No steam pressure, steam/water comes from brew head waiting?

Question

Starbucks Barista

An easy to use home Espresso machine created by Saeco and rebranded for Starbucks. This machine is excellent for every day espresso drinkers and has an excellent build and product life.

140 Questions View all

Question Closed

Pleurat D @pleuratd

Rep: 1

Posted: Dec 17, 2014

Options

No steam pressure, steam/water comes from brew head waiting?

Hello,

My barrista pours normal shots fine, crema and everything. But I am having trouble getting any steam pressure. When i press the steam button and am waiting, water/steam starts to leak through the brew head (as if it were making a shot with just the steam) and nothing ever comes out of the wand.

Is there some valve in the boiler to separate the shot brewing from the steaming? Could this just be the o-rings in the steam wand control? I've repaired other items on this machine before but have stayed away from opening the boiler itself.

Any help would be appreciated.

Answer this question I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Yes No

Score 0

Add a comment

1 Answer

Henry H @henry Rep: 3.8k 25 14 7 · Answer 1 · 2014-12-29T00:58:37-07:00

There is a valve in the lower half of the brew head which is essentially just a silicone peg on a spring. Over time the spring will weaken and start to let water leak around it. This is worsened by the boiler being at steam pressure. It's an easy fix; turn the machine upside down and remove the brew screen with a phillips head screwdriver. The small round brass piece that the screen was attached to will need to be removed next, and you'll need a wide flat-blade screwdriver, coin, or other similarly-shaped tool to do this. It should unscrew, and under it you'll find the spring and silicone peg. Stretch the spring out, being careful not to deform it, and put everything back together the same way. That should stop your leaking, but if not, you may need a new spring or peg, or you may have some calcium built up that's preventing it from seating correctly and forming a good seal. A descaling should take care of that.