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Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

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  • Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

    Hi all,

    Just wondering if anyone else with a Sunbeam EM6900 has ever had problems with the portafilter falling off while pulling a shot?

    Ours has suddenly developed this rather antisocial habit. The first time resulted in a large mess as my fiance was getting the milk and didnt grab the handle in time - it knocked the espresso glass off the machine. Coffee and broken glass everywhere! The rest of the times weve been watching closely and grabbed it.

    Basically the coffee will start flowing and all is well, but then suddenly the handle starts working its way left and off it comes. Doesnt happen every time.

    Im not sure if the pressure valve is broken (not noticing any water coming out the release valve drain), or if weve somehow started doing something differently that might cause this problem. I dont think were tamping harder or putting more coffee in or anything. It has happened to both of us as well, so Id be surprised if we both started doing the same thing.

    Could it be the coffee? We buy small amounts and get it ground at the cafe (still havent found a new roastery since moving to Sydney). We havent gone to the lengths of asking which setting they use but they should be consistent. [I know, we should grind our own but cant afford a decent grinder at the moment.]

    I noticed today that the grounds in the basket (the puck?) split into two separate wafers when I knocked them out. Could this be significant?

    Any ideas appreciated...

  • #2
    Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

    that sounds nasty i havent had any experience with this machine but i think i can safely say that either ur not putting the PF in properly or u have a fault in your machine i would lean towards the second as the first isnt likely...

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

      There shouldnt be any problems with valves or anything since its just the portafilter coming off. Are you dosing up much? If too much it wont lock in properly. Otherwise you could try use more force to push it more the the right and normally it should lock in because of the rubber group. Unless its so oily...

      I dont have a Sunbeam so I might be wrong. But give it a try.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

        Please call Sunbeam, Ive heard about this before, prob. six months ago.
        Send it back to Sumbeam and youll probaly end up with a new 6910.

        Regards,

        dickwyn

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

          This happened once on my 6910, but I had dosed up and probably not locked it in properly.
          It started to move left as soon as the pressure started to buid.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

            Hmm, Ive been dosing down slightly to see if that stopped it, but it still happened. Plus it doesnt move for quite a while - nearly to the end of the shot.

            Sounds a lot like I should take the machine to Sunbeam.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

              Heretic,

              Dose up again and be a little more forceful in tightening the PF to the right... and see how you go..

              You want to dose where you can compact the grinds in the basket with your fingers before tamping - then hard tamp... you should have 2-3min MAX between the tamped grinds and the rim of the basket... Under dosing will make matters worse!..

              If this doesnt help, call Sunbeam and theyll probably send out another PF for you....

              Let us know how you get on...
              Cheers,

              Marc

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                Originally posted by heretic link=1169965047/0#0 date=1169965047

                I noticed today that the grounds in the basket (the puck?) split into two separate wafers when I knocked them out. Could this be significant?
                Puck is the correct term That behaviour is normally caused by a two-tamp process which causes two discrete layers of packed coffee. Ideally you should only do a single tamp once the baskets full and level, but Sunbeams tamper does make this a bit hard as its a bit small. Try for one if you can, otherwise if you have to do two tamps, try either a very gentle tap to dislodge the untamped grounds before your second tamp, or do a very light tamp (couple of kilos) before the knock, and make the second tamp the heavy one.

                Or get a new tamper! ;D

                Greg

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                  heretic.

                  I am with you on this issue.  I too had an em6900 with a very similar issue.  After getting my machine back from the sunbeam service centre after repairs for other issues, I noticed that my portafilter handle would creep to the left while pulling shots.  Fortunately for me it never blew off completely.  I did notice that I had to lock in the portafilter very firmly to prevent this happening.

                  Anyway was pulling a shot last week when an almighty pop noise occured with steam & water mixed with coffee grinds went spraying everywhere.  I had managed to blow a portion of the group seal about 30mm in size completely off...

                  Took the machine in for repairs as I had reported leaking from around the group seal previously and the tech advised me that they had some issues with the group head itself not being able to hold the required pressure.

                  I had used the machine for a few months prior to this happening with no signs of the portafilter moving.

                  My advice is to contact sunbeam and get them to inspect & repair or replace the machine.

                  They have been bombarded with em6900 complaints for the last year or more and they have been very helpful in resolving any issues that I have had with my machine.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                    Originally posted by heretic link=1169965047/0#0 date=1169965047
                    Hi all,

                    Just wondering if anyone else with a Sunbeam EM6900 has ever had problems with the portafilter falling off while pulling a shot?.
                    Yep, that happened to me,. You need a new group seal, you probably still have the old black one, if you feel confident enough to replace it yourself, Sunbeam will send you a new blue one.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                      Update... finally got around to ringing Sunbeam today. Upshot is they suspect it needs a new seal and have arranged for a courier to come and collect it - even though its more than 12 months old; they didnt so much as ask about the warranty status. Theyre just doing it.

                      So Im pleasantly surprised - a company that wants to repair their product, no arguments? Man, havent had that for a long time. Heres hoping things continue smoothly.

                      Dunno how well last 2-3 weeks with no machine though! Guess our local cafe will love us

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                        Originally posted by heretic link=1169965047/0#10 date=1170415070
                        Update... finally got around to ringing Sunbeam today. Upshot is they suspect it needs a new seal and have arranged for a courier to come and collect it - even though its more than 12 months old; they didnt so much as ask about the warranty status. Theyre just doing it.
                        I thought they came with a 3 year warranty. If thats the case theres no need for them toask how long an owner has had a machine as none of them have been on the market long enough to have passed out of warranty.


                        Java "Time is the measure of all things." phile
                        Toys! I must have new toys!!!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                          12 months on the machine and 3 years on the pump

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                            Originally posted by ozscott link=1169965047/0#12 date=1170472715
                            12 months on the machine and 3 years on the pump
                            Aaaahhhhh........The catch on the 3 year warranty!


                            Java "Suddenly feeling illuminated" phile
                            Toys! I must have new toys!!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Portafilter falling off Sunbeam EM6900

                              Actually, its 5 years on the Pump ;-)

                              Comment

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