The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

Looks like I have a "new" drip fix.

For background, my unit had the normal every couple minute drip and I had been planning on picking up the pressure reducer from chris, but haven't gotten around to it. This means I am still using the stock house pressure of around 55lbs. The bypass valve is also set to stock, something around 14 if I remember correctly but its been a long time.

I had a failure of the grouphead gasket, and had a thought about trying to make it last longer when I replaced it. To those ends, I just sprayed the rubber group gasket all over with food grade spray silicone before putting it in the unit. I used it to see if it would help make the gasket last longer, figured the portafilter might be sticking to the rubber and destroying it when you clamp it down and release. After running through 10 or so backflushes, I brewed up and threw away a few shots and then drank a few.

There was no noticeable taste from the spray, but obviously a bit of silicone still in the shot glass (beading water). Took a few more backflushings (no cleaner for any of these or the previous ones) and a few more shots, then cleaned out the portafilter and the dispersion disks with a cleaner soak. At this point it was all clean and the shot glasses didn't show any silicone.

A few days later and I had to travel for a week. I didn't turn off the machine since my girlfriend uses it for hot tea. My routine is to come in, drop my bags wherever and empty the drip tray as it normally fills up about once a week or so. This time when I came back I picked up the tray to empty it since it fills up about once a week, and nada. Nothing. Not even a drip.

My guess is that in all of this, the silicone must have been taken through the exit piping after all of the backflushing. This also pushed into the expansion chambers and onto the rubber gaskets on that spring thing. This then lets the rubber bits seal like they should, and stops that stupid drip. WOO!

That was a while ago and it was still bone dry this morning when I came downstairs. I'll let you all know if the good news continues.

All right...it's been a week, the suspense is killing me!
How's it holding up?

Niko wrote:All right...it's been a week, the suspense is killing me!
How's it holding up?

Dude, that post was after over a month of it working! :D

Still high and dry. It's all good.

Sorry dude...
I was going by the post date :D

I shoulda' re-read the post but it crossed my mind to check in with you after reading it last week.
I have a photographic memory (usually) but this time there was no memory card in there...

Niko, you want to be the first to try backflushing your S1 with KY?

Sure!
...does it have teflon in it ?

Would the "warming gel" version of ky add to the temperature stability of the s1v2?

OK. that's it!!
I found another use for Tiger Balm...

another month, still bone dry. it is official, the stock rubber needs some food safe silicone grease.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/gas-handling.html

Scroll down to the sprays, that is what I have. 8 bucks and enough to last basically a lifetime. If you get bored and want to do more with it, pick up a deluxe beer making kit and get brewing! Silicone is for the kegs.

Got most of the stuff to make beer...
just need time but the damn coffee takes up most of it!
Thanks for the posts and the link

And one more follow up. Still bone dry. I also use a quick spritz on the group head gasket after backflushing with cleaner and the portafilter fits better plus is easier to get on and off, not to mention never has that odd single drip out around the edges when under pressure.

Pump is going out, but thats another story. Looks like the bearing is eating itself, thought it could be the capacitor but when under pressure the pump does not want to spin. I used some more magic silicone spray in and around the pump and it is spinning again (easier, but not easily), but will need to some money for a replacement eventually. Unfortunately that money went to the kegerator (home made) and a bunch of corny kegs, well ok that and 3gal better bottles for my two lambics (cherry and raspberry), an oatmeal stout, a breakfast stout, uh a few bottles of champagne and about 30 lbs of beans. Those were REQUIRED purchases though you see, so it all works out in the end. :)

Scot

Was the area clean where the pump joins the motor? I've been having a really bad noise issue so I removed the pump but everything was A-OK, it could be a chattering valve in my case (not me - the espresso machine :D ).

Nice to hear that dripping hasn't returned on your machine.
Too bad about the pump :(

Definitely a bit of galling and scale (not hardness scale, but related to the galling.)

My guess is that with all the changes in the water system around here we had some air in the system. Sounds simple enough but it can do a doozy on anything hooked up to the line. It acually blew apart part of my house softener (the "wand" that is buried in the cation material.)

Probably killed the pump by sucking on the insides, then slamming it forward. Tweeking the races for the bearings and forcing water into there.

It's about $140 for a new pump, replace that before it takes the motor with it - otherwise you're looking at another $160 for the motor. The motor looks like a pain in the glutes to replace (I'd rather have a root canal :D ), the pump is very easy.

Is it possible to just replace the bearing set on the pump? These are usually under $20.

Not sure about replacing the bearings on the pump.
I have read somewhere that there's a place in Sacramento (CA) that can rebuild the pump for a nominal fee, somewhere around the $50 mark.

bearings are definitely replaceable, the question is if you would want to. I would venture to bet that would change the adjustment of the pump itself. Leave it to someone who knows how. I'll probably buy a new one and have this one rebuilt as a spare.

This was mentioned on HB last year.
You can have your pump rebuilt by these guys:
Edco Distributing in Sacramento, California, 1-800-559-0415

I ran a business rebuilding electric & hydraulic hospital bed motors/equipment. Pumps are pretty simple & at $50 a shot I bet all they are doing is changing bearings/o'rings. If mine ever goes I'll let you know what I find when I tear it apart.