New Lelit Elizabeth Leaking

JohnP

Hello newbie John here.

My new L. Elizabeth was delivered on Friday. Just six coffees later the gauges are filling with condensation, the interior of the machine adjacent the water reservoir lid shows condensation also. Machine emptied and parked in the sun to dry.

My question - I haven’t opened as it’s brand new, is this an unfortunate manufacturing error, or is this a weakness in the small footprint relatively cheap machine? Will the gauges clear or are they and the LCC compromised my this moisture ingress?

Disappointment with Lelit my inclination is to accept a possible re-stocking fee and say goodbye.

Many thanks for your thoughts, John.

dndrich

Clearly there is a leak. The Elizabeth is a fabulous machine. I would not give up on the product. Mine is so good. Many of these products are damaged in transport and the Elizabeth is no exception to that. Contact where you bought it and I am sure they will exchange it and repair it for secondary sale. I had that happen with my first unit from Clive Coffee. They exchanged it immediately. Indeed, they sent the new machine out before receiving the old machine back. These things are heavy, even the relatively light Elizabeth, and banging them around in transport can cause leaks. If you wanted to open the machine to find the leak and repair, I’m sure you could do that too. But since it is brand new I would want to exchange it since the electronics got wet. The small footprint is a big advantage to this machine. I have opened mine up to adjust the OPV, and I also developed a slight leak at the steam boiler I repaired easily. The machine has a terrific internal build quality with first rate parts. Remember that these things are dealing with high pressures and high temperatures. I am sure all machines will have the occasional leak over time that is typically easy to chase down. All the machines discussed on a forum such as this are serviceable often by the consumer, compared with cheaper appliance level machines that are not. So don’t lose faith here. Just exchange it.

JohnP

Thank you for your good advice. Presumably leakages on these devices are quite common. I would very much like to get the lid off and see inside, but being only days old feel I should send it back. I do realise this could be utterly trivial and a small fix might - might - be all that’s needed. It came from Bella Barista here in the UK and they have a very good reputation. I will contact them on Monday and take it from there. Thanks again, John.

dndrich

JohnP I know it is a disappointment to receive a new machine and have this issue. But stay the course. There are many very happy Lelit Elizabeth customers on this forum whose machines are robust and deliver great performance. I am one of them. My machine is used multiple times a day for nearly 2 years now, and it performs! I love it. Bella Barista seems to have a great reputation on this forum, so I am sure they will take care of you. But if you want to look inside it is quite easy. Lelit has some nice videos on how to open and service the machine on YouTube.

JohnP

I’ve seen most of the videos esp DaveC which are the reason I have bought Elizabeth, the Niche, the RO water treatment plant and the rest. I am desperate to open it up, but I must let the reseller get there first - damn.

MediumRoastSteam

JohnP - I bet a hose got disconnected in transit, and it’s causing all the condensation/issues.

I don’t think BB would mind if you take the top lid off. I doubt that invalidates the warranty. It would be silly if it did.

If you just turn the machine on and don’t brew, leaving it in for 30 minutes, does it steam up too?

DavecUK

JohnP To add to what @MediumRoastSteam has already said. Contact Bella Barista, explain what’s happening and ask them if it’s OK to open it up (you will probably only need to take the top off) to have a look to see if it’s an easy fix and you can send them a photo.

Don’t worry about the electronics, they will be fine…especially when they dry out.

JohnP

When the machine is on and at temp I can now hear a periodic sizzling as if water is dripping onto a hot component. I had noticed when I first used it that it doesn’t ever settle down but makes a fair amount of hissing and slight kettle boiling type noises - is that normal?

It was working very well and did a couple of half decent cappuccinos this morning.

dndrich

Good news about the electronics then. If so, and you can easily find the leak, which I bet you can, then you can make a quick repair and you are as good as new. I know for my vendor Clive Coffee in the USA, I have spoken to them, and opening the machine does not invalidate the warranty from them. Indeed, they were very helpful. I did a small repair to a common leak at the steam boiler, and that does not invalidate anything with them. The machine is quite easy to open and inspect.

JohnP

I’m not entirely convinced that condensation on a circuit board a good idea, but perhaps the LCC is sealed behind the display. I suspect not, but the whole can be swapped for new if this becomes an issue.

I’ll check with the retailer on Monday regarding opening, and decide then on a course of action. I can easily drive to them, hand the machine over for repair, replacement or refund.

Thanks for all of your input.

JohnP

Elizabeth sorted. Encouraged to explore the problem myself by Bella Barista technician Paul via email it eventually became to tricky for me to do at home. This is a good thing as I met the repair team Paul and Damien at BB as well as a brief visit to The Roastery.

Here’s the problem, a split or cracked brass Tee piece atop the steam boiler where the thread holding the safety valve has cracked open. The straight black line clearly visible is the crack. Lelit will be told of this - I am not the first - although the tee piece once removed looks to be of good quality.

Thank you for your positive responses, it is a remarkable design and the best machine for me.

DavecUK

JohnP Looks like a defective push fit fitting…it happens I guess

JohnP

Hi Dave no it’s not a push fit, it’s the thread holding the safety valve. See green arrow on this image.

JohnP

Apologies for my confusing everybody, the cracked fitting is this fella on top of the steam boiler and ringed in red CD024-466.

The horizontal 9700043 is threaded and is VALVOLA SICUREZZA PL92T 5.5BAR 1/8G

MC073 on top is the right angle push fit (John Guest?) supplying steam to the wand and tap/valve.

dndrich

Weird. Well, this kind of thing happens. Glad it is getting sorted and you will get to enjoy your machine again.

JohnP

Thank you, and yes weird but sorted now. I did wonder if the valve that was screwed into this fitting might have been over size and forced the socket apart. BBs technicians admitted mine was not the first with this problem.

Your comment “enjoy your machine again” made me laugh because out of its box and new, it has only prepared four coffees before the geyser within erupted, so I haven’t really had time to do anything. I take your point though, and will very much enjoy experimenting with it going forward.

Thank you for your encouraging words at the start of this. You will understand my annoyance and frustration with a piece of brand new duff kit. I was wondering if a flood of me too owners might say that Elizabeth was trouble, or hopefully find reassurance that many owned this machine, had it work properly for more than a week or two, and were enjoying it without a problem.

dndrich

Oh yes. Disappointing to have this amazing new thing that fails right out of the gate. I had same but after replacement is running like a champ!!! You’ll get your mojo back!