Izzo Alex Duetto III - Repair & Service

malfunktion

G’day all,
I’ve recently seen the motor/pump start to fail and this forum was invaluable in helping me identify the issue. I’ve got a new pump/motor on order and have decided to give the machine a good service alongside this.

I’ve had the machine 4 years or so, It runs off softened/filtered water so scale seems minimal, here are some pictures from the inside of the steam boiler:

And of the very bottom of the boiler (and side view):

I don’t see any issues here, the pressure gauge needs replacing, I’ve disconnected that and it still reads 0.5bar and this doesn’t seem to be something I can service as it looks to be a sealed unit.

I’ve stripped the grouphead and was looking to replace the cams/pins/springs etc with kits from BB and wanted to replace the mushroom which has seen better days…

E61 Top down view:

E61 Bottom up view:

However, these images seem to show some corrosion, the pictures have been taken on an endoscope so might not be 100% clear but is this of any concern?

No point in buying the bits to service it if the grouphead itself is needing attention.

Thoughts?

Many Thanks.

DavecUK

I would simply clean up the grouphead parts with a bit of wire wool in the mushroom and inside the chamber.

replace the o’ring on the mushroom
buy a new pressure gauge (they are not serviceable
check the cam followers on the group valve pins are not worn, using the full service kit is a good option, as valves, seats and tired springs get replaced

malfunktion

DavecUK
Thanks for the swift reply Dave.

So loss of the chrome is nothing to be concerned with? Happy to clean up the parts, I’ve got a Dremel with the wire brush attachment that will clean everything up nicely.

I was going to get the E61 service and rebuild kits from BB so that will take care of all seals, springs and cams etc as there is wear…

DavecUK

It means the water is briefly in contact with brass, but no worse than most domestic UK drinking water plumbing.

malfunktion

DavecUK

Having researched it I often see you telling many others the same thing! 🤣

Makes you wonder why they chrome plate these things in the beginning…

I’ve got some brass wire bits on the way for the dremel and will give the mushroom and the group a good clean, new parts on the way for the pins etc.

Thanks for the advice.

DavecUK

malfunktion Makes you wonder why they chrome plate these things in the beginning…

They assume you won’t use hard water…eventually the chrome still probably wears off. However when I have removed the mushroom on machines with only RO water, plus a touch of bicarb, they have always seemed fine.

Elcarajillo

malfunktion If you clean inside the G/head where the ‘mushroom’ fits with the dremel, make sure you do not damage the raised area at the bottom as this forms the seat for the top seal,

malfunktion

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the help so far. I’m still waiting on BB for some parts, namely an anti-vac valve, manometer and a group re-build kit.

The pump, motor and a generic group service kit arrive, I’ll be replacing all the springs but will complete the group service when the new cams and pins arrive.

I’m going to need to tap the new motor it seems, assume I’m best to open it up to do that rather than risk any material falling into the motor?

I’ve pulled out the OPV value, this needs a good clean and I’ve flipped the pad as I can see wear on this, does this need a little Molykote or should the OPV go straight back in after a good clean? Do you advise putting grease on springs etc or is this overkill?

I did look at perhaps trying to bracket the motor/pump but cannot see an easy way of doing this and could not find anything online that would give me a head start, sadly…

Thanks.

DavecUK

malfunktion I’m going to need to tap the new motor it seems, assume I’m best to open it up to do that rather than risk any material falling into the motor?

I’ve pulled out the OPV value, this needs a good clean and I’ve flipped the pad as I can see wear on this, does this need a little Molykote or should the OPV go straight back in after a good clean? Do you advise putting grease on springs etc or is this overkill?

It depends, can you block up areas so nothing can fall in?

I like to lube the valve pad lightly with MK111 and also the sides of the brass piece that moves when it opens

malfunktion

DavecUK Makes sense, thank you!

malfunktion

Elcarajillo Thanks, I’ll be using low speed brass wire attachments and will go lightly as I just want the surface crud off, don’t want to be tampering/sanding too much at all…

malfunktion

Apologies, another quick question…

Removing the fill probe from the boiler, easy task? It’s the single cable I believe?

Thanks.

DavecUK

You may not need to remove the cable, depends how much slack you have, undo the little nut and the fill probe pulls out. Only tighten it very gently when you put the probe back…enough so the probe won’t easily pull out.

malfunktion

DavecUK Took some wiggling but managed to get it out, needs a good clean so will drop it in the descale bucket and give it a light scrub with some wire wool…

thanks!

malfunktion

So the cleanup is going well and parts have started to arrive…

OPV value is ready for a grease, I’ve cleaned up the pin and flipped the pad over…

I removed the group and gave this a good going over…

Overall I’m happy so far…

The motor arrived and I can see the usual bracket attached, probably more a question for you Dave but given the layout of the machine, can you think of anyway I could get the motor/pump in albeit in a different spot?

I was playing with the idea that I could remove the tank at the back, given the machine is plumbed in, this would cause it to remain a machine that has to be plumbed in but I don’t think I can make it work as in a horizontal layout, it’s too tight. I was trying to think about how I might use the bracket on the new motor but there’s not much for this to attach to without having something made up.

I’m balancing this with effort vs when this will happen again… I can check during yearly maintenance so wondering if I just leave it as is or do you think it’s worth engineering a solution?

Many thanks.

DavecUK

malfunktion I’m balancing this with effort vs when this will happen again… I can check during yearly maintenance so wondering if I just leave it as is or do you think it’s worth engineering a solution?

The solution I gave Izzo with the V1 machine (which they ignored) was to make a bracket to invert the pump/motor. Basically the pump on the bottom. Much quieter too if you pick the right type of motor shock absorbing mounts.

malfunktion

DavecUK What mounts would you choose? I’ve got some new M5 rubber bobbin mounts, would that be enough?

DavecUK

malfunktion M5 rubber bobbin mounts

These should be fine just get the right shore hardness, I think shore 70 is often used, although the motor is heavy so perhaps shore 60.