Hi all, I just bought a 2nd hand EM7000, unknown history. It was cheap. they said that nothing happened when they tried to brew. It came with some extras so I decided it was worth the little I paid!
I did some initial tests but unsure what to expect as I’ve never owned a pump machine before (my proper machine is a Ponte Vecchio Lusso).
Checked: Steam wand working, including temp sensor, checked water flowing from group when button selected, water wand also flowing. So all up better than I expected!
I have a bundle of questions I hope you can help with, please bear with me!
1) is it normal when turning on the the hot water valve that I don’t get a steady stream of water? I get pulses of water, ie: i hear the pump start and stop with matching interruptions in the flow.
2) I ran a back flush cycle, is it normal that the pressure gauge doesn’t show any pressure (no movement at all)? I presume it’s normal for most of the water to end up in the drip tray during the backflush and not exiting out from the portafilter spout?
3) I also removed the shower screen and filter, cleaned it all up and ran a descale cycle, I read in one thread about an o-ring between these 2 discs, I did not have one, should the EM7000 have one? There is a very small amount of dripping from the back of brew head at the top, during the back flush cycle. could this be the problem? Would a bad group head gasket cause a leak that looked like this or would it leak from the portafilter? (Otherwise I have also seen the thread saying to check the pipes around the thermoblock for cracks!)
4) I ran some test shots, I have a sunbeam burr grinder which I use successfully with my lever machine, good beans etc. Pressure gauge seems to work, but could not get the pressure into the right zone, barely made the under extraction zone and duh… shots were under-extracted ? I was running the double basket at quite a fine grind (went well finer than my normal setting trying to ‘choke it’ and then wind back the grind from there) used a good firm tamp, dosed at varying levels between 17-20g. No joy. Pucks were coming out nice and firm, in 1 piece, not fractured or runny so I wondered if pressurisation might be the problem. Decided to put the cleaning disk in to the double basket and pushed the manual button to test If I could get some pressure up, to see if it the problem was me or the machine, gauge it didn’t get very far. Is this unexpected or does it not have the grunt to get much pressure without a load of coffee in there?
5) I was running out of beans (and patience) by this stage but my next check will be to watch the drip tray when brewing a very tight grind to see if it’s flowing out there while brewing, if so would it be right to suspect the hot water solenoid?
6) I didn’t see any dripping from the brew head when making coffee, but could whatever caused the drip be responsible for lack of pressure?
Appreciate any advice, the machine came with another grinder and some odds and ends that I needed anyway. I figured if I could get it working properly for the price of some parts I could use it at my holiday home for a quick and easy option, we’re currently using a Moka pot there unless we’re expecting company and then I bring my lever machine over with me! ? Don’t want to pour a lot of money into duplicating my setup for something that will only get occasional use.
Keen to hear any advice/suggestions! Thanks in advance.
I did some initial tests but unsure what to expect as I’ve never owned a pump machine before (my proper machine is a Ponte Vecchio Lusso).
Checked: Steam wand working, including temp sensor, checked water flowing from group when button selected, water wand also flowing. So all up better than I expected!
I have a bundle of questions I hope you can help with, please bear with me!
1) is it normal when turning on the the hot water valve that I don’t get a steady stream of water? I get pulses of water, ie: i hear the pump start and stop with matching interruptions in the flow.
2) I ran a back flush cycle, is it normal that the pressure gauge doesn’t show any pressure (no movement at all)? I presume it’s normal for most of the water to end up in the drip tray during the backflush and not exiting out from the portafilter spout?
3) I also removed the shower screen and filter, cleaned it all up and ran a descale cycle, I read in one thread about an o-ring between these 2 discs, I did not have one, should the EM7000 have one? There is a very small amount of dripping from the back of brew head at the top, during the back flush cycle. could this be the problem? Would a bad group head gasket cause a leak that looked like this or would it leak from the portafilter? (Otherwise I have also seen the thread saying to check the pipes around the thermoblock for cracks!)
4) I ran some test shots, I have a sunbeam burr grinder which I use successfully with my lever machine, good beans etc. Pressure gauge seems to work, but could not get the pressure into the right zone, barely made the under extraction zone and duh… shots were under-extracted ? I was running the double basket at quite a fine grind (went well finer than my normal setting trying to ‘choke it’ and then wind back the grind from there) used a good firm tamp, dosed at varying levels between 17-20g. No joy. Pucks were coming out nice and firm, in 1 piece, not fractured or runny so I wondered if pressurisation might be the problem. Decided to put the cleaning disk in to the double basket and pushed the manual button to test If I could get some pressure up, to see if it the problem was me or the machine, gauge it didn’t get very far. Is this unexpected or does it not have the grunt to get much pressure without a load of coffee in there?
5) I was running out of beans (and patience) by this stage but my next check will be to watch the drip tray when brewing a very tight grind to see if it’s flowing out there while brewing, if so would it be right to suspect the hot water solenoid?
6) I didn’t see any dripping from the brew head when making coffee, but could whatever caused the drip be responsible for lack of pressure?
Appreciate any advice, the machine came with another grinder and some odds and ends that I needed anyway. I figured if I could get it working properly for the price of some parts I could use it at my holiday home for a quick and easy option, we’re currently using a Moka pot there unless we’re expecting company and then I bring my lever machine over with me! ? Don’t want to pour a lot of money into duplicating my setup for something that will only get occasional use.
Keen to hear any advice/suggestions! Thanks in advance.

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