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Hello all, I am hoping someone is able to help me out. My Gaggia Classic has from new had a problem with poor steam and brew pressure if I leave the machine on too long before using the steam wand. If I used the steam wand within 10-20 minutes of turning on the machine all is well. If I get distracted and come back more than 20-30 minutes after I turn the machine on the steam tends to be weak and will lose pressure before I am able to steam enough milk properly for just one drink. Then if I try to pull a shot after that the pressure there is also weak. Yesterday, I had one of those days where work got in the way and the machine was on the steam setting for about an hour before I got to it so knowing that I would have low pressure I just shut the machine off. Later in the day I then turned the machine on and let it warm up for 15 minutes and then steamed my milk, all good there. I then tried to pull a shot but when I turned the pump on it was very quiet and took about 30 seconds for anything to come out of the portafilter. At that point I turned if off and dumped the milk I turned the machine off for a few hours again to let it cool down and then tried the pump again but still it was very quiet and very slow flow of water was coming out even without the portafilter on. I did a whole lot of reading last night getting familiar with the machine but there is still a lot I do not know so I am here for suggestions. At one point during testing I unhooked the hose from the pump to the opv (at the opv end) and turned the pump on and no water was being brought up through hose at the bottom of the pump and of course no water was coming out the other end of the hose that was unhooked from the opv. To me this meant the pump itself was toast so I decided to take it completely apart. After a full teardown (complete with removing the plastic screen and all springs and the tiny plastic ball) and re-assembly I tried the pump again and once again it started out very quiet but it did start to pull water in from the tank and then eventually got louder but I don't think as loud as it normally is (it is hard to tell now as my point of reference is quite skewed). At one point I also tried to prime the pump with a turkey baster however I could not force water into the pump (the end of the turkey baster came undone spraying water eveywhere). So where am I now... * I am back to a point where I can pull a (double) shot but it takes about 1.5 minutes to do so * Steaming works just fine provided I don't let the machine sit for over 20 minutes with the steamer on * If I turn the machine on, steam off, pump off and open the steam knob water comes out of the steam wand and then it is steam+water * If I turn the machine on, steam off, pump on and open the steam valve water comes out both the grouphead and steam wand * If I turn the machine on, steam on, pump on and open the steam valve water comes out of just the steam wand (water not steam as the steam has not built up yet) * Backflush works And one last note, normally after steaming when I would purge the steam by turning the steam off and pump on, the steam would usually be a quick burst and then the water would start to flow. Now the steam is slow to start coming out and then I can continue to hear the hiss of steam even after the water starts to flow. This continues for about 30 seconds. I think that is it, whew.

Hi, happy new year fellow coffee lovers. Ive been a fan of the site for a while now but need some advice please. The problem is my beloved prima Donna ECAM 26.455M has finally stopped working. I regularly descale and clean but about a 6 months ago the milk frother stopped working, it seemed to be through a lack of steam/pressure but i just continued to use the steam wand. The wand did spit and steam on occasion when a espresso was being made but i just put up with it. Unfortunately it recently stopped even producing steam and has now got the empty circuit error code. Is it a fix i could take on or does it need repair specialist? If so please could i ask for a good repair company near broadstairs in kent. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as i am going cold turkey now. Thanks

That would be why the Ulka pump on my Classic did not work very well.What looks like a circlip is actually one of the coils off the pump spring. Full strip and clean fit new pump ready for standby duty.

I had been concerned about the pump on my Classic. On another thread it mentioned that a properly working pump should push through 600 ml of water in 60 minutes. I checked mine and it pushed 450 ml in 60 seconds. So, new pump ordered from Amazon and fitted last night. Switched on and worked which was a bit of a surprise to me! Anyway, when I removed the pipe to the pump it was black inside, but not previously visible as the black bit was hidden under the pump I thought it might be prudent to ensure the whole system was clean so I ran a full water container of water with some Milton in it through. I then flushed another full water container through. By this time it was late in the evening so I didn't make a coffee until this morning. I did time the flow and got 600 ml in just under 60 seconds so all seemed OK. This morning, machine switched on and warmed up for about 20 minutes. Being a bit OCD I decided to flush the hot water out and reheat everything. I used a beaker and half way through the second beaker the pump stopped, the pump switch light went off and the temperature started dropping (MrShades PID fitted so I could see the temperature was falling). The main switch was still lit up so power was getting to the machine. I turned the machine off and left it for a few minutes to let it cool down, turned it back on and hey presto everything worked again. So, first shot pulled. Pump switched off to stop pouring, I removed the porta filter and turned the pump back on to flush the group and nothing happened. I left it a while but still nothing. The power light comes on, and the boiler seems to start warming up as the temperature gauge goes up, but if I try the pump switch nothing happens and the temperature starts falling again. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what might have failed?

Hi all, hopefully someone will be able to point me to the right direction. TL;DR> Machine runs water through steam wand for 0.5-1 sec only and then stops. Is the machine faulty or there could be some other reason? I have received basic setup (Ascaso Basic + roaster + grinder) from a friend. All are USA machines, but I have a voltage converter. The problem is with my attempts to prime it: turn machine on, open the steam valve and press a "Coffee" button. A short stream of water comes out of the wand and that's it. After I leave machine alone for some time and repeat all steps, I get another short stream. Otherwise there is no reaction at all. Now, of course my first thought is that the machine is faulty, but considering it was a gift, I want to be absolutely sure before returning it or ordering a spare part (provided it is indeed a pump problem). Could it be that there is some kind of airpocket or other kind of blockage? Or, I'm thinking, could it be that the 110V/60Hz pump doesn't work on 50 Hz? I don't think it is the case, but then again, I cannot rule it out. I'm inclined to open it up and inspect visually if everything is in its place, but so far, didn't get a courage to do that. Thank you in advance!