Should I stripped down and rebuild my Bezzera 2 group?

JeanetteT

I am a little bit torn at the moment to know whether to try disassembling the machine, descaling it and rebuilding or whether to leave it alone and hope to make the necessary adjustments. I don't really have much knowledge about machines but I am willing to learn

My current dilemma is that the 2 groups don't have the same rate of flow of water and sometimes there's no flow at all.

Bezzera at Cooparoo have been really great to deal with and have so far serviced the machine, replaced one of the touch pads, replaced a solenoid and descaled the adjustment nut on the pump. I'm just not sure I can afford to continually be putting the machine in for repairs.

So I guess my questions are:
1) any suggestions as to what the issue might be re:flow?
2) is a full descale going to be worth it in the long run?

Thanks in advance for your replies 🙂

Jeanette

Lacehim

Hi Jeanette, Is this for home use or a business? I personally wouldn't strip it down if it isn't broken. There might be a part that needs replacing or possibly a descale, but really a coffee tech would save you a lot of time and effort and get it back up and running in no time. A strip down takes time, can cause more problems that it fixes (and yes I've been there and done that).

JeanetteT wrote:

Bezzera at Cooparoo have been really great to deal with and have so far serviced the machine, replaced one of the touch pads, replaced a solenoid and descaled the adjustment nut on the pump. I'm just not sure I can afford to continually be putting the machine in for repairs.

When was this done? Someone else might be able to help you figure out what areas to look at, but I would also suggest that you check out your local water supply. Is it soft or hard, do you have a filter? I live on the Sunshine Coast, and our water is excellent, so I only filter for taste and odour and I've never had a problem with scale build up. Descaling a big commercial boiler will also be a big task if you don't know what you are doing and you really have to make sure ALL the chemicals used are flushed out before reusing or someone could get hurt or at the least made rather ill.

JeanetteT

I have a Giotto for my day to day home use, the Bezzera is more for larger gatherings like making coffee for a friends 21st, morning tea at church and at camps. I use filtered water however I'm not the first owner of the machine so I can't vouch for the quality of the water that was used before. There's evidence of some leakage/like scale on the end of the boiler. I hesitate to take it to another repairer knowing that there'll be a fee just for looking at it.

FreshCoffee2

Question: "...Should I stripped down and rebuild my Bezzera 2 group?..." Answer: No. If the flow from one of the groups is impaired, rectify what is causing that and leave the rest alone, same as with any other problem....always rectify only one problem at a time. First port of call would be to make sure the group head is clear. Quote: "...My current dilemma is that the 2 groups don't have the same rate of flow of water (as per above) and sometimes there's no flow at all (needs more information / explanation) ..." Hope that helps.

JeanetteT

I am definitely happy not to pull it apart as I have read others say it can cause more issues. Is there an easy way to tell what condition the water in the boiler and the internals of the boiler are in? In terms of the flow, I leave the machine to heat up for 45min or so and find that if I try running a few shots and water through the left group (including cooling flushes) it will splutter and steam with very little flow. Does that makes sense?

FreshCoffee2

Quote: "...Is there an easy way to tell what condition the water in the boiler and the internals of the boiler are in?..." Irrelevant. The water in the boiler is not used for making coffee, only steam and hot water (and of course to heat the heat exchangers). If there is crud in there, it doesnt matter except if the crud results in stinky steam. I dont see crappy boiler water as a problem as an espresso machine is NOT a tea maker and the hot water in the boiler is deoxygenated and stale. I dont make my tea with that. If you want tea, use a jug or an urn for entertaining / groups, and domestic urns are cheap to buy. The resulting water is clean and fresh. If the steam stinks, then there is a problem that needs rectifying otherwise, forget it. Good esp machine management practies will keep it keeping on long term. Quote: "...In terms of the flow, I leave the machine to heat up for 45min or so and find that if I try running a few shots and water through the left group (including cooling flushes) it will splutter and steam with very little flow...." Unable to comment without it being on the bench in front of me. Little flow could be a build up of crud in the group ergo clear the group water path OR something else. Afraid that is for a tech with hands on to check out for you. Hope that helps.

JeanetteT

Thanks that's all helpful advice. I'll have to put my machine in again after the silly season 🙂