barboy Junior Member Joined: 12 Mar 2013 Posts: 4 Location: Canada Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 12:24pm Subject: Water from steam wand problem.
I bought a used Avanti big bar combi machine. These machines are supposed to be improved Lelit (special order from a Montreal store called Espresso Mali). Mine does pretty decent shots actually BUT milk froating is a problem. When I purge water from the wand prior to froating I can see that there is a lot of water coming from the wand. There is steam but there is also a small jet of water in the center of the steam jet.
What to do?
As a technological neandertal, I don't have a camera but this is the new version of my machine. Note that the wand on my machine is straight, unlike the one on the photo. Click Here (www.espressomali.com)
Coffeenoobie Senior Member Joined: 11 Dec 2011 Posts: 2,320 Location: PNW Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: N S Oscar Grinder: Vario W
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 1:38pm Subject: Re: Water from steam wand problem.
Is it under warranty?
I am going to guess it is it is not working correctly or it has a "no burn wand" and needs the "no burn" part of it removed to stop the water from condensing. If it is still under warranty removing that part might void the warranty. I would call the company and ask about it if it is under warranty. If not then you have nothing to lose by modding the steam wand.
Coffeenoobie
Buying advice: GRINDER GRINDER GRINDER. Don't cheap out on the grinder. My coffee treasure map... Click Here (maps.google.com)
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,727 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 4:02pm Subject: Re: Water from steam wand problem.
Is there a constant mix of steam and water, or only when you first open the valve? It's normal to have to purge water when you first open the valve, if you haven't frothed for even a short amount of time, but that should only last a second or two.
The no burn wands have a plastic tube inside of them that channels the steam down the center of the wand without heating the wand wall - thereby allowing you to hold and manipulate the wand without burning your fingers. The plastic tube tends to condense steam, so the steam coming out of it is less dry (I suppose this varies from machine to machine). Some people (myself included) remove the plastic tube to make the wand deliver drier steam, but then you have to insulate it so you don't burn your fingers. There are rubber sleeves you could buy for this, or you can mold a small piece of Sugru, or attach some sort of heat resistant clip.
If your boiler is overfilling, it could allow water to get through the wand when you open the valve. This is unlikely, unless someone's been futzing around where they shouldn't or without really knowing what they're doing.
barboy Junior Member Joined: 12 Mar 2013 Posts: 4 Location: Canada Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 6:52pm Subject: Re: Water from steam wand problem.
thanks all for the quick replies :)
The guy who had the machine sold it because he wanted a Nespresso (/facepalm) therefore, he could not passibly have fiddled with the machine. My wand does have some protection over the wand itself but it's in stainless. I'll try to remove it tomorrow morning and see it the steam is dryer.
If the boiler does overfill, would purging some water via the wand before froating do any good or would it keep overfilling anyway?
P.S: Sorry if I'm not clear, english is not my first language...
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,727 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Tue Mar 12, 2013, 7:24pm Subject: Re: Water from steam wand problem.
I took a look at the photo this time. That one has a froth-assist wand. Surely designed to not burn you, but at the same time not quite what Helen was referring to (which I tried to elaborate on). Not really sure whayt yours looks like based on your description. A picture is worth a thousand words...so they say. Could you post one of your machine? It would help a lot. Here's a random photo of an espresso machine with the "burn me" wand and the rubber sleeve I was referring to earlier. It's just the first photo I found on google. http://www.coffeehomedirect.com/vibiemme/ds1gelne
You didn't say whether the water/steam combo goes away after a couple of seconds purging the wand, or if it's constant. Maybe you need to check that. Again, if it goes away within a couple of seconds of having the valve fully opened it's normal.
Regarding the boiler, yeah, if it's overfilled, it will continue to overfill, as the fill level is set by a sensor. However, it's very unlikely that is the problem.
barboy Junior Member Joined: 12 Mar 2013 Posts: 4 Location: Canada Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Mar 13, 2013, 8:08am Subject: Re: Water from steam wand problem.
well removing the stainless tube over the actual wand did really improve on the amount of water coming from the wand. Now after 5-10 secs of purging I cannot see water coming out of the wand so that will do the trick for me!
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