Iberital L'Anna Fault - HELP PLEASE

Equipment, technique, or just drinking the stuff

Moderators: GreenBean, Gouezeri, bruceb, CakeBoy

Re: Iberital L'Anna Fault - HELP PLEASE

Postby johnca » Sat Feb 13, 2016 9:51 am

@CakeBoy - thanks for your kind words, it's so frustrating as it's probably something simple and I can't believe I've got 2 boilers with holes in the HE pipes. It's a brand new PCB, the problem was evident with the old PCB so I think we can eliminate that. The Flowmeter seems to be ok, having said that I've noticed that the 10 second flashing light on the pushbutton hasn't worked for some time (that's to indicate the pump has been running for 10 secs when back flushing) ... this may point to the Flowmeter being faulty. But shot volumes are accurate so I thought that indicated it was working and maintaining calibration.

Yes I have descaled the machine and it's very clean, I don't think there's a blockage anywhere and have removed and checked most components now. I've got a pressure gauge/portafillter and it consistently reads 9 bar, there is no movement on the needle at full pressure. There is no evidence of water leakage, no sounds of steam escaping, the boiler pressure is correct ... but somehow the brew water is getting too hot in the Group causing it to turn to steam
Iberital L'Anna Auto Hand Fill
Mazzer Mini Electronic A Doserless
User avatar
johnca
 
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:47 pm

Re: Iberital L'Anna Fault - HELP PLEASE

Postby CakeBoy » Sat Feb 13, 2016 1:44 pm

John, I wouldn't worry too much about the flashing after ten seconds during backflush, ours doesn't either. I always assumed it's more a pressure measurement thing not getting to a point where it even begins to countdown ten seconds. Hopefully you can disregard that one as having any contribution to the problem, though it could of course be a negative indicator.

Strange idea but worth a check. Are you in a position to measure the water temperature out of the head? The polystyrene cup and thermocouple route will be accurate enough. Do it whilst the head is steaming and after a good flush for comparison purposes. My thinking is it will potentially cast light on a number of possibilities, including a rudimentary overview of the pressurestat's relationship with the temperature gauge reading and its accuracy.

Our gauge reads a heater on zone of 0.7 to 0.9 bar and the water hitting a polystyrene cup directly under the head with a thermocouple inserted near the base reads around 96C as the water hits and settles, as an average. If any of those variables differs greatly on yours, I would look at the meter accuracy or pstat again. Perhaps Chris could measure his temps for comparison as well as he keeps his boiler pressure at a similar level?

How does your coffee taste? Not always a great indicator though as when our pump went we realised our coffee had been going downhill slowly with it but we hadn't noticed until the end as it was so gradual.

I agree with you and Chris, it would be an extraordinary coincidence if both HX pipes were holed.
www.CakeBoy.co.uk
International muffin blagger

Iberital L'Anna 1 Gp Hand-Fill | Wega Orion 2 Gp | Bezzera 1 Gp | Rancilio Audrey PID | Spidem Trevi
Iberital MC2 Timed | Macap M4 DS & MXA DS | Mazzer SJ | Starbucks Barista Grinder (Dualit E60/Solis 166)
Pinhalense 2x500g Gas Batch/Sample Roaster | Gene Cafe | IMEX CR-100
Aerobie | eSantos | Zassenhaus | Bodum P/Over | Chemex | Hario Woodneck | Timer Filter
User avatar
CakeBoy
 
Posts: 10006
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 10:43 pm
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Re: Iberital L'Anna Fault - HELP PLEASE

Postby dr.chris » Mon Feb 15, 2016 1:19 pm

The volume flow control on my Anna isn't working well at all (as in sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't) but it just means keeping an eye on whats coming through. Otherwise all working very well.

Think part of the reason we lost the 1st controller was water overflow when filling Anna. We didn't get the top bolts when we got her and they didn't seem that important until that one time... There is some tape underneath over the whole now.

I think all we have to hand to measure temperature is the thermometer the better half uses when steaming milk. It might give an indication but won't be very accurate.
Iberital L'anna / Mazzer Mestre/ Iberital tamper
User avatar
dr.chris
 
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:56 pm
Location: Manchester

Re: Iberital L'Anna Fault - HELP PLEASE

Postby johnca » Sun Mar 13, 2016 1:21 pm

Thank you all for your suggestions to help find a remedy for my problem. I have had support from an espresso repairman who has several years experience of commercial machines, he contends that the replacement boiler must also have a leak in the heat exchanger tube. I cannot accept this hence why I posted this plea for help, surely it must be something else? I have tested and substituted all the components we have discussed on this thread to no avail, I'm left wondering if it's a leaking gasket/union/coupling/valve or whatever.

I used to leave it switched on all day, my only remedy is to switch it off until i want a coffee ... then wait 20 mins for it to warm through. Bit of a nuisance but it's reduced my caffeine intake, seems to me that my beloved L'Anna is effectively SCRAP and that's so disappointing after all the time and money it's consumed ... and I can't afford to replace it!
Iberital L'Anna Auto Hand Fill
Mazzer Mini Electronic A Doserless
User avatar
johnca
 
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2005 9:47 pm

Previous

Return to Espresso

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests