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Gaggia Classic - general troubleshooting/improvement

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  • #16
    Yep....

    Sounds like your t/c has gone "open circuit". May be easily rectified depending on where the break is. Best to do a close inspection along the t/c from whoa to go to see if you can locate it, otherwise a new t/c will be the only way out... By the way, you can't join a broken t/c cable/wire as such, rather you need to shorten the t/c back to the break and create a new t/c junction.

    Also, just taping the t/c to the Boiler somewhere is not a great idea, regardless that you've used thermal interface compound. You really need to screw it to the top of the Boiler using one of the t/stat mounting screws if possible; and the TIC too of course.

    Those PID parameters all look a bit odd to me also but until you have a working t/c and it is mounted solidly and securely, will be better to wait until you've fixed that side of things up.

    Mal.

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    • #17
      Ha ha, I solved this problem.

      The thermocouple as a braided metal outer covering over the wires. Turned out this was brushing one of the SSR contacts, so every time the PID was powered, it was getting an extra 40mV through the thermocouple, which turned sensible temperatures around 3mV / 90 degrees C up to around 1200. I re-ran the wires ensuring no contact and problem sorted.

      Why do you say you need to screw it in - so long as it's reasonably secure and thermally connected to the boiler, isn't it going to give you consistent results?
      Last edited by pcqypcqy; 21 September 2015, 08:53 PM.

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      • #18
        Borrowed a Mini Mazzer. Is pretty good!

        Still getting some jetting out the naked portafilter and very wet pucks. Almost looks like there are 4 spots where channeling occurred, corresponding to the 4 holes in the shower screen holding disc.

        Any tips on where to go from here?

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        • #19
          Originally posted by pcqypcqy View Post
          so long as it's reasonably secure and thermally connected to the boiler, isn't it going to give you consistent results?
          Well mate, would you tape your CPU Cooler down and reckon it's good enough?

          You can't get a reliable thermal connection using the amount of force that a piece of tape provides. You want reliability, you need to have it properly fixed to the boiler. Up to you of course...

          Mal.

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          • #20
            It's a different problem. CPU cooler needs good thermal contact to transfer heat into a heat pipe/sink and fan arrangement, and needs to continue doing so whenever it's on. I'm simply trying to measure a temperature. I know it's not a permanent fix, but the blob of thermal paste and the tape are still there so I'm happy with it for now, at least until I can assess how the pid is performing before I commit to drilling out the thermostat hole.

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            • #21
              It's up to you mate but what would I know...

              Mal.

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              • #22
                I've been playing with an arduino lately and have finally worked out how to measure the voltage coming from the PID controller to the SSR, i.e. how often it gets switched on and for how long each time. Will play around with some settings and do some more measurements and put an update on here in a few days.

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                • #23
                  Hello! Newbie here. I pulled my Gaggia Classic apart and cleaned it after buying it used. It hasn't seen a lot of action in its lifetime but was pouring very slow shots. I took it apart and cleaned every possible part according to recommendations here. I unscrewed my OPV valve but did not record how many turns it took to remove from the body. Anyone have any idea how far it should be turned down to function. So far I have been trial and error and no luck. I don't have a pressure gauge or blind cup to test? Any suggestions or know factory settings????

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by cwhiteley View Post
                    Hello! Newbie here. I pulled my Gaggia Classic apart and cleaned it after buying it used. It hasn't seen a lot of action in its lifetime but was pouring very slow shots. I took it apart and cleaned every possible part according to recommendations here. I unscrewed my OPV valve but did not record how many turns it took to remove from the body. Anyone have any idea how far it should be turned down to function. So far I have been trial and error and no luck. I don't have a pressure gauge or blind cup to test? Any suggestions or know factory settings????
                    Best to just get hold of a pressure gauge. Trial and error even with a blind filter is a roll of a dice at best by measuring output. Tighten it up clockwise and back out 2 or 3 revolutions should get you somewhere ideal but that is just a guess.

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