a few hours once it was up to temp. I may be performing the same maintenance soon...

[RobertD]

Thanks so much for your input. I will probably work on it this weekend and report results back here. BTW, LaSpazialeUSA tell me that the pressures I am seeing (on at 1.25, off at 1.5) are not necessarily outside manufacturer specs.