Hello Giovanni, et al,
The above post is almost 5 years old but still, very valid. I was about to dispose of my 2007 (12 year old) Saeco Incanto Sirius machine because of the "Ventilate" error.
I followed you instructions and although it took a few hours to disassemble, I was working carefully so as to not "get lost" in the process, I believe the issue was in the "water flow" meter (wheel). I suspect it was stuck with some residue which I pulled apart and cleaned. I also cleaned the hoses using some CLR and then rinsed with hot water before reinstalling.
On reassembly, the water flow was restricted so had to take the top and back off and check the hoses (tubes). I suspect something was kinked and when I checked the hoses, I made sure that there were no more kinks! I turned the machine on and the Ventilate error was gone! I assembled the machine completely and ran a few tests.
Back to working normally. I checked the counters and the total of the 3 was in excess of 16,000 cups.
Thanks for your detailed instructions - I'm please to say hat they worked for me :-)
I will keep the instruction in case I need them again.
Grazie mille
Athol
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Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
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I had the same "ventilate" problem. I tried to do the hot water thing a number of times, but although I could hear the machine pumping, no water came out and "ventilate" would not go away. I then ran the "descale" cycle once, then the hot water started working and "ventilate" disappeared. Everything worked fine after that.
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I have a similar problem with my Saeco royal professional showing "ventilate". Tried all the usual things with no effect. Replaced the pump but it wasn't faulty. Checked flowmeter and filter but they're clean as a whistle as is the rest of the machine. Replaced the solenoid on the heater without any effect. Ran through the test procedure and noticed that when checking the pump operation the flowmeter reading is 0 whereas it should go up to 40. The pump didn't kick in either. All other aspects on test operated OK. I have another earlier machine but the solenoid on the steam valve has a different rating which is why I haven't tried that yet. I am stumped and frustrated. Any ideas would be very welcome.
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Hello Brettreaby,
I hope you haven't chuck the machine in the bin already; I know, two years have passed, but I joined today this forum ....
I have read all the replies from the others, and while correct, my personal experience with the SAECO fully automatic machines (and with others from other manufacturers) is that people chuck it in the bin/on the verge just because water does not come out any more (i.e. there is some very stupid/easy to fix blockage issue).
The good news is that these machines are, for all intents and purposes, indestructible work horses.
While possible, it is an extremely rare occurrence that some major component such as the pump, the boiler(s), the on-board electronics or any electromechanical part fails beyond repair/cleaning; it can happen, but it's extremely unlikely that *that* is the reason why a SAECO machine ends up on the verge.
Usually, as you have seen, is the sudden appearance of some weird error message the cause for it to be wasted.
"Ventilate" means that the water flow sensor (a wheel of plastic) is telling the on-board computer that, for some reason, water is not flowing.
To fix this issue you must open the machine; there is high voltage inside, so DO NOT attempt the following if you are not completely comfortable with working with 240 volts around. Having said this, DISCONNECT FROM MAINS the machine before opening it (obviously) and NEVER connect the machine to mains while open. Take a lot of pictures at every step, they will be useful to reassemble the machine.
You carry put the following under your own responsibility and free will; I am not responsible for any damage you may cause to you or to any third party or property. :-)
Assuming you are OK with the above, you open the machine by removing the coffee beans cup, the water reservoir and lifting the plastic top of the machine.
The coffee beans cup in hold in place by two screws: remove them.
The water tank is removed just by lifting it up BUT there are two (2) hex screws underneath which must be removed;
then there are two (2) other "normal" screws underneath the front of the machine; they must be removed.
Once you do this, the top plastic should move more or less freely but BEWARE that the cables for the hot plate cannot be removed and the water inlet tube is also attached (but it can be *gently* removed).
Ok, so now you have the machine open .....
You need to check the water flow sensor; it's the white round thingy which you can see inside , at the bottom; just follow the water inlet tube and you'll find it in no time. There are no screws holding it; look at it and carefully and gently move it around and pull it up. You may have some difficulties in doing this because the steam boiler and it's Teflon piping and electrical wires are in the way. So, you may find helpful to remove the steam boiler to get to the water flow meter. The steam boiler is assembled on a metallic plate which is hold in place by three (3) screws; remove those screws and gently move the steam boiler assembly out of the way.
The water flow meter is a very simple device; inside, there a free spinning wheel on which a small magnet is attached. If the wheel rotates (because the water is flowing) it will send a signal to the on-board computer. If the wheel is stuck for some reason (scale and/or dirt) it will not spin and the machine will (wrongly) believe that water is not flowing.
While you are there, you can notice that on the water flow meter inlet tube coming from the reservoir there is a small water filter; it is a good idea to give it a good clean now that the machine is open.
Another very common issue which causes the "Ventilate" message is that one or more of the electro-valves get stuck with scale. If the electro valve does not open, water will not flow and the water flow sensor will indicate (correctly) this to the on-board computer.
The electro-valves are black blocks with three wires (one is ground, colored with yellow and green stripes); you can see one located near the steam boiler assembly, another one near the steam knob, and (depending the machine) may be more.
The electro-valves are nothing more than an electrical coil which generates a magnetic field which in turn moves back and forth a small metallic piston, which tends, easily, to get stuck causing this whole issue.
You need to open the electro-valve, take the piston out, clean it and reassemble. It's FUN !!!!!
If the water flow meter is OK, and the electro-valves are OK but you still have the "Ventilate" message, not all is lost; it simply means that there is some blockage, due to accumulated scale, somewhere else; typically, in one of the boilers and/or in the Teflon tubes.
In other words, it can be time consuming for somebody that has never done this before, BUT it usually ends up with a fully working machine at ZERO cost, and you have a lot of fun in the process. So, it's totally worth to spend some time in fixing it!
One last note; these machines are built to last at least 35 to 40 THOUSAND espressos; if you do the math, and you estimate say 6 espressos per day, you end up with 6 * 365 = 2190 coffees per year, in ten years you would have made 21900 coffees and still have a very young machine; you should use the machine twenty years (about 44 thousand coffees) to overreach the useful life of the machine. Which of course it doesn't happen. So, a 10 years old machine is still very well worth of attention, if there is no major issue.
There are also a lot of videos on YouTube, that's how I learned (and by fixing a number of machines of course) in the first place. I don't do this for a living :-)
Cheers, if anything is not clear, ask away.
Giovanni.Last edited by giovanni; 29 October 2014, 11:24 PM.
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
Dont worry guys I have zapped myself plenty of times in the past without harm, not in the last few years though. Pretty wary of stuff that involves water and electricity.
Worst experience was wiring a PowerPoint for a dishwashing machine as a summer job and the sparky turned on the power!
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
I said "usually" so yes there could be something else happening, but unless you find something loose or unplugged inside we may never know.
Also if there is no evidence of a water leak it could simply be that the probem of a leaking thermoblock has only recently started to occur. In that case the machine will keep on keeping on for some time until an actual leak becomes externally evident (by which stage the problem is really bad) and the "ventilate" error will just become more and more frequent as the problem gets worse until it effectively stops the machine being operational.....
Hard to say, without taking a look
Be careful, there are a zillion wires in there and 240 volts, and I didnt tell you to go there just gave you the most obvious fault that it could be !
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
many thanks Attilio
Im not a masochist and will take your advise- thanks! And i agree not worth spending any $$ on it.
There is no evidence at all of the machine leaking water so i wonder how the cpu is deciding this is a problem, maybe the CPU board itself is dodgy or some sensor has come unplugged. maybe i will get lucky and find a tiny problem.
As parts of this exercise i have worked out how to pull down the brew unit completely and then i soaked in caffex for 2 hours and have done the same for the work machine - amazing how much crud it found.
Also i used Inox grease to relube the moving parts- this stuff is cool and food grade for $8 a tube. get it at Jaycar.
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
Yes, "ventilate" in the context of the Magic means open the steam tap and flow water out of the steam pipe (ie not in steam mode) until a continuous flow of water is achieved.
A machine that continues to come up with this error message usually has a failed thermoblack seal meaning that water (and steam) is leaking out of the thermoblock and into the machine.
There is only 1 fix: replace the thermoblock with a new one.
The machine is a 2001.....it is not IMHO worth repairing because you can fix the problem at hand, and have something else go wrong shortly after etc etc etc effectively resulting in you chasing your tail with expensive repairs on an old machine that will end up costing you more in repairs than it is worth.
And of course if you dont fix it and it continues to limp along making coffee, the leaking water and steam inside the body will eventually short out the CPU and the grinder and then it definitely isnt worth fixing.
My professional advice is to put is back where you found it.
On the other hand I realise there are enough people in this forum that will take it as a challenge and fit up a pasquini PID, convert the thermoblock to an LM single boiler, modify the grinder to accept robur burrs, and convert the steam valve and pipe to a synesso assembly, not to mention fitting up an electrical plug from a slayer
;D
Trust me...dont go there.
Attilio
very first CS site sponsor
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
I typed, "saeco ventilate message" into google Brett, and found lots of information, including right at the top of the list:
"If your Saeco coffee machine displays "ventilate", run hot water through the boiler by placing a cup under the steam/hot water nozzle until the message disappears."
Cheers
Dennis
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Re: Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventilate" message
... no i did not choose italian language - typo - should be Ventilate message!
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Maintenance manual - Saeco Magic "Ventialte" message
my son found a Saeco magic left on the footpath and brought it home.
Looks in good condition overall - date 2001 on the bottom. the brew cartirdge is 100%: already put it into the Saeco Professional at work and its good, the pump is ok but no water flow.
Keeps coming up with a ventilate message and my internet search doesnt provide an answer to that.
So anyone offer a guide as to the cause of the ventilate message or able to provide a maintenace manual?
Until i get a better handle on the problem dont want to spend money on it- after all someone did chuck it out.
Thanks for any hints,
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