Hi All, My Vesuvius has some strange heating behavior where it heats inconsistently. Here’s a few of the behaviors I am seeing: * Brew boiler sometimes drops temp (to like 180F) if I pull a shot it sort realizes it’s low and then starts heating again * Brew boiler sometimes doesn’t have water come out the first 5-10 second seconds regardless of pressure profile * Steam boiler does not get to temp. I’m seeing the indicator light only flicker occasionally to heat the boiler rather than stay on for any prolonged period of time. I’m wondering if I need to descale or something as I can’t quite understand this behavior. Any ideas?

@"carter840"#p72568 1. Brew boiler sometimes drops temp (to like 180F) if I pull a shot it sort realizes it’s low and then starts heating again : *This could be an effect of problem 2* 2. Brew boiler sometimes doesn’t have water come out the first 5-10 second seconds regardless of pressure profile: ***This is a key issue to fix** first, there is a problem allowing water to exit the brew boiler, which causes a void above…this must be either a significant amount, as the thermosyphon pipes exit from the top 3rd and lower part of the boiler, unlike Evo and Minima where water exits at the top.. **If the problem is severe**, then it could be dropping below the thermosyphon pipe, which would affect temperature (as the thermal probe is at the top and won't read correctly until is is immersed in water. A 5- 10 second wait for water could mean it's severe…..Equally if it's the 1 way valve and hot water, plus air is going down the pump tube, the pump could be trying to prime. Difficult to know without a video and more information about when this problem happens.* 3. Steam boiler does not get to temp. I’m seeing the indicator light only flicker occasionally to heat the boiler rather than stay on for any prolonged period of time. *I don't know, very vague description, what temp does it get to, does it always do this, is the steam fine even if the temp isn't?????*

Thanks Dave, On steam boiler. Temp really varies as when the heater activate varies. I’m seeing it sometimes get to 230-240F (and hear the vacuum valve seal), but most the time it hovers around 215F and doesn’t change much until the steam boiler turns off via eco mode. What might you suggest I try for a fix?

> @"carter840"#p72573 What might you suggest I try for a fix? Id be guessing (wthout more info), which costs you money, possibly a temperature sensor Really though this has all come out of left field, I've written 3 times as much as you, which is concerning. Plus there's so much you haven't told us.: * I don't know how old it is * I assume your in the USA * How has it been maintained * What's your water quality like * Have you descaled it before * Have you removed the top and looked inside…provide a photo * is there any other odd behaviour, large amounts of water in drip tray, constantly wet portafilter, dripping from group, hissing sounds, water coming back from boiler into pump feed pipe. etc.. * can you make YT videos showing problems (unlisted) and past the link here

Hi @"DavecUK"#1 apologies if my replies here seem out of form. I have tried to provide what I thought were helpful side effects. In regards to compensation, I’m not sure if that is a serious request / service your provide. I’m just engaging here as I do on many of forums where folks share information with one another absent fees / formal arrangements. To your recent questions, there is perhaps a bit more water in the drip tray but nothing significant (as the steam boiler doesn’t get to temp high enough to trigger the vacuum breaker and therefore I think that’s the cause of what might be minimally more water). The machine is on the older side (\~7 years I would guess) with the plastic tubing vs. the more recent models. There are no signs of a leak anywhere.

> @"carter840"#p72576 apologies if my replies here seem out of form. I have tried to provide what I thought were helpful side effects. > > In regards to compensation, I’m not sure if that is a serious request / service your provide. I’m just engaging here as I do on many of forums where folks share information with one another absent fees / formal arrangements. No apology need, the information will prove helpful in an accurate diagnosis and save you money. I don't want to see you buying parts that don't solve the problem. **I don't know where you got the compensation thing from,** I've never ever charged for my advice or help and the forum is non commercial?

@"DavecUK"#p72580 sorry again just misunderstood your post. As you move said you have twice helped me bring my machine back to good working order. I’m very appreciative of your / this forums support Do you think a video of the issue will help detail the problem? Anything else you would suggest I provide to help troubleshoot?

> @"carter840"#p72581 Do you think a video of the issue will help detail the problem? Anything else you would suggest I provide to help troubleshoot? I listed the information required, plus a photo of the insides. A a video of the machine doing what it does, when it's not working right may allow some of the people on here with significant experience to see/hear something you may not have noticed, or realised the significance of.

Here is a video I created. I noticed a few additional behaviors. * Slight drip from the group head drain * Pump takes time to build pressure (noticed that it’s not even at 1 bar for the first few seconds even when profile is a flat 9 bar) https://youtube.com/shorts/gpf1DqmW2fM?si=Z6dNo10FhkG-EWLu

@"DavecUK"#1 per the above it does seem like your diagnosis of the general issue is correct water does seem to be slowly dripping from the group head drain. Are there specific valve / lines you suggest I check within the machine based on this? I can open it up tonight / tomorrow and grab photos and investigate more.

> @"carter840"#p72594 per the above it does seem like your diagnosis of the general issue is correct water does seem to be slowly dripping from the group head drain. is this when the machine is static and doing nothing pump not running and is it fairly constant…is the portafitler always wet?

Inconsistent Heating

MediumRoastSteam

carter840 - Observation… Is it normal for the button on the right to be flickering/blinking/lighting up like that? Do you have a bad electrical connection somewhere?

DavecUK

MediumRoastSteam Observation… Is it normal for the button on the right to be flickering/blinking/lighting up like that? Do you have a bad electrical connection somewhere?

It’s normal, on the US machines they run in priority mode, never both boilers….so they flick on and off more.

DavecUK

carter840 Do you think it could be the relay?

No, I don’t think so?

This might be one for ACS support, but before you do, perhaps get a little more data, if you can. If the issue didn’t follow the temp probes, then it would seem the probes are fine. You could swap the SSRs over and see if the issue follows the SSR?

Also check for any bad connections

carter840

DavecUK

thanks, are the SSR = solid state relays?

I will go through and check all connections - that’s a great suggestion.

DavecUK

carter840 Yes they are.

carter840

Well no luck yet. I checked all connections yesterday and then the machine started to work consistently, of course after putting it back together the issue has returned.

What’s weird is that brew temperature seems to be wrong too now. As in it reads like it’s at temp but shots taste a bit under extracted. Occasionally the brew temperature will drop a few degrees and quickly recover. Something just seems wonky across the board on the computer.

Perhaps I’ll take it apart again and check the boards.

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