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  • EM6910...Probably needs a recall

    Here is my story of my 3 EM6910s. All within a 3 week period.

    1st Machine.
    Ecstatic when I got home. Immediately plugged it in, ran a litre of water through it like I was told.
    First few shots were pouring out. EM0450 grinder was too coarse even on the finest setting. Swapped it for a new one which was grinding properly. Subsequent shots were good. However, turning the machine on the next morning, there were wierd noises. Sounded like water flowing around the tubes or something. Its not a positive sound IMO. Then steam shot followed by a puddle of water appeared from the hole under the drip tray. As I never had this machine before, I thought it was normal. Next morning, same sounds PLUS water coming out of the group head. Again, I thought it was some automatic cleaning procedure the machine had. After 5 days I called sunbeam, the lady heard the noises over the phone, authorized for me to pick up a new machine.

    2nd Machine.
    Same old machine. After a couple of days, it started making the same noises again. This time it was less frequent. Decided I wanted a single pour spout as I h ardly make two coffees at once. Unscrewed the double spout,saw cracks around the group handle. The bit where you screw the spout on fell off and I was pissed. Brought it back for a new machine.

    3rd Machine.
    When I took a new machine instead of a refund, I had a bad feeling I made the wrong decision. Still did not give up on sunbeam.
    Came home. filled the tank. Ready to run a litre of water through it. Hit the manual button, pump was running no water came out. Tried it again, no water. First impressions of this 3rd machine was bad.....very bad. Then after 5 minutes, I hit the single shot button and water started running. Steam wand was not giving me the same amount of steam as the 2nd machine. Turned the machine off. Turned it on again and there goes the wierd noises. At this point I took it back to where I got it from(shall not name names) and the sunbeam rep told me that since its my third machine, I can not exchange/refund anymore. She will have to send it off to get it repaired for me. So technically, Ill be paying full price for a day old machine which has been repaired. No thanks, bit of drama at the store and I got my money back.

    Personally, after my experience, I would rather add 100+ and take the rancilio over the sunbeam. Or you could live on coffee pucks for a month and buy a domobar super which I have done

  • #2
    Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

    Hmmmm,.. one or two seconds of gurgling sounds and occasionally a little squeak a minute or so after turning on,... thats what I get, and thought that was completely normal as the machine gets ready for action. Thought it was kinda cute actually  : ;D.

    Water leaking from hole under drip tray,... normal... but only when you dont have the drip tray put all the way in,.. just needs a little jiggle,.. pops in and a little water gurgles (the noises you hear) out the tube through that hole and into the drip tray as it should.  All normal.

    New machine,.. no water coming through GH,......normal... needs a few goes to prime it up when it is new.. they can be a little hard to get going... they dont mention this in the book I dont think,.. and should.  Once the water begins to flow,.. keep pumping it through for a while and after that.. no problems.

    Cracked group handle,..not normal...needs replacing. ;D

    Apart from the group handle... everything else sounds normal to me. Its a shame you didnt post here for some advice from people who use these machines everyday before you went to all that trouble replacing them,.. we know them waaaaaaay better than most of the Sunbeam/store employees who go there because its a job,.. not because they love or even use these machines.  Its also a shame that you have come to the conclusion that the EM6910 probably needs a recall because of your (and I dont mean to be rude by any means) limited experience with these machines.

    I am sorry to hear that you did have this experience and we were right here and could have helped you,.... because you could now be really enjoying this machine as many of us do here.  







    Comment


    • #3
      Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

      Shot of steam on warm up = normal

      Im deaf but havent noticed any weird sounds other than a quick squeal from the steam pump when warming up.

      They do take an awfully long time to prime with water the first time.

      For the money theyre not bad but now that you have the Domobar forget about the Sunbeam experience and enjoy your coffee.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

        Well the first had water leaking out the GH. Second portafilter broke. Third....no water...bit worried...
        There was steam shooting out the drip tray as well.......oh well

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

          ooops... missed that bit about the domobar super .  You should have a blast with that machine. ;D  All the best with it Gavin1, I hope you keep us up to date with how you go.

          To an anyone who is contemplating buying the EM6910 and may be put off;
          I just want to point out that there are many folk here on the forum who have not had any problems with this machine,..and are very happy with it.  In this price range,.. it is a terrific buy, and is capable of producing awesome shots. I have no affiliation with Sunbeam whatsoever,.. just very happy with my machine, and given that I was only able to outlay funds in this range,. my choices were limited to just a few machines.  The Domabar Super is two,.. probably more like three times the price of the EM6910 and for that reason,. not in the same ballpark and the two cannot really be compared(not saying there were compared in this thread at all). If you are looking a machine in the $500 - $1000 price range,.. I suggest you read the thread in that section of the forum and ask heaps of questions and find out if people are happy with their machines.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

            Oh and another thing. When i called the sunbeam coffee hotline, The lady heard the noises over the phone. She said its not supposed to be like and that she herself has the same machine. I was then told to pick up a new one. So, wouldnt you be worried when sunbeam tells you its not supposed to be like that?

            When i ran a backflush with the disc, water shoots out the spout. How is that even a backflush when water runs forward when its supposed to run backwards?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

              Sadly Gavin,. I think the Sunbeam hotline staff need a hotline themselves with staff that know their product. You must have gotten the woman I got  :.  Sure, Id be worried if they told me it shouldnt be like that,.. perhaps your gurgle and noises were real bad,.. maybe mine is faulty too? I dunno about that,.. but if it is faulty and shouldnt be making these noises for a short bit after turning on (though I wasnt surprised when I first heard it, it sounds like normal water/air pressure type noises),..it works really well so far despite it.

              Backflush water coming out of spout = normal.  It goes through a 10min cycle of backflushing and release as far as I can determine. The book tells you to place a suitable sized container under the spout,... I took that to indicate that water will come out of the spout at some point.

              Back to the Sunbeam hotline,..here is a recent convo I had with a woman about obtaining a DVD and also seeking advice on getting the grind just right for this machine because I was grinding too fine and the dial was surging.(nothing wrong with the machine,.. just bad operator).... this woman was hysterical and told me she uses the same machine at home.  

              <<snip>>
              Rang them this morning and they are sending out a copy of the DVD. I also took the opportunity to ask a few questions while I had someone in-the-know eh hemm and it went like this;

              Im having trouble with the machine surging and getting the grind right, so do you have a little sample satchel of the coffee grind that Sunbeam recommends so I can get a better understanding of what level of grind works well for this machine? No,.well its just a fine grind  
              hmmm that was helpful...NOT.  How long is a piece of string lady?? phrrrt!  

              What grinder are you using?? ,..like after that last comment, having this piece of information for her to work with, would make a whole lot of difference,...it didnt.  
              Im using an Isomac GranMacinino grinder  
              Ohhhhh (in a tone that said theres the problem  ) well you just need to set it to fine   You need to use the scoop,.. and you measure the amount of grind with the scoop provided.  
              Oh really?  I usually put in about 20g for the double basket. How much do you put in?  
              She says...wait for it....I put in about 2 1/4 scoops I think, but you have to tamp it 3 times.  

              oh I totally see where Im doing it all wrong now Bwaaaaaaaaahaahahaha Hmmm 2 1/4 scoops hey?? looks like Sunbeam will need to mod their scoop with next Machine release *snort*.  Gosh...maybe Ive only been tamping 2 or 4 times.  

              And how do I increase the steam pressure in the steam wand? I need more pressure I think because Im having trouble lifting the blood splatter stains from my T-shirts after ripping my knuckles off when I remove the basket from the PF. alright..I didnt really ask that question. I didnt think she would know how to pimp the steam pressure anyway.  

              <</snip>>

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                Yeah i really reckon the sunbeam should put more detail into the handbook on all the quirky things the machine does. Thats exactly what the sunbeam rep lady told me! i returned my grinder because it was grinding too coarse even on the finest setting. She (in person) told me it was working fine. So i told her to take it out and show me which she did. Then we pulled a few shots and on the finest setting the pressure gauge was on the first half of the brown zone. Then after awhile of arguing I got a new grinder. Then I got a lecture on how i should be filling the basket tamping once, filling it again, tamping twice, filling it the third time and this time tamping it as hard as I can. She literally almost took the whole table down showing me how. I did my reading up on the machine and stuff but didnt come across anything about the quirky things it does.

                I still do think its a decent machine for how much I paid with the discounts and all. Buyers just need to be well informed.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                  You are dead right. While the manual is better than many,. IMO it falls way short of being reeeally useful... especially like you say,.with all the little quirks.  It would be so much nicer to read something that describes these things so that you know to expect it and not be concerned,.. because quite frankly... the majority of people buying these machines.. are pretty new to the whole home espresso thing and having an appliance (which is what it is) in the house that uses hot water and pressure,. can be a bit nerve testing at first.

                  The pressure gauge too, some of us 6910 owners feel that the machine actually produces better shots in the brown zone and thats the area we aim for,..3 Oclock position on my pressure dial and without surging gets the best results. And there is a fine line between the degree of grind to hit that sweet spot.  I have fiddled with it for a while and finally found it,. of course occasionally I might need to adjust this a notch depending on the bean(as do most people regardless of machine), but ultimately this is where this machine is at its best. Talk to any Sunbeam person about this though and they say to go for the area (dark yellow/tan) on the top section of the pressure dial. I have tried that area until the cows come home but not once could I get a shot that was much longer than 10-15sec and it blondes almost straight away and produces no crema in that area. Sure if I stick to using the pressurised baskets and stale supermarket coffee that area is probably right. But here is the thing,.. we coffee snobs are using very fresh and most often..home roasted,.grind on demand coffee grounds,.. which understandably would behave very differently to stale coffee grinds. I have heard that the Sunbeam 6910 caters for the person that buys supermarket coffee,..and the pressurised basket produce faux crema because supermarket coffee is too stale before you even bring it home and it needs the pressurised basket to produce crema. The 6910 was not really designed with coffee snobs (who go to the extreme to have the freshest beans they can get) in mind. However,.. the price is perfect for many of us and we have found ways to make this machine suit our fresh beans.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                    I have heard that the Sunbeam 6910 caters for the person that buys supermarket coffee,..and the pressurised basket produce faux crema because supermarket coffee is too stale before you even bring it home and it needs the pressurised basket to produce crema
                    not entirely fair
                    having had many coffees made from supermarket coffee, and alot being better than some so call freshly roasted beans from independent roasters.
                    we have many customers who buy small quantities of preground coffee for their domestic appliances, 6910s etc, who use the dual wall filter and find they get a better coffee than a lot of shops sell.
                    it is not he filter that is generally at fault but the person using it who has no undersdtanding of how it works. when the correct grind and method is used, it does work the way it is intended, with less skill needed.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                      Fix,. you might notice that I prefaced that statement with,.."I have heard". I did this very deliberately and with good reason too. I did not want it to be taken as absolute fact or like I am someone who knows this to be completely true.  "I have heard (well read actually) this,..many times right here on the CS forums and not once have I seen anyone contest these comments until now. I assumed by that,..that this was the general belief/feeling/knowledge by those who know a lot more about coffee production and storage than I ever will.

                      Regarding the filter... I know the filter is not at fault,. I never suggested it was in any way. The pressurised filters are included with this machine, to be used with supermarket purchased coffee, and it does a good job of what it was meant for. One has to wonder why a pressurised filter was needed though.

                      Sorry if my comments bothered you or anyone else. Twas not meant to. :-X





                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                        Im still wondering what part of Remys quote was "not entirely fair"?

                        Supermarket coffee IS stale - fullstop.

                        Any pre-ground coffee IS stale by the time you get it home - fullstop. Though coming from a decent roaster, its still fresher than what you can get from a supermarket. eg. last week I noticed Coles have their own range of ethiopian on sale that includes the roasted date...Nov07. But dont let that worry you, cause they say its ok until Nov08. :P

                        Though fix, I do grant you its not hard to make a better coffee, "than a lot of shops sell".

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                          A lot of shops use the autofill on their grinders so unless you are lucky to get some freshly ground beans theres a good chance that what you get was ground quite some time ago.
                          First thing in the morning you could get coffee that was ground the afternoon before.
                          Coffee from the likes of that is easy to better.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                            Hmmm,

                            I too can not see anything "unfair" in Remys post above. Dennis pretty well summed it up and I dont think anything else needs to be said really, just an observation.....

                            Seems as though it all comes down to an individuals experience of brewing "fresh" coffee at home. To a lot of people who have decided that they can no longer abide the abhorrence of an instant coffee, a newly opened brick of supermarket coffee probably does smell and taste very good by comparison. If a CSer was to then offer that same person a cup made from freshly roasted beans, the difference observed would be probably be in the same quantum as the difference between instant and smarket brick.

                            Cheers ,
                            Mal.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: EM6910...Probably needs a recall

                              I think, in perspective, if someone buys someones freshly roasted "crap" beans, or under roasted beans or whatever, and still flagging it as freshly roasted, will be very disappointed in the cup and would wonder why bother with the fresh stuff. I know a local roaster that uses unsealed bags when selling so called "fresh" beans... This, I find really disappointing and a big let down. So in essence, buying freshly roasted beans is very important, what is equally important is "High Quality" freshly roasted beans...and I dare say blends - and this is based on my personal and commercial experience.

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