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Hi all
A friend asked me to take a look at his Gaggia Baby because it's not pumping water through the group head despite the pump appearing to work (can still dispense hot water through the steam wand) and the boiler functioning properly (good steam pressure etc). I've done the following so far:
1. Opened the boiler and cleaned out a lot of debris (corrosion flakes from electrostasis in the boiler). Smoothed out all the pitting inside the boiler with a file because if you don't you're just asking for more flaking immediately upon using the machine again.
2. Pushed pipe cleaners through all the holes I could find in the boiler, with varying results. Some holes don't go very far so it's not easy to tell what's a blockage and what's just a short path.
3. Removed the screen-side components of the group head and cleaned them all thoroughly (they were disguuuuusting).
I put everything back together and tried again and got... nothing. Not a single drop of water came out the group head. Great steam pressure, strong flow when dispensing water through the steam wand, but absolutely nothing through the group head. Also got no backflush when I shut off the pump, but I can't remember if Gaggia Baby has a backflush valve.
So... it must be a blockage in the actual group head, right? Any ideas on how to clear such a thing? I've disassembled everything that can be disassembled and I've tried stuffing pipe cleaners into holes... at this point do I just call it a terminal blockage and give up on it?
Any ideas welcome.
A friend asked me to take a look at his Gaggia Baby because it's not pumping water through the group head despite the pump appearing to work (can still dispense hot water through the steam wand) and the boiler functioning properly (good steam pressure etc). I've done the following so far:
1. Opened the boiler and cleaned out a lot of debris (corrosion flakes from electrostasis in the boiler). Smoothed out all the pitting inside the boiler with a file because if you don't you're just asking for more flaking immediately upon using the machine again.
2. Pushed pipe cleaners through all the holes I could find in the boiler, with varying results. Some holes don't go very far so it's not easy to tell what's a blockage and what's just a short path.
3. Removed the screen-side components of the group head and cleaned them all thoroughly (they were disguuuuusting).
I put everything back together and tried again and got... nothing. Not a single drop of water came out the group head. Great steam pressure, strong flow when dispensing water through the steam wand, but absolutely nothing through the group head. Also got no backflush when I shut off the pump, but I can't remember if Gaggia Baby has a backflush valve.
So... it must be a blockage in the actual group head, right? Any ideas on how to clear such a thing? I've disassembled everything that can be disassembled and I've tried stuffing pipe cleaners into holes... at this point do I just call it a terminal blockage and give up on it?
Any ideas welcome.
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