Sunbeam EM4800 and similar blockage potential.

mulquemi

Dear Coffee lovers,
May I share with you,my story regarding the above EM4800 machine.
A friend from Victoria,owned and operated this particular unit and during its warranty period (12 months)
the unit failed to deliver steam when selected,the machine was returned for service to a local service agent.
Attempts were made to rectify the problem and finally the machine was returned "repaired" to its owner.
Needless to say it would not operate correctly,my friend (its owner) couldn't get it working,despite it being "repaired".
The machine has since been replaced with a new identical unit and the faulty unit was shoved away in the shed!
During a recent visit I sighted this old machine and was offered it with the suggestion I may be able to get it working again.I took up the challenge.

During my various opportunities to work on it I was able to finally locate the stoppage/blockage causing the steam failure.
I believe this may not be an uncommon point of failure for the EM4800 and similar models.
The machine has now taken pride of place in my limited coffee making facility.
My hope is that owners of these models may still have some chance to save their otherwise operational machines.
This is a image of the bottle neck problem,the steam wand swivel extension that becomes heavily blocked.Hope it helps someone out there.

Kelsey

Thanks for the informative post - can you elaborate a little more on what you found? Also, you might find EricS' post on adding an OPV to his Breville 860 an interesting read. You're clearly not bothered by mucking around with the internals, so it might be a mod that will yield great benefit to you. K

mulquemi

Kelsey, In reply to your request for more elaboration,the brass extension (pictured-below) was blocked to the extent that not even pressurised steam would not pass through,amazing that this was overlooked by the service agents. Once removed and cleared(took a fair bit of a effort to remove blockage)the steam was operational again. The usual descaling treatment was never going to unblock this massive blockage. Hope that helps. Regards mulquemi

Kelsey

Thanks for the elaboration! Was the blockage caused by scale or milk sucked back up into the boiler?

mulquemi

Kelsey, Not being a regular, working on these coffee pressure systems,I would  believe that due to the pulsating action of the pump there would be an amount (of blockage) due to milk residue and the remainder due to calcification (scale). I'm interested in fitting the recommended OPV to my sunbeam,after researching its characteristics,it may be just what I need,thank you.Do you know of a source in Australia? Regards 

Kelsey

I don't, but I feel certain Anger Management will be poking his knowledgable head into this thread in 5... 4.... 3....

Brett H

Doh!  It's just me.  Welcome Mulquemi and thank you for such an informative post.  We live in a 'throw away' society so it's heartening when an items final trip to landfill is significantly postponed.  :thumb:

C-man

on 1353899327:

Kelsey, Not being a regular, working on these coffee pressure systems,I would  believe that due to the pulsating action of the pump there would be an amount (of blockage) due to milk residue and the remainder due to calcification (scale). I'm interested in fitting the recommended OPV to my sunbeam,after researching its characteristics,it may be just what I need,thank you.Do you know of a source in Australia? Regards

yes, and Expobar or vibiemme OPV will fit for sure, I fitted the Vibimme I would imagine any with a 1/8 BSP thread would work. http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-equipment-entry-level-sub-500/32285-sunbeam-4800c-gauge-opv-upgrade-making-very-good-shots-now.html

mulquemi

C-Man, Thank you for the info regarding the supplier of the OPV options,will get into modifying my 4800 as soon as I gather all the bits,most appreciated. Regards mulquemi

C-man

be sure to read the thread first on CS And don't forget to cut some off the threads off the OPV where it threads into the pump otherwise you can damage the pump.  Also use plenty of Teflon tape to stop leaks good luck cutting through the SS casing for the gauge hole! see my thread -- http://www.bestcafes.com.au/forum/espresso-machines/suped-up-sunbeam-(slayer-style)-haha/

mulquemi

Dear Coffee lovers, Just recently I successfully "repaired" another EM4800 (model C this time) that failed to deliver the steam. Exactly the same blockage,as my original post,. The owners were content to continue using the machine (delivering coffee only) without steam however they were amazed that it was such a relatively simple fix. Clean out with de-scaler options are not sufficient to budge these blockages. Check with your local appliance repairers to ensure this "bottle neck" is checked as clear if your machine won't steam. Don't replace ,seek a easy clean out and you can be back running in quick time. Regards m

mulquemi

Dear Coffee lovers, Just to add to the above,I'm happy to give anyone further information regarding this model (and similar)particularities.Additional internal images (photos) to clarify what I found if requested regarding the design limitations. I have worked on many of these machines now and all suffer from similar problems,just so easy to correct when I know where to look! Kind Regards mulquemi

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1374984422:

Dear Coffee lovers, Just to add to the above,I'm happy to give anyone further information regarding this model (and similar)particularities.Additional internal images (photos) to clarify what I found if requested regarding the design limitations. I have worked on many of these machines now and all suffer from similar problems,just so easy to correct when I know where to look! Kind Regards mulquemi

You don't need to ask permission and your contribution is very welcome What you post in photos and setvice knowledge will be here for posterity It will serve as a library for those tha follow KK

mulquemi

This last week I've been fortunate to pick up three espresso machines from our local tip recovery shop. Sunbeam EM6910 w/out handle or baskets,kenwood "cremissimo"complete,em3600 complete,presumably tossed because owners couldn't be bothered troubleshooting their machine faults. I now have three fully operational and equipped espresso machines for my collection ready for appreciative owners. I was able to use a gaggia group handle which works fine ,no leaks. Despite the negatives I read about the em6910 ,as it is at the moment I cannot fault it. Usual blockages in the em3600 (steamer) where as the kenwood was just a (seized) stuck pump. Need a spare group handle and baskets to suit the em6910,anyone got  any spares. I'm very interested in reintroducing espresso machines to my work place and push out all those ugly capsule machines and their dirty little capules,this would encourage fellow staff members and students (school) to the delights of ese coffee and hopefully onto real coffee machines however,ese suitable baskets are very difficult to source,need some support here as I have contacted both Breville and Sunbeam and both say they do not have ese baskets in Australia. The actual ese pods are hard enough to get (online only) whereas the ese baskets I cannot find (for a reasonable cost).