EM6900 Reliability

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

I have just received my second EM 6900 replacement from Sunbeam, so now I am on my third machine. This latest replacement was unexpected and suggests a fault somewhat more serious than a mere seal.

Yep, sounds like you had the "group coming away from thermoblock" problem like I did - Twice.

It was good to have the comments from Marcstolk which nicely confirmed that this machine is the same as his. ie bigger steam wand, smaller baskets and a blue light seal. Thanks a lot, your attention to detail and the clarity of photographs was much appreciated.

Youre welcome :-)

Great to have a source of lively informative discussion. Now I can look forward to a routine of roast, grind and tamp, which are all theoretically within my control, and hopefully not not have a recurrance of the " Its doing it again" symptoms.

If I dont have a problem, apart from a replacement seal perhaps, within the next two years, the new machine will be at least be on a par with my earlier EM3500 and the Saeco Magic which are still performing well in the hands of my daughters. Surely it has to come good or am I deluding myself?

Right now the behaviour of the EM6900 is unfortunately reminescent of my experience with my first machine - a Krups. Nuf said.

Im confident that your machine is the same as mine and the group>thermoblock issues have been resolved. Ive had mine now for a few weeks and is operating nicely. Did you notice your steam is hotter? I certainly did :-)


Marc

[BeanPusher]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

Had my 6900 for comming up 3 months. Only prob i had was the screw holding the steam knob on the spline wasnt tight enough out of the factory. I swapped the arbor (the inside bit) with the hot water one and all is fine and dandy. Wasnt worth sending back for repair.

Just a quality control glitch at least it wasnt bits of swarf like I have read been left inside the boilers some Silvias. Mind you that sort of thing can happen with any piece of manufactured machinery. The guy on QC over looks something.............

Cheers
Rich

[Feathers]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

I have just received my second EM 6900 replacement from Sunbeam, so now I am on my third machine. This latest replacement was unexpected and suggests a fault somewhat more serious than a mere seal. It was good to have the comments from Marcstolk which nicely confirmed that this machine is the same as his. ie bigger steam wand, smaller baskets and a blue light seal. Thanks a lot, your attention to detail and the clarity of photographs was much appreciated.

Great to have a source of lively informative discussion. Now I can look forward to a routine of roast, grind and tamp, which are all theoretically within my control, and hopefully not not have a recurrance of the " Its doing it again" symptoms.

If I dont have a problem, apart from a replacement seal perhaps, within the next two years, the new machine will be at least be on a par with my earlier EM3500 and the Saeco Magic which are still performing well in the hands of my daughters. Surely it has to come good or am I deluding myself?

Right now the behaviour of the EM6900 is unfortunately reminescent of my experience with my first machine - a Krups. Nuf said.

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

After getting my 3rd replacement on last Monday, on Friday the pump in the steam side failed! So I doubt Ill get a plain replacement this time. Back to Sunbeam it goes.
.

I received my fixed machine on Friday. All working well. They also replaced my group collar which improved sealing between basket/\/portfiller and group seal (as running improvement to model I suspect). Also bought the EM0480 Grinder on weekend. What a combination. Very pleased indeed.

[wattgn]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

A real commercial single group machine has a 5 litre boiler, which is almost 20 times the size of the Gaggia boiler but they are a home machine and work just fine for most home users.

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

It might depend on how you use the steam. If you wait for the light to go out (thermostat to click off) youll lose steam power rapidly. However the trick is to turn on the steam just before the element clicks off. That way the steam power remains nearly constant. I had mine running with a PID temperature probe and the temp drop was very slow during the steaming, giving nearly constant steaming power throughout the process. I used the PID temperature probe to determine the point at which I could start steaming juuust before the element clicked off.

If you run the machines like this, the steaming performance is more than adequate.

Cheers,

Mark.

I was unaware of this until I started reading this forum some months ago - at which point I had already sold my Gaggia as I bought the EM6900. To the general end user, they wouldnt know this and it certainly isnt in the instruction manual. So to them, the steam would run out.

What I dont get about the Gaggia range is if you buy the Baby Gaggia or the Classic, its the same boiler. My question is, why would you spend the extra $200 or so for the Classic?

[Sparky]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

I had the Gaggia and I found also that it is short on steaming power when doing larger quantities of milk.

It was a nice enough machine but I honestly think the Silvia is a much better bet in that price range.  I had a Silvia too and the bigger boiler did make a big difference although it too could run out of steam.

Grant

Yeah, but in comparison to THE BZ40P even a steam train is lacking in steam

[wattgn]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

I had the Gaggia and I found also that it is short on steaming power when doing larger quantities of milk.

It was a nice enough machine but I honestly think the Silvia is a much better bet in that price range. I had a Silvia too and the bigger boiler did make a big difference although it too could run out of steam.

Grant

[telemaster]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

re gaggia and lack of steam- I agree the small boiler isnt the issue here- Ive used a few lower priced gaggias and my old saeco via venezia (180ml boiler from memory) and not run out of steam
Also apart from the issue of the boiler corrosion, Ive been very impressed with even the lowest priced gaggia when using the right grind, fresh coffee and a decent tamper
The longevity might be up for question but the quality of coffee produced wasnt
brett

[Sparky]

Re: EM6900 Reliability


It might depend on how you use the steam. If you wait for the light to go out (thermostat to click off) youll lose steam power rapidly. However the trick is to turn on the steam just before the element clicks off. That way the steam power remains nearly constant. I had mine running with a PID temperature probe and the temp drop was very slow during the steaming, giving nearly constant steaming power throughout the process. I used the PID temperature probe to determine the point at which I could start steaming juuust before the element clicked off.

If you run the machines like this, the steaming performance is more than adequate.

Cheers,

Mark.

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

Greg,

I would always run out of steam when the milk would get to 45-50 deg in a 500mil Jug - Im only sharing this experience. Gaggias are a good machine - never said they werent. The reality is the boiler I feel doesnt keep up when doing a reasonable 2 cup Latte. Single cup, thats another matter - performed nicely. Steaming power wasnt the issue and never said that. Its the longativity of the power - or lack of it for that matter.

Marc

[kaanage]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

Yes, having owned a Gaggia Espresso Deluxe I can verify that the boiler is too small and the steaming power while good, doesnt go the distance -

Eh? Ive found that the steaming power is low but no worse than my friends EM6900 and it doesnt run out since the heating elements are powerful enough to cycle the boiler even with the steam valve WFO. Ive managed to boil a 1 litre jug of water by steaming continuously into it - it took a while but the machine never ran out of steam.

As for the boiler being too small, in what way? You cant make more than a double shot without waiting for the boiler to cycle but due to the small boiler size and the powerful heating elements, the cycle is fast enough that this isnt an issue. You do have to temp surf it to get the best out of it but that applies to any non-themoblock or unPIDed machine.

Just trying to be fair to the Gaggias.

Greg

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

Yep, what ozscott said :-)

[ozscott]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

I have had mine about 2 months with no problems at all. I backflush with the tablet (once) and have backflushed with water a couple of times. I have also used the descaling solution once.

There has been no drop off in performance at all with an average of 5-6 cups per day. I doubt the loss of mojo would be related to the machine. I agree with Marc about cleaning, and getting rid of the black plastic liner - just used a slightly oversized fine thread bolt or similar and screw in and pull out.

Cheers

[marcstolk]

Re: EM6900 Reliability

Boss,

An odvious question, have you cleaned you machine using the Sunbeam tablets?? and used the Sunbeam prescribed cleaning cycle?

Check your Portafiller - The plastic in it - underneith this can have some old coffee stains??

Its fantastic to see someone who has had their machine 6 months without a problem.

Marc