The General ACS Minima Thread

Seems to be a running theme this with acs

When they work they are fabulous machine but they seem to be single Handley trying to destroy that !!

It sounds like a blockage of some sort,

Think dave wants you to take the water tank top off and see jf water is being returned to the water tank, so as in the opv sending ot back or if its a blockage

I would take the top of the mushroom off, and have a look at the gauze in there,

While only a month old if the water has scaling properties it could still be that, some of the holes are very small.

Just something to rule out

If you take a vid of just the shower screen and the pump active it will give a better look at the flow.

I know how frustrating this is with a new machine and the feeling it gives

Where are you located perhaps there’s a local member near

@Cuprajake thanks, the wd40 worked. New problem…i have leakage when flushing the group head.

It happens when i turn off the brew boiler switch, not during the flush. I have flow control on installed by acs. Not sure how to fix

gregE It happens when i turn off the brew boiler switch, not during the flush. I have flow control on installed by acs. Not sure how to fix

It’s normal not a problem

@DavecUK thanks for the quick reply! so i should interpret that as don’t do anything? just empty the tray every so often? i.e. is a natural thing I should not fix/can’t be fixed?

Cuprajake “DavecUK”

a video of the flow of water out of my ACS minima (no portafilter). I measured the amount of water around 45-50ml in 20 s.

gregE i.e. is a natural thing I should not fix/can’t be fixed?

The liquid from the portafilter after a shot has to be vented when it depressurises, it’s dirty and the only place for it is the drip tray. All manufacturers do it, it’s completely normal, just remember to empty the drip tray from time to time depending on usage.

niakapa It looks far too low, but we can’t know the reason why until you complete most of the tests.

OK very carefully get the answers to the following questions

1. What does the water return to the tank show, is there lots of water going back to the tank

2. Is water coming out from the group venting system while pulling against the blind filter

3. If you pull against a blind filter for longer than 18 seconds e.g. 30 or 40 seconds does the pressure rise eventually

Remember the above 3 questions, I asked them for diagnostic reasons

We need to know if the excess water is going back to the water tank

So its blocked somewhere then

niakapa have you checked your tds?

Water levels?

Pressure probably not going up as the pf ismt filling

You could fill the pf with water so its full, lock into the group then try see if it goes up then

Has this happened out the blue? Or did you back flush with detergent or do anything different, have you checked the in water tank filter for being blocked?

niakapa Brewing without portafilter did show 50ml of water flow in 20s which seems enough to fill it. I have tried backflush for even 40 sec as DaveCUK suggested. The pressure never went up

If what you say is correct then there are only possibilities:

• The pump is broken…rare on a machine less that 10 years old
• there is something preventing the pump picking up water which happens when the system begins to get a little back pressure (more probable).

You really need to check the pump feed tube carefully for kinks, splits and blockages.

I noticed a screw fell off of the bottom of the Minima. Although no nut or threading on the other side to hold it in. Is it critical? Can I leave off? or is there a way to fix?

The machine just came in the mail. I literally haven’t done anything with the machine except flush the lines yesterday.

DavecUK Is the pump feed tube just the inlet from the tank? That came with a factory installed filter on it that was never taken off until the troubles began and I did the priming procedure. I can’t imagine how a blockage could happen? I have examined the tube many times for splits (I assume by that you mean tears?).

Earlier in the thread (post 1075) I included a video of the inlet tube neatly tied up like it came. There is no sign of damage anywhere or a kink (at least in the part that is visible).

I am hoping tomorrow 1st line will respond to my email. The machine developed this issue within 3 weeks of arrival.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help track down the issue.

gregE ACS like other manufacturers use a special hexagonal rivnut or rivet nut (in the olden days they were round and used to twist loose, I used to get this on many machines I tested back in the day).

It’s effectively a captive nut, which the bolt can then screw into…it’s not something you can really fit yourself as it requires a special tool. They are made of stainless and sometimes when fitting with the air tool, if not done absolutely right, they can break off, as it looks like yours has done. The real PITA is if they spin (which is why most changed to hex versions) because then you can’t remove the bolt. I remember having terrible problems with a brand new La Spaziale Vivaldi 2 because the bolt was doing exactly that and it was very hard to drill out!!

I personally think it will be fine…but do let ACS know. In fairness to them, it may have screwed in fine at the factory and then fractured during transit…which is more likely. My only question would be when you pulled the bolt out, the rivnut should have been on the end…so perhaps something else happened??