I've been noticing a phenomenon occasionally over the past few years, it's gotten to the point where it can no longer be a coincidence.
I see a lot of Breville Dual Boiler and Oracle machines in for repair and a common issue that affects these models is the machines heating all the time when plugged in at the wall but off at the control panel. This is most often attributed to leaking steam which damages the triac board on the underside of the top cover.
However, on occasion, I've found ants or small flies bridging the legs of the opto-isolators or the triacs. Each time I think heh, this is unusual, but don't think too much more on it.
Sometimes these insects are the cause of the heating issue and removing them restores normal operation, other times the fault remains (either from the short causing permanent damage or underlying steam leaks).
Last week, an Oracle had an ant nest behind one of the sides and there was a large amount of ants packed under a few of the opto-isolators and a triac. This made me wonder why this is happening. I've never seen this on any other machine which uses triac controlled components.
I would be interested to hear any theories about why this is happening. My thought is that the machine is operating at a frequency that interferes with the insects, attracting them somehow.
These photos are from the recent Oracle which is the most I've ever seen.
I see a lot of Breville Dual Boiler and Oracle machines in for repair and a common issue that affects these models is the machines heating all the time when plugged in at the wall but off at the control panel. This is most often attributed to leaking steam which damages the triac board on the underside of the top cover.
However, on occasion, I've found ants or small flies bridging the legs of the opto-isolators or the triacs. Each time I think heh, this is unusual, but don't think too much more on it.
Sometimes these insects are the cause of the heating issue and removing them restores normal operation, other times the fault remains (either from the short causing permanent damage or underlying steam leaks).
Last week, an Oracle had an ant nest behind one of the sides and there was a large amount of ants packed under a few of the opto-isolators and a triac. This made me wonder why this is happening. I've never seen this on any other machine which uses triac controlled components.
I would be interested to hear any theories about why this is happening. My thought is that the machine is operating at a frequency that interferes with the insects, attracting them somehow.
These photos are from the recent Oracle which is the most I've ever seen.

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