Hi Everyone,
Like all rubber seals, you keep them hot enough for long enough, and theyre going to die on you. On a steam arm, you normally notice this when it starts dripping from the tap/ball joint assembly straight into the drip tray, coupled with a loss of steaming power & uneven/spurty steam pressure.
So, order a couple of seals from your favourite supplier. Theres a bigger one (tap seal) and a smaller one (ball joint seal). Also get a monkey wrench / hex spanner of the right size, and a set of coffee picks. I got my seals from Di Bartoli & the picks were from Coffee Parts.
so, step-by step instructions on how to do this.
1. Turn your machine off (can be done while on, but you might burn yourself on the E61)
2. Make sure steam arm assembly is cool and steam tap is fully closed.
3. While making sure you dont lose the tap spring, carefully unscrew the steam arm assembly (clockwise IIRC).
4. Lay down on bench and remove top seal. Put spring in a jar.
5. Shake small brass tube (wider at one end) into jar.
6. Jiggle steam arm assembly with pressure upwards through the hexagonal tap part to push ball joint past seal.
7. Using 45º pick, push through gap between steam arm and hexagonal tap fitting and jiggle around until you catch the lip of the seal, then swirl through 360º to dislodge. Repeat until you can shake the rubber (or bits of) out.
At this point, you should find you have a couple of seals like this sitting on your bench:

yes, that long ragged seal was once an o-ring! the larger seal used to be that shape.
Youre not likely to get the old seals mixed up with the new ones. Nows a good time to clean the inside of your steam arm with a bendy-brush and some cleaning products.
8. Grab the smaller O-ring seal and force into the arm assembly using something blunt, either the back of the 45º (or 90º) pick or something more sensible, like a chopstick. Itll squirm around as you have to force it past the smaller diameter threaded area into the gasket space, but try not to hurt it too much - without lateral torsion itll have a longer life as a seal. This step does take some pressure.
9. Tip out the two bits from step 4 and 5 into your hand. If youve lost them already, contact your supplier! Drop the tubular brass fitting into the steam arm assembly on top of the seal, large end down. This provides a fit for the ball joint, and a bit of extra room for the spring.
10. Put new o-ring seal onto outside of the tap, and push up past the screw thread.
11. Put spring onto inside of tap (machine part) fitting (unidirectional). The spring is mostly there to prevent the part you just put into the steam arm from getting stuck in the tap assembly.
12. Push the arm assembly up onto the tap thread at the right angle, and screw in anti-clockwise.
13. Turn machine on, enjoy microfoam again.

and remember - a well-maintained steam arm is a happy steam arm!
hope that helps someone...
J
PS. These seals are specially treated to withstand the high temperatures hanging around the inside of your steam arm. Dont use generic replacements without checking, or you may just end up with a plasticised puddle in a nasty place.
Like all rubber seals, you keep them hot enough for long enough, and theyre going to die on you. On a steam arm, you normally notice this when it starts dripping from the tap/ball joint assembly straight into the drip tray, coupled with a loss of steaming power & uneven/spurty steam pressure.
So, order a couple of seals from your favourite supplier. Theres a bigger one (tap seal) and a smaller one (ball joint seal). Also get a monkey wrench / hex spanner of the right size, and a set of coffee picks. I got my seals from Di Bartoli & the picks were from Coffee Parts.
so, step-by step instructions on how to do this.
1. Turn your machine off (can be done while on, but you might burn yourself on the E61)
2. Make sure steam arm assembly is cool and steam tap is fully closed.
3. While making sure you dont lose the tap spring, carefully unscrew the steam arm assembly (clockwise IIRC).
4. Lay down on bench and remove top seal. Put spring in a jar.
5. Shake small brass tube (wider at one end) into jar.
6. Jiggle steam arm assembly with pressure upwards through the hexagonal tap part to push ball joint past seal.
7. Using 45º pick, push through gap between steam arm and hexagonal tap fitting and jiggle around until you catch the lip of the seal, then swirl through 360º to dislodge. Repeat until you can shake the rubber (or bits of) out.
At this point, you should find you have a couple of seals like this sitting on your bench:

yes, that long ragged seal was once an o-ring! the larger seal used to be that shape.
Youre not likely to get the old seals mixed up with the new ones. Nows a good time to clean the inside of your steam arm with a bendy-brush and some cleaning products.
8. Grab the smaller O-ring seal and force into the arm assembly using something blunt, either the back of the 45º (or 90º) pick or something more sensible, like a chopstick. Itll squirm around as you have to force it past the smaller diameter threaded area into the gasket space, but try not to hurt it too much - without lateral torsion itll have a longer life as a seal. This step does take some pressure.
9. Tip out the two bits from step 4 and 5 into your hand. If youve lost them already, contact your supplier! Drop the tubular brass fitting into the steam arm assembly on top of the seal, large end down. This provides a fit for the ball joint, and a bit of extra room for the spring.
10. Put new o-ring seal onto outside of the tap, and push up past the screw thread.
11. Put spring onto inside of tap (machine part) fitting (unidirectional). The spring is mostly there to prevent the part you just put into the steam arm from getting stuck in the tap assembly.
12. Push the arm assembly up onto the tap thread at the right angle, and screw in anti-clockwise.
13. Turn machine on, enjoy microfoam again.

and remember - a well-maintained steam arm is a happy steam arm!
hope that helps someone...
J
PS. These seals are specially treated to withstand the high temperatures hanging around the inside of your steam arm. Dont use generic replacements without checking, or you may just end up with a plasticised puddle in a nasty place.

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