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Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

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  • Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

    A friend recently purchased a 6910 and asked me to take a look at it. It looked terrific outside so I filled the water up warmed up the machine and hit the manual button to give things a bit of a flush - I heard the typical three pumps of the pre-infusion and then the continual pumping sound that normally precedes some sort of precipitation from the portafilter but there was nothing.

    I removed the basked and the bottom was caked in a layer of mould. The shower screen was my next immediate port of call, and sure enough it too was quite clogged. Now that both of these are clear I expected to get some sort of flow but there is nothing - I notice that the 6910 has a filter system built in but I dont know what goes on between the filter and the portafilter.

    Can any 6910 users enlighten me as to what may be occurring in the innards that would prevent water moving from the tank to the group head?

    pump sounds as if it is working just fine - system is heating up and all the happy lights say go.

  • #2
    Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

    Oh - and the pressure gauge doesnt budge from hard on the left floor. . .

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    • #3
      Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

      Recent purchase ??? Warranty ??

      If second hand one can only assume that some one did not flush before storing. Thus it might be reasonable to expect that the filter is also dead... Other than that I have nothing further to add, at this point in time.

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      • #4
        Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

        The filters die?


        hmmm that could be it if that is the case

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        • #5
          Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

          Grendel, are you familiar with the normal pump volume on the 6910? I only ask because I found Id sometimes not have the tank properly seated, so everything would work as normal but nothing would come through, and the pump would be just louder than normal. Maybe also try opening the hot water tap and see what happens - thatll tell you if the problems in the group or before it.

          Greg

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          • #6
            Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

            The instructions say the filter is removable and the machine will work without it.
            If the tank was empty Id assume the machine needs to be primed again as if new.

            I recently got a new 6910 for work grendel.
            It takes quite some time before water works its way to the group when you first start it up.

            Give it a couple of minutes at least.

            As for the guage, thats normal.
            It doesnt indicate anything unless theres coffee in the basket for the guage to measure against.

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            • #7
              Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

              I guess my big concern is the MOLD etc...

              One would expect a good clean is required and then if all working we will await with bated breath as to the final product and you taste tests.

              Best of luck with all of this and hope it works out 4 the best.

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              • #8
                Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                Yeah, Id be wanting to run some kind of cleaning solution through it; obviously.

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                • #9
                  Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                  I got the cleaning solution into it right away - once I removed the filter the water started to flow. Fortunately owning an old Faema for so long has given me plenty of cleaning practice and the basket, portafilter and group head are gleaming - except the rubber and teflon bits naturally!

                  Thanks for the advice itll be nice for him to be able to pick it up in working order from me tonight!

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                  • #10
                    Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                    I suppose he can get a new filter from Sunbeam and install it easily enough.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                      Several sites say (and show in photos) that mould forms under the black insert in the portafilter of the 6910. Coffee oils also collect there and will harm the flavour of the coffee. I returned 2 6910s and had this problem with both.

                      If you like to avoid mould, I would also remove this black insert.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                        Funnily, the first thing I did at work was remove the graeme from the 6900 but it was clean underneath.

                        I havent yet removed the graeme from the new 6910 PF.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                          Thank God for coffee snob mates I reckon!

                          It is my machine and I was on holidays when I spotted it for $250.00 in the local newspaper. Seemed like a bargain and Grendel was happy to help out with the pick up. Im glad he discovered the mess as Im not sure I would have known where to start!

                          It is working very well now, but Im just learning the art of milk texturing now and of getting the right grind.

                          I bought a Sunbeam burr grinder from K Mart for $55.00, but on the finest setting it was still way to coarse and has been returned. Dont even bother! Today I picked up an EM0450 and I am still getting the settings right on it. At first it was so fine that I couldnt get anything out at all, but I seem to be slowly figuring it out.

                          As one who has been using a stovetop and a hand frother/microwave for over a year I am not yet impressed enough with this machine to say it produces a better coffee than I was getting previously. The actual coffee might be on a par, but the texture of milk as a way to go before I will be impressed.

                          But then maybe its the workman and not the tools!



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                          • #14
                            Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                            Hamo,

                            Give me some fresh beans, and your set up and Ill be making the best coffee at your house you will have ever had...period.

                            I implore you to learn espresso 101 and try to put some of those rules in to practice...you will get infinitely better coffee than a stovetop and a microwave ever will.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Mould, mildew and gunk oh my!

                              Ok - 2 days and 30 coffees later I am happy with it!

                              Getting the right grind and then learning how to texture milk (via CS/youtube) has made all the difference. I made one this morning that would be as good as I have had anywhere.

                              With a bit of practice Ill hopefully be able to do it consistently

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