VBM Piccolo - Dirt coming out of steam wand

[twwen2]

I recently picked up a used VBM Domobar Piccolo and have been putting it through its paces. The previous owner did a chemical flush prior to packing & shipping the unit, however each time I've run the hot water to re-fill the boiler, I get the following dirt/debris in the bottom of the cup:



It doesn't look like coffee grinds - it's a mix of dark and white flecks. What's this likely to be?

[MrJack]

Scale or corrosion products would be my guess. I had similar from my Bezzera when I got it.

Perhaps keep topping up / purging until its all gone?

[Mono]

Geez, that shouldn't be happening. Can't tell for sure but from the image it looks like rust flakes but that makes no sense...........surely the previous owner used filtered water??? My gut tells me it is likely to be scale and your boiler will then need a descale. Suggestions is to take a sample into one of our Melbourne sponsors to verify then they will be able to give you the correct guidance to rectify.

Steve

[Bames]

Yeah that's not good. It could be scale, but it could also be metal flaking off the inside of the boiler, or element, or pipes, or hot water tap, or...

I would definitely say a disassemble of the machine and finding the source of the problem is in order - rather than the "flush-and-hope" approach. If you're not confident in pulling it apart and getting it back together in working order, take it to a service agent.

[Trevorbeans]

First thing I would do would be to have the machine de-scaled properly by a reputable service technician, then observe the results after that. I had exactly the same problem with my VBM Domobar Levetta ( same machine, different name). The problem ( to a very minor degree) was noticed after I got my machine back from de-scaling, but cleared after a short time.

[twwen2]

The worst part is I've probably drunk 3-4 coffees using the machine before I noticed...

A proper service certainly looks to be on the cards!

[TC]

Yes- possibly some scale or it might be ....dirt.

We once had a Giotto in for service. Dead. Always run on tank water. What they didn't do is filter it. There was about 200g of mud in the boiler.

[twwen2]

Want to have a look at it for me Chris? I can drop it off this weekend if that suits.

[TC]

Want to have a look at it for me Chris? I can drop it off this weekend if that suits.

Sure thing twwen2

[twwen2]

I'll try to bring it on on Sat morning.

[diode123]

I would hope that the previous owner is going to compensate you for the service as that is unacceptable.

[twwen2]

I hadn't considered that possibility, and am not sure it's reasonable as it was a used machine.

He did say it was serviced 8-9 months ago and hadn't been used since.

[TC]

I would hope that the previous owner is going to compensate you for the service as that is unacceptable.

Rubbish. You buy 2nd hand at your own risk. Not prepared to take the risk? Buy new with warranty.

[twwen2]

Machine is now with Talk Coffee to work their magic

[MrJack]

Did you find out what it was?