ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva

Cuprajake

With the right tools not a big job at all

But if in warranty then it’s a parts warranty so it may be replaced foc, worst case with a bit of postage to be paid?

DavecUK

Rob666 I agree the plugsa are brass, so the steel thread should be fine you can buy a ⅛ inch or ¼ whichever it is, stainless BSP threaded one in the UK.

If it’s less than 2 years old it’s still under warranty..

LMSC

DavecUK it’s less than 2 years old it’s still under warranty..

I think it is just a year since @danielpugh got the delivery. He ordered the Evo with all of us, I think. His’ should definitely be under warranty.

danielpugh

DavecUK taking out the old plug will be the difficult bit that takes time and care as it revolves and so will have to be disintegrated by a drill. It looks like ss to me, but not sure. Let’s hope not needed..

danielpugh

LMSC yep still under warranty. Waiting on a reply from @Paolo_Cortese

LMSC

danielpugh Swapping the boiler is easier and will save you from future troubles. 🤞

Elcarajillo

Can someone give you simple assistance ? Apply two thin flat bladed screwdrivers under opposing sides of the plug while you apply the allen key try to get the remaining thread to bite and hopefully remove the plug ?

Norvin

@danielpugh Paulo should sort you out and @CoyoteOldMan has offered help, but if needed I’ll offer to do what i can to sort your old boiler out. If the plug is stainless rather than brass, the thread may have been damaged. If so, I should be able to drill out and tap the next oversize hole.

Cuprajake

#communityspirit

danielpugh

Couldn’t get a screwdriver in the gap - a sharp knife fits just. It’s a tiny movement 1mm or less at a guess. Just enough so you can pull out a tiny bit.

Thank you all for offers - very much appreciated!

Paolo has just emailed asking for details, so I have re-described and sent another pic. Hopefully news soon.

danielpugh

Paolo has replied suggesting I drill out myself while holding with pliers. Not particularly comfortable with this, and my cheap drill only has a couple of old metal bits, so I suspect not ideal equipment.

Not a comfortable or happy place.

More crossed fingers

LMSC

danielpugh Not an ideal outcome, tbh. I am thinking if a gentle heating around the loose plug using a blow torch would make the removal easier (before drilling).

Edit :

If you are going to try using the blow torch, please take care to avoid the foam pad and the heating element.

Cuprajake

danielpugh yeah thats not the best really

LMSC

danielpugh I think all the plugs will be like this. I had removed it from the centre to instal the drain valve.

danielpugh

Well hair raising time with some pliers and a drill and got the plug out, and threads seem OK on the boiler. Have asked Paolo for multiple bungs as gaskets gone on the larger ones as well as the smaller one.

@LMSC - when you installed drain plug - did you use thread lock/ptfe/liquid ptfe/a.n.other. I’m less keen on thread locker after this experience so liquid ptfe is my current thinking

LMSC

danielpugh Good to hear you have taken it out.

I used plenty of ptfe tapes. I do not remember the exact number of rotations around the thread. But, enough to give me a tight fit.

I assume the group is free of any leak! 😓

DavecUK

danielpugh Use PTFE tape.

danielpugh

The group was OK last time I checked. It had a resurgence of water coming up through the springs but I resolved that by removing piston and greasing the upper rubber band which appears to be the weak/entry/exit point. That was about 2-3 weeks ago so … touch wood … If boiler is secured then should be good for a while. That said I expect something like this to occur every year generally. Not generally worried as long as fixable, and we seem to be back in that zone luckily. Definitely not out of the woods yet though…

LMSC

Blackcat Colombia - Cup Score 88

16.6g, 39.94g, cut at 7 bars, 91C Group, 98C and a total shot time of 38s.

Very nice. This is better than Dan Pancho as an espresso, a long / short black and a flat white. The rum aroma and flavour cuts through from start to finish. Without milk, nice sweet peach acidity compliments the rum.

As a flat white, it is chocolate and rum. I loved it and my wife didn’t. She asked me if I had mixed some alcohol in her morning coffee. I won’t be serving her this coffee any more and promised her yummy Smith Street’s La Danta tmrw morning, which she loved.

Hugonl37

Having regular pump activations again, this time every 20-30 seconds. It comes and goes, like one day it only activate once every half hour, then one moment it activates every 20-30 seconds the whole time, hours in a row. I can’t find any pattern. There is no visible drops of water leaking anywhere. I already have pre-infusion lowered to 1.5 Bar. The little lever behind the group is resting freely without pressure on the activation valve. Anybody experienced something similar and how did you remedy it?

CoyoteOldMan

Hugonl37 The only thing I can think of is that the solenoid has a tiny leak back into the tank due to a bit of ‘dirt’ moving around within it. If it gets stuck in a particular place, the leak is bigger, thus the pump activates more frequently. My Leva had a period of about 1 week when it was doing the same, but it went away and it hasn’t recurred since without me doing anything. I’d try removing the solenoid valve and cleaning it thoroughly.

Hugonl37

Quick update. I reassembled and installed the machine again (without changing anything), and the behavior is gone.. I monitored it for 5 hours and the pump only activated once every 50-60 minutes. So definitely not a leak. Paolo kindly answered my questions and suggest there is a particle moving somewhere in the brew circuit causing this. I can hope it moves along and doesn’t reappear. Maybe scale or dirt, I could descale (though my water is practically scale free) or clean the brew circuit? Well I’m happy it’s working normal again and that I don’t have a leak. At least I know what causes it now and what to do in case it happens again. Thanks guys and Paolo for the very quick help!

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