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QUESTION:I finally started messing with the ailing Cimbali Junior I got on Ebay
last November, and I could use some advice.
Heating element and pressurestat seem to work fine. Problems are with
moving water around.
An artist's impression of how the water *should* move can be found here:
http://www.s89550551.onlinehome.us/cimbali_jr_water.jpg
Initial symptoms:
- healthy pump noise
- no water going to the boiler
- no water out the head
I unhooked the water line just after the pump, and confirmed that no
water was making it out, even with a vigorous if undignified
mouthful-of-water priming attempt.
I took the (vibe) pump apart and found the one-way valve inside was
stuck shut. I freed the valve, removed some crud, put it back together,
and it worked.
With the pump back in the machine, I found that pressing the boiler-fill
button now resulted in the boiler filling. I then discovered that
turning the brew switch on ALSO resulted in the boiler filling. And no
water ever came out of the head.
Based on this, my guess is that the solenoid valve that controls where
pumped water goes is never sealing off the path to the boiler. It makes
a typical snap sound when activated, but this doesn't preclude leakage,
does it?
I think there may also be a crud-blockage in the water-path to the HX
and head, as I would have expected a reduced flow from a crappy
solenoid, but not no flow at all.
- Does this make sense?
- Should I first have a go at disassembling the solenoid valve?
- What is the most likely crud-accumulation spot in the water-path to
the head?
ANSWER: Behind the front center panel on the Jr. is a pressure relief valve and a
flow restrictor, jet, gigleur, with a stainless mesh filter. This is what
regulates flow to the brew head. This will tend to clog, especially in hard
water areas. If the brew switch is also filling the boiler, there are two
possibilities, first is that if the fill valve is hooked up backwards,
flow-wise that is, then if the group back pressure is sufficient, the tank
will fill. Or you could simply have a "stuck" fill valve.
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