Introduction
After running the Profitec P-500 espresso machine almost continuously for the last seven years, and probably not descaling it more than once a year during that time, water started dripping out of it the other day.
The water came right out of the machine which I've never had open, and I wasn't sure if it was a repair that could be done myself. Fortunately, a machine like this is fairly simple in design, easy to repair, and replacement parts are also easy to find online.
In my case, the water was leaking from the heating unit. After troubleshooting, I was under the impression that this gasket is probably the first one to be replaced on the unit. If the P-500 is leaking after more than five years, I would just replace the gasket once on spec. It's a simple fix, and no mistake as a maintenance job either.
(I had to remove the insulation around the boiler to find the water leak location. To disassemble, you would have to disconnect all the connections, the only point that makes the P-500 difficult to repair. I cut down the insulation which is the first thing you can save yourself by just replacing the gasket once).
What you need
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It is best to let the water out of the machine as much as possible by turning it on, removing the tank, and letting the hot water out of the water intake. Disconnect unit from power before disassembling.
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The first thing I did was look for where the water was coming from. The machine is designed to be very easy to repair. The whole chrome housing is attached to the unit with only ten screws.
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The first thing to do is unscrew the top cover plate. Those are four 3mm socket head screws. Once those are out, you can lift the cover off.
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Then remove the sheathing from both sides and back. It is made of a piece of metal that is fastened to the base plate with four 3mm socket head screws, and
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two 3mm hexagon socket head screws to the front. The case can then be slid down towards the back.
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The boiler is insulated with a foam jacket. This is sealed with Velcro when the unit is assembled at the factory before all the connections are tightened. Since I didn't know which port was leaking, and all the foam was soaked full of water, I had to cut it down.
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I also can't get the insulation back on it without loosening all the connections and removing the boiler completely. I will therefore leave it like that for once. Since probably the seal on the heating unit leaks most often, it would be my recommendation to replace it once on suspicion before removing the insulation as I did.
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Once the insulation was down, the leak was pretty easy to identify. The water was coming out of the hole where the heating unit is mounted in the boiler.
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The pump is mounted moveable under the boiler between two rubber parts.
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The pressure relief valve always lets out a little water when I heat it up, but then closes quickly when the pressure rises.
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To get a better view of the backside I took out the tank and unscrewed the tank bracket.
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The tank bracket is also attached to the base plate with two 2mm socket head screws. Unscrew those from the bottom as well.
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I also unscrewed the magnetic pickup for the tank level, but only because I couldn't see that these would be detachable with a connector.
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The plug connection for the water tank can be unscrewed by hand.
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Finally, the heating unit was the leak. The water was leaking between the boiler wall and the heating unit.
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The heating unit is screwed into the boiler with three 13mm hexagon screws. Disconnect the power supply beforehand.
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The gasket is on the inside of the metal plate. It looks like my old gasket has already permanently taken the shape it was pressed into.
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Inside the boiler, my infrequent descaling seems to have done little damage. The heating unit was also only moderately calcified. This is due to the water hardness in my town, which is 15 degrees.
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I also serviced the E61 brew head. The screen with the gasket is not so easy to get out, especially if the gasket is already as hard as mine.
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However, by carefully levering with a screwdriver and using gasket removal hooks, you can get the two parts out quite well.
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Then brushed away with a copper brush all the coffee that has accumulated there.
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The new seal is yellow, so that you can better see how much coffee is already stuck to it, and I am thus motivated to rinse more often.
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Because I was already at it, I decalcified with a liquid decalcifier with amidosulfonic acid. Although you can see it because it is colored, the PH value remains too low for two or three rinses after you no longer see the coloring.
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My recommendation would be to empty the boiler six times via the hot water draw-off.
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Work through the steps in reverse order to reassemble your device.
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1 Guide Comment
What is the size of the o ring gasket for the heater unit ? I am trying to create a list of gasket and sizes. I bought my machine from WHOLE LATTE LOVE they don't list this info on every part.
