Leaking Lelit Bottomless wood portafilter.

delta76

erkal a few photos of the pf would be helpful. have you ever changed your gasket ? (the black rubber ring)?

and as long as you secure the pf, don't try too hard. it could damage your pf, your group head, or both. assuming you have averagely strong hand, stop when you can't move the handle anymore. don't try to force it

erkal

delta76

I figured it was not tight enough so I use both hands to lock it all the way just a tiny bit past the lock sticker you see in the photo. But nevertheless it still leaks either way. The machine is not that old, just a few months so I don't think the gasket can be worn out already? I wonder if unscrewing the shower screen and cleaning the whole thing will help?

Thank you!

MediumRoastSteam

erkal very helpful, thanks.

He leak looks like it is rained with coffee so I’d be very confident it’s coming from the gasket.

Get a piece of kitchen towel, moisten it and clean around the group where the gasket is.

Losen the screw which holds the shower screen in place slightly. It shouldn’t be tight, at all.

You shouldn’t force the portafilter into the group, definitely don’t use two hands. You are doing something wrong.

In all honesty, I think I know exactly what the issue is. The key is to losen that screw, to the point that’s literally hand tightly. Do that and then use the blind basket and do a bsckflush, using the original lelit PF. Have a coffee and let us know if the problem is still there.

erkal

MediumRoastSteam Ok amazing, I will follow all said and report back. Thank you!

Cuprajake

what dose/basket and do you use a puck screen

erkal

Cuprajake I believe its IMS 18-21 but I use 19 grams and no screen

Cuprajake

so its not that then.

MediumRoastSteam

Found my v

erkal - found my videos from back in the day. I actually wrote to Lelit about this, and they sent me lots of nonsense to test. Figures out... it was the damn screw!

https://youtu.be/hBfz77ZD5uA?si=SRBXE26WJQsxJsEH

Note water is trapped behind the gasket, and how I can squeeze water out. Also notice how hard it to lock the PF, and once you squeeze the water out, it's all good.

erkal

MediumRoastSteam So the screw holding the screen needs not be too tight? Because I just couldn’t unscrew mine, its so tight that the screw driver head was turning in its rubber handle LOL. I need to find an actual Allen key.

delta76

words of warning/advice if you want to clean the shower/check the gasket

don't try to change the gasket when your machine is hot (And it can remain hot for a very long time. 2h or so, the group is the hottest part of all machines (excluding the internal boilers). wait until it is completely comfortable to touch
prepare some food-safe vaseline (I think all of them are food-safe, but not sure), so you can stick the o ring (not the gasket, but smaller red o ring) when you remove the water dispenser (or whatever it is called). otherwise it will be very difficult and frustrating to put it back. Thanks to @Admin for the tip. (Another easier way is to put your Elizabeth up side down, but maybe not something you want to)

erkal

delta76 Noted. Ill let it cool down and find an Allen key, this replaceable tipped screw driver set is useless

MediumRoastSteam

erkal So the screw holding the screen needs not be too tight?

Correct. It shouldn't be tight at all, and this would explain EXACTLY the issues you are having :-)

But I can see you asking... What's too tight? If you can rotate the mesh shower screen (not the brass dispersion screen!) with your fingers, then keep it going until you can no longer. Then tighten another half turn and that's it.

And here is more proof of the temperamental, quirky Lizzie : https://youtu.be/hcoHdc7zr-k?si=ena_03_uYiJIMwOB&t=136

Note what happens when I undo the shower screen... Water squirts out. Never again since the screw hasn't been so tight.

It's a great machine though, once you understand how it works. I've had mine now for over 3 years and I have to think really hard what would I ever replace it with.

And do note that, at the end of the video, I'm doing the shower screen WAY TOO TIGHT. This was during the process, before I figured out what was causing all this nonsense.

erkal

MediumRoastSteam Interesting that comes with such an obvious fault, aside from this so far I had to already replace the water tank and I feel the pressure might be set a little too high. For the price, I shouldn’t be dealing with such issues from the start. Otherwise I am very happy with it.

delta76

erkal elizabeth is set to 10 bar by default, I think.

what's wrong with water tank?

Agreed that things could be better, but Lelit is not known for their build quality and QC controls. I think it's somehow "Italian". Not as solid as well build as ECM for example, but good enough in most cases …

erkal

delta76 My dial shows around 11-12bar, is that OK? I read that 9-10 is normal?

Tank developed a crack and started to leak 2 months after buying it brand new. Luckily Bella Barista replaced it very quickly.

MediumRoastSteam

erkal Interesting that comes with such an obvious fault,

I don't think it's a fault as such... Just some people are rather heavy handed in Northern Italy :P

erkal I feel the pressure might be set a little too high.

The pressure is the least of your worries. I'd focus on puck preparation and try to get rid of that "cone" extraction. You can lower the pressure easily when you open your machine. Don't worry about it too much just yet.

Also, 19g in the original basket might be a little too much. Start with 18g and go from there.

delta76

erkal that is a bit too much. mine is at 10 bar and I haven't bothered to open it to adjust the opv. but as yours is new and almost certainly v3, the opv is very accessible and easy to change - if you haven't done that already.

How to Change Pump Pressure in PL92T LELIT Elizabeth - YouTube

I think it does not affect warranty in any way, but you might want to check with BB just to be safe

erkal

MediumRoastSteam

Oh no the cone is bad? I felt like my puck cannot improve much until I change my grinder to a proper espresso one. Its a Barratza Encore :/

I use wdt tool and Normcore tamper. What else shall I do? If not cone then what is it meant to look like?

delta76

MediumRoastSteam I believe some of the workers even tightened the gicleur on the Bianca too much which essentially broke it (image copied from H-B)

Espresso Machines - Lelit Bianca - Flow Control Hardware Issues

the cost of hand made, hehe

MediumRoastSteam

erkal I use wdt tool and Normcore tamper. What else shall I do? If not cone then what is it meant to look like?

@Cuprajake can show you exactly what an extraction should look like. He has lots of videos. :-)

The grinder might explain it... See... Now you have a bottomless PF, you can't unsee things :-)

Honestly - Get to know your machine first and then you worry about the pressure. Mine was set at 11 bar or so and I only bothered changing the pressure a few months later. Up to you of course.

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