Anyone DIY overhaul an espresso machine?

[ard]

My DeLonghi Magnifica fully automatic espresso maker is giving me trouble and signaling that it is in need of a mechanical overhaul.

Has anyone here overhauled their espresso machine? I figured there are enough parallels b/w a precision home appliance and a P-car that some Pelican must have successfully tackled this task.

The symptoms I am getting are consistent with age and usage and likely due to bad seals and plastic lines. Although the (coffee) puck is compressed well from the beans coming out of the grinder I am getting minimal extraction of coffee, and noticeably less than previously, without having changed any settings on the machine. Most of the water ends up in the overflow tray, hence my hypothesis that something is amiss with the mechanism (that I don't currently understand how it works) which forces water through the puck for extraction. It began with a gradual deterioration a few weeks ago and has accelerated rapidly.

Does anyone know of forums where this sort of DIY is actively discussed? The only thing that comes to mind is Reddit. The wholelattelove.com website has some tutorials but not enough detail on repairs. Lastly, outfits that service espresso machines are few and far between and specialize in commercial machines. The one or two I spoke to on the phone left me unimpressed.

I don't love the idea of just "tearing it apart and figuring it out along the way" FWIW.

I do enjoy the coffee this machine (used to) make. The coffee temperature can be set higher than on Jura's for example and I found the coffee to taste much better as well.

Really appreciate any guidance.

Happy holidays everyone

[cstreit]

Ugh. I tore my Delonghi Magnifica S apart to find a leak.. Took 4-5 hours of work and fixed with a $0.27 oring. Similar to you I was getting a lot of water in the puck tray.

It wasn’t too horrible, there are a couple of orings in the manifold up front that go bad.



Now I keep getting this error on every other rise cycle, have to unplug for 5 minutes. I want to send it in for service but then I have to drink drip coffee for a month.

I’ve cleaned and adjusted all the mechanicals, no idea what’s wrong.

[KFC911]

Paging the music man!

Search for Gogar's threads if he's on tour

[herr_oberst]

Gogar and jyl both have threads about this very thing.

[jyl]

I’ve rebuilt a number of espresso machines, but they have mostly been old-school Italian commercial “Elektra” machines (one lives in my dining room, another given to a friend starting a coffee shop, two more are work-in-progress) and a couple of little Saeco machines (one sent to school with my kids, one I maintain for a friend). I tried fixing an American restaurant machine, and gave up -impossible to access stuff, parts NLA, too much electronics. I’ve never done an fully “automatic” (bean to cup) type and wouldn’t know where to start. Maybe look at the home-barista.com forum, it’s like Pelican for espresso machines.

[jyl]

https://myespressofix.com/delonghi-magnifica-repair/

https://www.espressorepairexperts.com/delonghi/

There seem to be some places that repair these machines, you might have to ship it.

[ard]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. I just found a youtube account named "myworks" which has posted quite detailed disassembly and overhaul instructions.

[ard]

Originally Posted by cstreit

Ugh. I tore my Delonghi Magnifica S apart to find a leak.. Took 4-5 hours of work and fixed with a $0.27 oring. Similar to you I was getting a lot of water in the puck tray.

It wasn’t too horrible, there are a couple of orings in the manifold up front that go bad.



Now I keep getting this error on every other rise cycle, have to unplug for 5 minutes. I want to send it in for service but then I have to drink drip coffee for a month.

I’ve cleaned and adjusted all the mechanicals, no idea what’s wrong.

Thanks Chris. Where did you buy the O-ring from? I am thinking about performing an overhaul and replacing all the O-rings and possibly tubes "while I am in there". And sorry for the error you are getting. I can't help with that but perhaps you could ask on the youtube channel of the "myworks" account. They seem very knowledgeable about espresso machines and answer questions left in the comments to videos.

[unclebilly]

I have 3 of those things... $%^**^...

I'm dropping them all off at a coffee repair guy in January and hope to pick up a working machine a few days later. I dont have the time to screw with them anymore.

[LWJ]

I have a profitec and think it needs a new capacitor- slow to start pumping.

Anyone have an insight on this? I hate to assume.

[cstreit]

Originally Posted by ard

Thanks Chris. Where did you buy the O-ring from? I am thinking about performing an overhaul and replacing all the O-rings and possibly tubes "while I am in there". And sorry for the error you are getting. I can't help with that but perhaps you could ask on the youtube channel of the "myworks" account. They seem very knowledgeable about espresso machines and answer questions left in the comments to videos.

Thanks for the tip. Orings we’re from mcmaster carr. Nothing fancy,

[island911]

If the (coffee) puck is compressed too well or if coming out of the grinder too fine you can see minimal extraction.
Considering you are getting pressure dumping (it sounds like) I would look at the grinder settings first.

I don't know the specifics of that machine, but have experimented enough to know that grind and compaction settings can absolutely stop the extraction, even with a strong pump/pressure.

[ard]

Closing the loop on this thread.

tl;dr: I successfully repaired my espresso machine, by removing and servicing the so-called brew piston.

I found 2 youtube videos particularly helpful

1. this one from user myworks - very fastidious but he skips over some steps
2. this one from user heimwerkeringo - it's in German and the auto-translated subtitles are nonsensical, but his video shows exactly how to remove and disassemble the brew piston

I took plenty of pictures along the way and referenced them when putting together the myriad of small parts.

The root cause of the problem was a failed O-ring in the brew piston. However, unlike in the above videos the brew piston in my unit was not clogged with coffee, even though the unit has thousands of coffee extractions behind it. There was however, hardened and I mean hard and sticky coffee residue on the brew piston unit where the bottommost tube enters the unit.

I don't have an ultrasonic parts cleaner (but I now want one ) so I used dish soap and warm water to soak the parts and agitated them with a small brush to remove the coffee residue.

Hope this helps other Pelicans.

Cheers

[jyl]

Originally Posted by ard

Closing the loop on this thread.

tl;dr: I successfully repaired my espresso machine, by removing and servicing the so-called brew piston.

I found 2 youtube videos particularly helpful

1. this one from user myworks - very fastidious but he skips over some steps
2. this one from user heimwerkeringo - it's in German and the auto-translated subtitles are nonsensical, but his video shows exactly how to remove and disassemble the brew piston

I took plenty of pictures along the way and referenced them when putting together the myriad of small parts.

The root cause of the problem was a failed O-ring in the brew piston. However, unlike in the above videos the brew piston in my unit was not clogged with coffee, even though the unit has thousands of coffee extractions behind it. There was however, hardened and I mean hard and sticky coffee residue on the brew piston unit where the bottommost tube enters the unit.

I don't have an ultrasonic parts cleaner (but I now want one ) so I used dish soap and warm water to soak the parts and agitated them with a small brush to remove the coffee residue.

Hope this helps other Pelicans.

Cheers

Awesome!

[cstreit]

Hey congrats.

I was just watching the video = the o-ring that went bad on mine was inside this bit.

[NutmegCarrera]

Anybody here looking for a commercial machine?
Not an automatic like these, but a 2 group Nuova Simonelli?
Long story - but my company approved buying it for a customer conference room.
Then, the president saw it and flipped out.
So - “get that thing outta here” means a really good deal for somebody.

Also comes with a Eureka Zenith 65 grinder and a filter system.

The espresso machine has a 220V boiler, by the way…

All are brand new. Never used.
Grinder and filter not in photo. I can get whatever details/photos needed upon request.

We paid about $8200. I’d love to recoup something over $5k.
Please mention to friends if you know anybody in the market.

Will ship out of Wi.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by NutmegCarrera

Anybody here looking for a commercial machine?
Not an automatic like these, but a 2 group Nuova Simonelli?
Long story - but my company approved buying it for a customer conference room.
Then, the president saw it and flipped out.
So - “get that thing outta here” means a really good deal for somebody.

Also comes with a Eureka Zenith 65 grinder and a filter system.

The espresso machine has a 220V boiler, by the way…

All are brand new. Never used.
Grinder and filter not in photo. I can get whatever details/photos needed upon request.

We paid about $8200. I’d love to recoup something over $5k.
Please mention to friends if you know anybody in the market.

Will ship out of Wi.

What a relief we at least have a real machine...this is a highly rated machine and like a RR is not priced for the faint of heart...or the guy that cares about petty change..

BTW you do notice that this is not an Automatic machine..they would classifry this as a Semi Auto because you have to hit the button to start pumping water..and like wise hit the button to stop.

[tabs]

Ohhh lord the idiots in town are on our side..

When I was purchasing my machine I asked Salvatore*, "Should I get the machine that you can program the length of time you pump water or the manual push the button type." His reply was the manual push the buttons type because there is LESS TO GO WRONG..

The no brains or skill needed Fully Auto, where all you have to do is fill the water reservoir, put the beans in and press the button and out comes the espresso machines are the epitome of value added machines. Ohh you do need to make sure the machine is plugged in..

Even my manual push the button type is considered to be a Semi Auto...the real deal is the turn the valve..especially the ones where you can adjust the flow of water, like the ECM Synchkronika. Now there is sumthin you ain't gona get with the idiot proof Fully Auto machines..



*BTW Salvatore is a custom Espresso machine builder located in Solvang CA.. his machines use all commercial parts (E61 group head, powder coated steel chassis, 1500W Copper Boiler wt full copper piping, where you can steam and pump water at the same time) are built like a tank and last of for decades.. No plastic parts inside, except for the water reservoir, and a 1 inch piece of vinyl tubing from the reservoir to the pump which can be used to re prime the pump by squeezing it. I have had mine for 19 years...refurbishing by Salvatore it about 2 years ago. The problem was I was using hungry water..reverse osmosis.

If I had to buy a new machine today it would be the Salvatore E61 Lever with Flow Control.. But alas I am just going to have to make do with his semi auto...
https://espressosuperstore.com/

[NutmegCarrera]

Nice to see some folks who understand and appreciate. Now… to go about finding a buyer…

[Gogar]

i can understand and appreciate a well-maintained, well-dialed super auto and appreciate a legit machine at the same time. It's ok.