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Small fully automatic coffee machines from Melitta. The Melitta Caffeo Solo makes approximately two cups of coffee at a time. Milk foam is only possible with the "Perfect Milk" variants.

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Air in system icon displayed. Purging air just fills drip tray.

Melitta Caffeo Solo (late 2020 model).

Was working perfectly until a few days ago when the 'Air in the system' icon appeared on the display. I checked the manual and pressed the bean button (coffee strength) to purge air from the system.

The pump runs for about a minute and when the process completes, the icon remains illuminated. I followed this same procedure multiple times but the drip tray just fills with clean water.

I read a post somewhere online that said a likely (and common) culprit was a failed drainage valve.

After following the iFixit guide, I thoroughly cleaned the main unit and looked for any failed/ broken parts. Everything looked fine.

I replaced the drainage valve with a new Melitta part, lubricating all of the valve gaskets and the white plastic actuator in the back of the brewing unit area with a light coat of silicone grease. The actuator was installed using the markings on the cover as advised in the guide. No cables were disconnected or damaged.

Upon reassembly and after a factory reset, the same issue persists.

I've also followed the iFixit guide to dismantle and thoroughly clean the brewing unit and see if a gasket had failed or if there was a blockage. There wasn't - everything looked fine.

Can anyone help?

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ADDITIONAL INFO:

Unit is regularly cleaned with Melitta products and has been descaled with Durgol descaler.

With the brewing module side cover off, the startup/ shutdown procedures seems to still move the parts of the brewing module.

Update (08/23/2022)

Spoke to the Melitta engineer at Coffee Classics (UK) and he's suggested that I replace the flow meter.

The engineer has speculated that if replacing the flow meter doesn't resolve the issue, it could be the logic board which would make the unit uneconomical to repair.

Update (09/05/2022)

Success! It was the flow meter. Now drinking my favourite brew again.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Replace the flow meter.

If you have a new model Solo (2021+ with the grey grinder) you need part number: 6761334. It's about £5.99 in 2022. If you have the old model Solo (<2020 with the cream colour grinder) you need part number: 6556419. It's about £5.60 in 2022.

This fixed the problem.

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Flow meters are very simple mechanical parts that can easily become clogged or calcified. You may want to consider the cheap option of cleaning the part before embarking on replacing it:

How to replace (or clean) a flow meter.

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Thanks a lot for pointing to the Flow Meter -> I experience the OP's "I followed this same procedure multiple times times" without success in sight.

On a side note, I can't find the Flow Meter #6556419 (<2020) anywhere near £5.60 or €6.50 (sek70.50 in Sweden).

- Melitta Sweden redirects to its "parts and service partner" Centralservice.se which charges sek189 or *£14.90* incl. £6.25 shipping :-D

- On Amazon.se and Amazon.de, a 3rd party vendor sells it for sek129 (or £10.50) and €12 (or £10.30).

You were lucky :-)

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Perhaps a clogged outlet valve? Or worse: a clogged heater? Difficult to say without sitting opposite the unit.

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Thanks for the input VauWeh. I'll look into these after I've replaced the flow meter (on the recommendation of a Melitta Engineer).

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Oh yes, flowmeter. You don't necessarily have to replace it. It's the same as in Jura devices. Revise it, as described here: Jura Capresso IMPRESSA J5 Flowmeter exchange/replacement

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Thanks for the link. It was the flow meter (thankfully!). Wish I'd seen your comment about cleaning it before buying a new one. I've added your link to the above answer. Thank you again for your valuable input VauWeh.

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Ben H. will be eternally grateful.
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