As per the title, the steam wand now creaks when i move it. Could this be scale? My Lizzy is about 11 months old. I don’t think it creaked when i got it (ca. two months ago). I use Lockhills water and i understand the original owner did the same.
europa - Not to worry. It simply means the lovely silicone grease is now wearing out.
Undo the nut carefully, as the ball valve is pushed against the tap with a spring.
Dry the ball valve thoroughly
Apply a thin layer of molycote 111 or other food grade silicone grease on its surface;
Apply a little bit on the o-ring inside the nut where the ball valve rests.
Carefully push it back in, straight and level, making sure you do not cross-thread!
Job done.
Just got around to doing this… Didn’t realise how tricky it would be to get that nut back on! Anyway job done and it still creaks. Any ideas?
It doesn’t look like you lubed well enough? Were all the surfaces completely dry? In essence you want to put grease where any part touch on another part.
Also don’t move it about loads until it’s hot….because that graunching might be the lower O ring
As @MediumRoastSteam said, it does sound like a lubrication issue.
Overtightened the nut?
Thanks, guys. Nut was only hand tightened, so it’s not that. The surfaces were completely dry. Any previous grease was completely gone. The silicone grease i used - FilterLogic CFL651 - seems quite thin…i did take the nut off and put a bit more on….but maybe i need to be even more generous with it!
Re the o ring, that didn’t come out with the nut (so i left it in place). Should i remove it to grease it as well? Also, should i not be doing this procedure when the machine is cold?
europa - You lubricate when the machine is cold. You do not need to remove the o-ring from the inside of the nut. Things are less noisy when the machine is warm. :-)
The o ring was not inside the nut… It was stuck to the machine. Hence why I was asking if I should remove it to lubricate it.
europa - Sorry. I’m getting confused it seems. I’m not sure which o-ring your are referring to then.
If this o-ring is on the “tap” itself (I don’t remember as I’ve done mine a while back), then just add some grease on the surface as it will touch the ball valve. The ball valve moves against it, so it should be well lubricated.
Hope this helps, and hope I’m speaking about the right o-ring.
Sorry, I guess I’m not explaining it very well. I’m referring to the o ring that goes in the groove within the nut. When I remove the nut it doesn’t come out with the nut, but rather stays stuck in the machine…
europa - Yeah. Sorry, without a picture, I’m finding it hard to picture the o-ring you are referring to. Really sorry. Maybe Someone else could help.
Check the ends of the spring for roughness / coarse marks from grinding. If rough, carefully rub the ends on an oilstone or a piece of very fine wet & dry paper.
Any roughness causes the spring to catch and drag = creaking as it moves.
When the machine is cold i’ll remove the wand and take some pics…
here you go. I’m talking about the white o ring / gasket that remains in the machine.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/eArBQGvQMci8TGKi6
BTW, the spring does appear quite rough on the top end.
europa The white O ring plays no part in the creaking noise, it’s simply a seal against leaks (it’s a hard PTFE seal). The part that needs lubricating is the O ring here…if it’s split, the ball of the wand may be rubbing against the metal of the nut. Check it and see if it’s OK. The spring will sit on a metal cup (which itself sits on the ball of the wand) with a large hole in it and that needs to be lubricated as well
The O ring actually looks out of place…which won’t help
Remove the cup and spring,slide the nutdown the wand, unscrew the ball joint using the 2 small flats with a spanner taking care not to lose or damage the tiny ‘O’ ring.
Slide the nut off the wand and carefully remove the (misplaced) ‘O’ ring and check for damage / nicks.
Wipe out the nut,lubricate and refit ‘O’ ring and reassemble. That spring does look rough on the end.
Got it. Will give that a go in the morning. Thanks!
Seems i need a 9mm spanner, so this will have to wait till later. Argh!
Elcarajillo unscrew the ball joint using the 2 small flats with a spanner
europa i need a 9mm spanner,
I personally would not do that. It’s a no burn steam wand, so I’m not sure how that’s done inside, and whether that has threadlock on. It’s a common problem for the steam wand to unscrew itself as you move, so presumably Lelit has secured it.
If you can, I am don’t remember if you can, I’d slide down the nut to the other end of the wand, remove the steam tip, and see if you can get it out that way instead.
You can remove it from the bottom but often it is difficult to remove the steam tip (no flats) ?
I doubt the wand/ ball is thread locked, mine certainly is not.
The cool wand liner just fits into a recess in the ball joint the same as the steam tip.
Elcarajillo You can remove it from the bottom but often it is difficult to remove the steam tip
On the Elizabeth, at least, the steam tip is very easily removable with fingers. no tools required. I remove mine all the time for cleaning. 👍
I thought about the tip, but didn’t want to risk messing with it. However, i have just tried and, indeed, it unscrewed quite easily. That will be v. useful for cleaning!
How on earth do you quote another post on here? And @ someone? Can’t figure it out… do you need to be on a computer?
DavecUK why all this talk of removing the steam tip?
Dave, read on from this post: https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/253-lelit-elizabeth-creaking-steam-wand/18
europa How on earth do you quote another post on here
Highlight what you want to quote. Click Quote. Repeat as many times as you wish. ;-)
MediumRoastSteam Dave, read on from this post: https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/253-lelit-elizabeth-creaking-steam-wand/18
europa How on earth do you quote another post on here
Highlight what you want to quote. Click Quote. Repeat as many times as you wish. ;-)
If you are on a phone, highlighting then clicking the quote option that comes up also works.
Ah I see…me I’d probably initially ferret the o ring out to check it before removing the tip/ball
Vid may be useful to op
Well, i removed the o ring and verified that it is in good condition. I greased it and the ball (as per the vid) and put the wand back - i don’t find it necessary to turn the machine upside down!
I will test when it’s hot tomorrow morning, but, right now (cool), it still creaks. The only thing i haven’t tried is to file the top of the spring. This is looking like one of those things I’ll just have to live with lol.
europa The spring shouldn’t be moving? I watched the vid, could just be spring bending and rubbing the sides, try lubing spring.
Quick update:
After trying everything i could think of, I contacted Bella Barista and sent them photos and a video. Their reply was:
“From your video the noise appears to be mostly spring noise and all wands make an amount of noise when rotated or moved its hard to tell from a video if this is excessive and apart from greasing it I cannot offer any other solution as nothing looks badly worn or damaged.”
Would you guys agree with that?
europa Would you guys agree with that?
Pretty much yes….I’ve had other machines where the spring in the wand creaks
europa - I would not worry about it. Specially if the machine is cold. I can barely catch a glimpse at the start of your video, for a split second, of the machine being in “eco” mode.
@MediumRoastSteam
I keep the machine in eco mode and switch on the service boiler at the start of my workflow. Nearly all my drinks are milk based.
But, yes, the noise is not a massive deal. Right now i have bigger problems, namely the OPV issue (which ive only just noticed)!
europa -
😞 - this must be incredibly frustrating. I was reading on the OPV issue thread. So disappointing.
MediumRoastSteam Agreed!
europa - Just as an update, I checked mine. Admittedly it doesn’t creak as much as yours, not when it’s hot at least. But it does make noise, and it’s also depending on how I move the wand too.
Now that I think about it, when I had my Pro-700 it made all these creaking noises and I never thought much of it.
