MaraX V1 pressure is acting strange

twjacobsen

Hi,

I know there are a few discussions related to MaraX pressure already, but I can’t compare what I’m seeing to the other topics, so I’ll try a new one.

Recently, my 1-year old machine has started acting strange. I suspect it’s started after I did my monthly cleaning (drain the boiler a few times, chemical backflush and cleaning of the steam wand).

What’s happening is, during warmup the steam pressure never goes above 1 bar. And then it just sits there. After brewing, it just sits there - no steam boost like it used to do.

If I switch the machine to HX mode, it’ll go to 1.5 bar in the boiler. But I want it in X mode :D

Temp is set to 0 on the rocker switch. On this setting, it’ll usually idle between 0.5 and 1 bar.

The weirdest is that it no longer goes beyond 1 bar during warmup. It used to go well above 2.5 bar when starting from cold.

I’ve tried toggling between modes with the machine on and off, to no avail :(

Any ideas what could have happened? I have never opened anything but the water tank, so it’s a stock machine, pre-“factory-OPV-mod”.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

DavecUK

twjacobsen What type of water are you using?

wibblemonster

twjacobsen

If HX mode is operating ok it might be the top temperature probe acting up. Have you got the warning LEDs flashing to tell you it’s disconnected? If not then it might be worth opening it up removing the probe and checking it isn’t covered in scale. Keep in mind if it is, then the lower probe will likely be the same as well.

twjacobsen

I’m using water filtered through a Brita jug. I haven’t tested the water, but from the tap it’s fairly hard (12 - 18 dH according to the water supplier)

CoyoteOldMan

twjacobsen A Brita jug is unlikely to modify hardness that much, as its ion-exchange filter is not specified for removing Ca or Mg, but it’s targeted towards “heavy metals” such as Cd or Pb.

(12 - 18 dH are roughly 210 - 320 mg/l TDS equivalent; the problem is mg “of what”; if the water you use is rich in calcium and/or magnesium, it may well have scaled your machine significantly after a year of use)

twjacobsen

What confuses me is, that this has happened seemingly overnight. I may be way off here, but I’d expect that problems related to scaling would happen slowly over time, as scale builds.

I do plan on getting it serviced within the next month or so, maybe that’ll shed some light on the internals of the machine.

CoyoteOldMan

twjacobsen The overall machine will scale “gradually”, but if a piece of scale detaches and obstructs a small hole, that may well be sudden.

If it is scale, I would get it serviced and descaled sooner rather than later; the longer you leave it, the harsher the descaling, the more risk in terms of outright damage and less durability of parts as some protective platings/coatings can also be removed by harsh/prolonged descaling.

twjacobsen

The LEDs aren’t indicating anything - they’re solid after initial warmup.

I did think it could be something with a probe of some sort, but before opening up the machine I’m waiting for some feedback from the reseller, just to be on the safe side, warranty-wise.

twjacobsen

While waiting for a new temp probe as well as a new electronics box from the retailer, I’ve spent some time analyzing my water. According to some calculation sheet from Barista Hustle, there should be very little lime scale in my machine. But I guess time will tell when I take it apart :)