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To prime, but what if not to prime, that is the question

PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 7:02 pm
by Jonny782
This is Gaggia classic post. My machine at work is in a communal kitchen. My question is, if a colleague switches on the machine but does not run water thru to prime it, does it matter? I've never understood this priming bizzy.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:43 am
by quink
Priming just make sure the boiler is full, so you dont end up killing the element in the machine.

If you steam your milk, your pump isn't running so the water level in the boiler drops as you steam. If you dont prime the machine after steaming you could be left with an element thats not covered completely by water. Which could lead to a quick failure.

If you only make espresso priming shouldn't be an issue as the pump will replace any water used when you brew, so your boiler should always be full. Never hurts to check though.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 5:19 pm
by Jonny782
OK Thank you. I presume then that the boiler should not drain after matchine switched off?