Two brand new Lelit Elizabeths leaking steam from steam boiler valves.

fmark

Hi there,

Please bear with me - I’ll try to explain concisely. :)

I’ve recently purchased brand new Lelit Elizabeth and it was leaking steam from anti-vacuum and safety valves (steam boiler). The box it came in was a little bit damaged and the entire machine was covered in water droplets. So I though it was damaged in transit. Contacted the store and they replaced it with another brand new Lelit Elizabeth.

To my surprise the second brand new machine has the same defect with steam-leaking from steam boiler valves.

Steam temperature is set to 135C, though it happens with any temperature.

I really like this machine and would like to get a 3rd one, but I’m now thinking - maybe the problem actually has to do with my tap water.

I’m from Canada (Vancouver area) and we have pretty soft tap water (7.9 - 11.8 mg/L).

Can soft water be my problem? Do you have any other ideas?

Thanks.

DavecUK

fmark I really like this machine and would like to get a 3rd one, but I’m now thinking - maybe the problem actually has to do with my tap water.

If your water was a problem, it would take 4 weeks to 6 months to show itself, depending on the hardness of water used on the machine. Plus the safety valve is unaffected by hard water…because it should always be closed?

135C is around 2,2 bar and I think the safety valve is either 2.8 or 3.2 bar on the Elizabeth. If you take the top of and look, it’s written on the top. The vacuum breaker will normally leak steam for a few seconds or so until it closes.

Soft water won’t be your problem. Some things to consider:

How likely do you think it would be for 2 new machines to have the same fault (or is your perception at fault)
How do you know, or think you know it’s those valves?
Can you make a video for YouTube as unlisted, then just paste the link here (YouTube don’t charge by the second, so you can make it as long as it needs to be, we don’t mind).

fmark

Thanks, Dave for quick response!

DavecUK 135C is around 2,2 bar and I think the safety valve is either 2.8 or 3.2 bar on the Elizabeth. If you take the top of and look, it’s written on the top. The vacuum breaker will normally leak steam for a few seconds or so until it closes.

The safety valve reads 5.5 Bar.

The vacuum breaker valve is never closing fully and is leaking steam all the time - happened with both machines.

DavecUK How likely do you think it would be for 2 new machines to have the same fault (or is your perception at fault)

This is exactly what I’d like to know. :) I’m actually pretty sure that both machines have the same fault. You can see it in the video liked below.

DavecUK How do you know, or think you know it’s those valves?

I’ve removed the top cover and can clearly see the issue. There is a constant hissing and gurgling sound even after machine has been ON for more than an hour. Also, I read a lot of information on the Internet before posting here. :)

DavecUK Can you make a video for YouTube as unlisted, then just paste the link here (YouTube don’t charge by the second, so you can make it as long as it needs to be, we don’t mind).

Here is the video:

fmark

@DavecUK, So, you don’t believe that it could happen because my tap water is too soft?

DavecUK

fmark , So, you don’t believe that it could happen because my tap water is too soft?

Definitely not.

I think you need to start doing the lottery, two machines with the same faults is so unlikely. I guess you need to link your retailer to the video. I wondered if the boiler could be overfilled, but why would be a mystery.

MediumRoastSteam

fmark - the latter part of your video where you show water moving - that’s perfectly fine. Water will always be pushed in front of the safety valve bad it’s too wee than the hose leading to the tank. Water ends up there from the expansion valve via the 4-way connector. Safety valve, as it’s attached to the boiler, gets very hot, and essentially makes the water gurgle there. I hate that design, to the point I’ve changed it on my machine. It doesn’t affect the functionality of the machine, but it doesn’t feel right, to me at least.

As the vacuum breaker leaking… lottery tonight for sure.

As for the water… a lot of us use distilled/Reverse Osmosis and add a pinch of bicarbonate to increase alkalinity. That’s as soft as you’d get. My machine is 4 years running like that and no problems thus far. 👍(touch wood).

fmark

DavecUK I guess you need to link your retailer to the video. I wondered if the boiler could be overfilled, but why would be a mystery.

Yeah, I’ve sent similar videos for both machines to the retailer and they agreed to exchange the first one and refund the second one. They advised me against buying Elizabeth 3rd time though. :) But I like the machine and will probably buy it again. :)

fmark

Thanks!

Glad it’s not water and just unfortunate coincidence. It can be just a bad batch of valves - both machines have the same LOT number and their serial numbers are pretty close to each other.

I’ll definitely buy a lottery if the third machine will have the same issue. :)

Thanks for your help!

MediumRoastSteam

fmark - are you in the UK?

fmark

MediumRoastSteam fmark - are you in the UK?

No, I’m in Canada.