Lelit Bianca V3 - is slow pressure build up a sign of a broken gicleur?

Boren

I think I might have damaged the gicleur of my Bianca by closing the flow control paddle too strongly. It now takes a lot of time to build up pressure (about 10 seconds with a blind portafilter to get to 9 bar). Is that a symptom of a broken gicleur, or could there be another reason?

DavecUK

Boren How old is the Biance, what maintenance have you done on the paddle system?

Cuprajake

Every time? Or just the first fill?

Boren

Cuprajake
Every time. It was worse initially, with pressure hardly climbing at all. After many cycles and playing with the paddle it improved somewhat, but still a lot slower to build pressure than it used.

Boren

DavecUK
I bought the machine in June 2021. I never did any maintenance to the paddle system. I do backflush the machine regularly, though rarely with Cafiza (I’m using puck screens, so I don’t think it’s needed that frequently).

I’m using RO water, mostly with RPavlis recipe. I test the water and it’s very soft and neutral.

DavecUK

If you’ve never maintained the paddle system, it’s most likely the problem. The O rings shred and block the gicleur.

https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/blog/745-lelit-flow-control-valve-and-coffee-sensor-version

delta76

DavecUK damn, you are really a treasure of coffee world Dave. Being a bit of a guru in my specific/niche field myself I understand how much time and effort you have spent to become that knowledgeable. Hat off

skylark

delta76 ,,,, Invaluable is the word i would use. Never one to expect praise when praise is most definitely due with this diagnosis.