wrybread Senior Member Joined: 4 Mar 2009 Posts: 18 Location: San Francisco Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sun Mar 15, 2009, 3:12pm Subject: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
Help! The espresso side of my beloved Cafe Roma is clogged... The milk steamer side seems to be working fine.
When I leave the switch turned to espresso it makes the usual humming pump noise but nothing at all comes out. I removed the little screen inside the machine and cleaned it out, but no improvement.
As I said the milk steamer works fine, and if I turn it to the milk steamer for awhile and then back to espresso, water and steam comes out through the filter, possibly indicating that that side of things isn't clogged?
I'm trying to decalcify, but since nothing at all is going through, I have a feeling this isn't going to help much.
Posted Sun Mar 15, 2009, 3:39pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
hi wrybread! i've used one of these before, bought it 2nd hand from craigslist for $25 & gave to a friend. but i found a similar problem. when turned on (it had been sitting unused for a while) no water would come thru the filter. i found that several things had to be done to fix this. #1- i verified that the slide-out water container was filled to the full-line and was seated correctly into the machine; i had to push down a little, engaging the fitting on the bottom; this allowed water to be pumped out of the water container and thru the line leading into the machine, ultimately to the coffee filter basket via the pump. #2- i had to look at the coffee filter basket and make sure that the hole was clear; i used a needle to clear it completely. #3- i had to allow enough time for the machine to warm up before engaging the pump. if you follow all these suggestions & you've already removed the brew-head screen (metal screen attached by screw to top of where you secure portafilter handle to brew espresso) and you still don't have any water coming thru, i'd recommend accessing the inside of the machine to visually inspect the tubes/water lines that route water from the water container to the pump, brewhead, et al. see if there's a kink or any blockage in these lines. good luck to you!
wrybread Senior Member Joined: 4 Mar 2009 Posts: 18 Location: San Francisco Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sun Mar 15, 2009, 5:29pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
I've done all of the above, to no avail. Since it pumps steam just fine I'm guessing there's no issue with the connection to the water tank, and I'm running it without a filter so there's no clog there.
I removed the cover, and looking down at the innards there's no obvious problem, but as of now its just a bunch of wires, tubes and microswitches to me, but if anyone has any suggestions for likely culprits, I'd love to hear them...
TLogan Senior Member Joined: 25 Dec 2008 Posts: 20 Location: BC, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Baby Grinder: PeDe
Posted Mon Mar 16, 2009, 2:35pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
1) Unplug machine 2) Repackage it 3) Return it to the store 4) Buy a Gaggia Espresso or similar
All jokes aside, I'd try to get it warrantied. I'm just a little bitter because it broke so quickly - Breville's quality is not what it used to be. People knock on the Breville (and I don't blame them), but it's possible to get great lattes and mediocre caps out of it. I even did some latte art! As long as you're not expecting the world, you'll be fine. Toss that pressurized basket as soon as you can for a Pavoni 53mm. The stock one is really a single filter in double disguise. You have to overdose ridiculously to get anywhere near 14g.
wrybread Senior Member Joined: 4 Mar 2009 Posts: 18 Location: San Francisco Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Mar 16, 2009, 5:52pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
Ha, probably good advice. Any partular Gaggia you'd recommend? Since I haven't learned my lesson I'd be going the ebay/used route, meaning cheaper is good...
Back to my Cafe Roma, which I really do like and would love to get working: can someone who has one let me know what happens when you leave out the filter and don't put any coffee in, just install the empty filter holder and turn the dial towards espresso. Does pressure build up? Does steam come out? Does water continue to flow indefinitely?
I'm trying to figure out what's normal behavior. I only had mine for a week or so before it died so am not positive what its supposed to be doing. I'm especially wondering whether you get steam flowing in this position.
appgap Senior Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 77 Location: VT Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni Europicolla; NS... Grinder: German Hand/NS MDUA Drip: Philips Senseo
Posted Tue Mar 17, 2009, 6:49am Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
Well, I will know in a day if I am the owner of a new Sylvia. If I am, I would be happy to sell you my Cafe Roma which is about a year and 1/2 old, meticulously maintained and has the Krups nonpresurrized basket for 50 bucks + shipping.
wrybread Senior Member Joined: 4 Mar 2009 Posts: 18 Location: San Francisco Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Mar 24, 2009, 1:28pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
An update:
I left the Roma soaking for a week and all is well. Actually its significantly better than before it fully clogged, so I guess it always had a bit of a clog.
And by "soaking", I mean I ran some vinegar through it and then put it down for a week with the vinegar still in the lines. I was worried that wouldn't work since it was completely clogged up, but I guess enough vinegar got in to work on the clog.
And as far as my water/vinegar mixture, I used like an inch of vinegar in the tank and filled the rest of the tank with water.
My victory latte is tasting so good.
And Aggap, did you win that Syvia? Is it all its proverbially cracked up to be? I came distressingly close to buying a PID-modded Sylvia for a ridiculous amount of money when my Breville was broken...
coffeebean22 Senior Member Joined: 10 Sep 2010 Posts: 1 Location: toronto Expertise: I live coffee
Posted Fri Sep 10, 2010, 10:12am Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
I had the same issue with the Breville coffee filter. I put the filter in a small glass bowl filled with water and added a dishwasher sachet to it. I let it soak for a few hours. The filter works as good as new. Just to be sure the filter doesnt have any strong dishwasher soap in it, I let the water run through the filter till I emptied two full tanks of water in the espresso machine.
greycatlost Senior Member Joined: 24 Sep 2012 Posts: 1 Location: Boston Expertise: Just starting
Posted Mon Sep 24, 2012, 4:13pm Subject: Re: How to unclog a Breville Cafe Roma?
I know this is an old thread, but I'll add my 2 cents regardless. I've had the same issues with my machine, and after trying nearly everything suggested, I found the best solution thus far. I put the filter on my stove top, directly on a burner, and turned it up to high. I could literally hear the coffee burning away inside. Afterwards I simply let it cool, washed off the bottom, and it worked perfectly. It's happened a few times since, and each time this method worked. The metal can withstand the heat, so give it a shot!
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