CRW Senior Member Joined: 24 May 2012 Posts: 36 Location: PA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Oct 9, 2012, 9:06pm Subject: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
I've had a used Gaggia Classic for a couple months, and it's seemed to work OK til tonight. Now when I operate the brew switch, it just makes a loud buzz, with no water from the group head or the steam wand. I'm assuming I had water in the pump, but I've also had conflicting directions about priming. And if it was working and I kept water in the reservoir, how would it get "unprimed"? If it won't do anything at this point, should I try to manually prime it?
Also, I noticed there is ONE tube going into the reservoir, and feeding the pump, but also that there is a 2nd "nipple" or fitting that looks like maybe it should have a hose. Inside the machine, I can see a second tube going to some kind of valve which is attached to the back of the group body. Should there be a 2nd tube going into the water tank? Or is air supposed to feed thru that opening?
Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 11:18am Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
The second fitting is the return from the over pressure valve. If you are grinding fine enough to brew at the proper pressure, then you should see water returning to the reservoir through that fitting. If you don't, then you're not grinding fine enough, or the OPV is adjusted too high (this is fairly common to allow the use of pods without adjustment). There isn't usually a hose on that fitting on the reservoir side.
As for the original fault, you might lose prime if the water pipe gets above the water surface in the reservoir at any point, or if there is a slight split in the hose from being trapped anywhere. Inspect the hose inside the machine and in the reservoir if it keeps recurring.
D4F Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2012 Posts: 1,193 Location: USA Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID Grinder: Preciso
Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 11:23am Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
CRW Said:
Also, I noticed there is ONE tube going into the reservoir, and feeding the pump, but also that there is a 2nd "nipple" or fitting that looks like maybe it should have a hose. Inside the machine, I can see a second tube going to some kind of valve which is attached to the back of the group body. Should there be a 2nd tube going into the water tank? Or is air supposed to feed thru that opening?
I also assumed that you are dealing with the OPV, but do not understand the 2nd tube or air comment. If the OPV, there should be a second tube on it to the tank so I am not sure about the "air" comment.
Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 11:46am Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
D4F Said:
I also assumed that you are dealing with the OPV, but do not understand the 2nd tube or air comment. If the OPV, there should be a second tube on it to the tank so I am not aure about the "air" comment.
I got my Classic second hand without the tube into reservoir. It's not required as the water just drops into the reservoir, and it's something else to get trapped when you put the tank in and out, so I think quite a few machines are missing theirs.
I guess that my machine is a bit cluttered with DC sources for PID control on that floor. Also it looks like water would not have to find the hole, but could end up beside the tank and under it. Thanks for the clarification, I have not seen one without and did not even consider it. At least I understand the posts now.
tracerbullet Senior Member Joined: 13 Feb 2012 Posts: 152 Location: Saint Paul Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 9:58am Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
In the machines I've dealt with there's never been more than one tube in the reservoir, and that's the tube that brings water up to the pump. That tube, by the way while your'e looking at it, should reach the bottom of the reservoir and have a v-notch cut out of it to make sure it doesn't stick to the reservoir itself. It should have a straight shot to the bottom of the pump.
The top of the OPV normally leads to a small black fitting that as mentioned just spouts water directly back into the tank. That fitting doesn't need an additional tube on the end in the reservoir itself. If the fitting is missing then the tube itself could just get pushed straight through into the reservoir, which would still work. Perhaps the older ones came this way from the factory?
As for the pumping, make sure it's not kinked anywhere in that path or you won't get water to flow, look especially under the pump itself as it takes a sharp turn there. There should be a long spring inside the tube in that area to help keep it from collapsing.
The pump should prime itself, so I'm suspecting you have a problem getting water to it to start with for some reason. If it's not kinked, the idea that it might be drawing in air is a good one as well. After that I'd disconnect the tube from the exit of the pump (the top of it) and see if it's pumping water out of there. If not the pump's dead, if so then it could be a flow restriction further upstream or the pump could just be really weak. Start w/ looking for kinks / air entry first though.
D4F Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2012 Posts: 1,193 Location: USA Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic PID Grinder: Preciso
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 7:45pm Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
My Classic has the OPV with the relief niplple pointed straight up. It is shown in the parts diagram with a hose. It seems that it would be standard on the Classic. I understand how water could find its way to the tank, but on mine, it could also go along side the tank. Seems messy to vent straight up to flow back down the OPV, by design, to find a hole in the center of the floor. Even a short tube just into the hole above the tank would help. A short tube would not be in the way of the tank, but I do not find 2 tubes any more trouble then one to remove. Both are the same silicone product.
CRW Senior Member Joined: 24 May 2012 Posts: 36 Location: PA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Oct 19, 2012, 2:00pm Subject: Re: trouble with Gaggia Classic, and questions
thank you for the replies. That makes sense about the extra water going from the valve (OPV?) back to the tank. There is a black hose going from the valve to bottom of the inside of the machine, and then the fitting pokes thru to the space above the reservoir, thus enabling the water to drain into the reservoir. The part of the tube fitting that's visible on the underside of the housing, pointing into the reservoir, is identical to the fitting that the feeder tube is clamped to, so that's why I questioned if there should be a hose there too.
As to my problem with the pump and water locking up--it seemed to work OK after I manually primed it that first time, but recently it has had trouble frequently. When I first turn on the machine, I run some water thru the steam wand and also the group head. Then I let it sit and warm up, about 15 minutes or so. But if i let it sit for too long, it just hums loudly and doesn't pump any water. If I manually prime it, I can get it to start flowing again, but this is getting to be a pain. I bought it used on Craigslist, and for the first few months I never had any trouble. It was clean, worked well, and the previous owner seemed very honest and even asked for less money than she originally listed it for.
When it's pumping and water IS coming out, it's still VERY noisy, and I don't know if that is normal. I also don't know how this kind of pump actually works. How would I know if something was wrong with the pump? Like I said, it works when I first turn it on and run water thru it, but stops working if it sits too long.
Any more ideas, thanx. I'm gonna double check the inside hoses, but they seemed OK. I've also NEVER come close to running the reservoir dry or below the intake hose.
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