Broken faema 98 s1 compact

[hoolahoopa]

G'day everyone just after some opinions as to whether it is worth my money in fixing one of these machines. I bought it sort of knowing that that it was not working properly as the fella selling it didn't have a clue as to how it worked, so was hoping it was just a blocked hose or something simple.
It does not heat up or pump water thru the grouphead or water outlet, you can hear it trying but nothing comes out.
All up i am in for $200 at the moment.
What would be the maximum spend on it do you reckon? It is a 2006 model cosmetically pretty good looks alright internally not a lot of corrosion etc.
Cheers
Chad

[axisa]

Where are you located? Are you comfortable with a multimeter?

The faema will run hot for consumer use, requiring a longer than normal flush, and they don't have an auto boiler refil, so housemates including significant others can easily cause damage if they Re the careless types.

Do you know what a working version costs in a similar condition? That will give you an idea of how much you should go in for, if you ultimately want that kind of machine.

Can you upload a video of it showing the issue?

Edit: they've also got a silly low water cut out by resistance.

[hoolahoopa]

axisa,
located in kalgoorlie wa mate.
i have a multimeter am ok with it. i will try and load a vid bit later today. the water cut out seems to be working ok it clicks in and out and lights up the low warning light.
yes the missus is that kind of person you describe, plus i dont reckon she will like the size of this machine anyway.
but to bad! should be a good battle when she gets back from perth haha

[hoolahoopa]

axisa, the heat element has power to it and has a 37.7 resistance which is right. the resettable fuse hasn't popped out either. not sure where to go after checking them.

[hoolahoopa]

just checked the resettable fuse power in to it no power out to the element.

[axisa]

You'll need to disconnect the connectors to get a reading on the element.

[axisa]

The hot water tap works from the boiler under pressure, so if you have no heat, you'll have no pressure, and you'll have no water flow out of the tap at all.

[hoolahoopa]

ok pulled the element out has 37.7 resistance but no continuity

[axisa]

so 37.7ohms would put the element at 1527w. is it a 1500w element?

[hoolahoopa]

1300 says on the side

[axisa]

1300w, close enough then - it wont be heating efficiently and its likely on the way out, but that's not your problem.

ill wait for your vid.

[Mouldy]

just checked the resettable fuse power in to it no power out to the element.

If you have no continuity through the resettable fuse then the circuit is open. Have you tried pushing the switch quite hard? I ask this mainly because of what another Faema 98 S1 owner eventually resolved with their machine. Check "Faema compact s1 vs ECM Giotto premium" on this site. The describe the same issue you're having, and eventually got it working by giving the resettable switch a good hard push.

It seems unusual that you get close to the right resistance on the element yet you say there is no continuity on the element? No continuity would indicate a shot element, but I'd also expect huge resistance if this was the case?

[hoolahoopa]

axisa,
all good i pressed a bit harder on the reset fuse and she started to heat up(was being a bit of a woos).
the pump was not working so pulled it apart and was full of crap, so now she is filling up the boiler too.
yahoo
were on a winner i think.
now time for a descale and backflush.
any good tips on descaling it was pretty grose when i pulled the element out!
cheers for your help

[axisa]

Thats good news.

I suggest leaving the descale for the moment, else your likely to get craps into somewhere creating a new problem. One issue at a time

Flush a bit of water through, do a clean and backflush with some backflush powder and see how it goes for your weekend coffee.

[magnafunk]

When you do decide to descale, Chris from Talk Coffee wrote the go to guide: http://coffeesnobs.com.au/brewing-eq...-properly.html