# Steam wand dripping



## Hindsight (Jan 7, 2015)

Hi all,

The steam wand on my Gaggia Classic started to slowly drip at the weekend. The machine is lightly used and is only 7 months old, no mods / completely standard. Looking on the forum I read it could be caused by over tightening the steam knob but I don't believe I've ever done that. So...

Is there any other cause? The machine was turned on and had been on for about an hour and a half when it began to drip, but hadn't been used for about 20 mins.

Is there any routine maintenance that I can do which might stop the drop?

I presume the machine is under warranty so is this something I should send it back for or just live with? It's been a while since I de-scaled it but I only ever use soft spring water (I live in a really hard water area) so there should be minimal limescale. I've not back-flushed the machine as I read it was not advisable on the more modern Classics (I got mine new in December 2014).

Any tips appreciated.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

The usual cause for the dripping is wear on the needle valve or its seat (tapered point sitting in corresponding recess) . The brass on these is relatively soft so over tightening is the usual cause but can be exacerbated if particles of scale settle in the seat area and grind into the metal as the valve is closed. There is no fix other than to replace the steam valve (app £35 )

You could enquire about warranty but I would not hold out much hope.

When you mention spring water have you checked the PH =acidic level ?


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## Hindsight (Jan 7, 2015)

Working from home today (tube strike) and funnily enough no drips or anything. So I'm hoping it was a one off (user error) , e.g. the steam knob left fractionally open at the weekend. Interesting point about PH level I'm mostly using highland spring, occassional tesco ashbeck. Does anyone know if either of those are a concern?


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Many members use Ashbeck successfully , unsure about the Highland spring, check label for constituents and compare with Ashbeck. Also see Xpenno'S write up on water / filters in back post's.


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

must be careful with mineral water as the minerals coat the boiler and cause major issues later on, use filtered when you can


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## Hindsight (Jan 7, 2015)

Thanks Mark. That's interesting I thought I was doing the machine a favour using spring water! So regular brita filters are a better option, even in really hard water waters?


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## gnownad (Apr 24, 2012)

My Gaggia Classic has been dripping from the wand when I pre-heat - but I've never really sought out a solution till now! I'm going to have a little look, thanks for the tip @El carajillo!


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## gaggiamanualservice.com (Dec 22, 2009)

when I was at gaggia it was a common problem. thick coating on inside of boiler insulates it


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## angio (Jul 10, 2015)

gaggiamanualservice.com said:


> must be careful with mineral water as the minerals coat the boiler and cause major issues later on, use filtered when you can


It makes sense when you put it like that. I suppose the clue is in the name!

With regards to the dripping steam wand, my Tebe drips if I leave water in the steam wand after I've steamed milk. It cools down and then the next time I turn it on, the heat makes the residual trapped air and water expand in the wand after the valve so that it runs out and drips for a few seconds. I open the steam valve and close it again which clears out whats in there and the dripping stops. It can be quite a lot. Mind you this only happens the times after I've used the steam wand . Could be that. Or you may have a duff steam valve - not impossible.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

Bottled water varies considerably depending on where it is from (source) There appears to be a misunderstanding that because it is bottled it is good for coffee and good for the coffee machine. Some bottled waters are high in in dissolved minerals = scale in boiler. You need to check the TDS = total dissolved solids listed on the label to see how high this is.

TDS is not the total story but will give a reasonable guide to suitability. Commonly recommended on the forum are.

Ashbeck. Volvic . Waterose Essential. These do not totally remove the necessity to de scale your machine. They reduce the frequency for de scaling.

Brita jug filters do remove some of the hardness from tap water, this will depend on the original hardness of you water supply.

I have just tested my water supply and the TDS straight from tap was 250 .

Water from 2 week old Brita Maxtra - - 153

Waterose Essential - -- 110

In James Hoffman's book he recommends a target of- - 150 For good coffee but 75 - 250 is acceptable. Obviously the higher figure will create more scale.


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## nordberg (Jul 23, 2013)

I've had exactly the same problem. Gaggia replaced the valve initially, but the problem came back within a couple of weeks.

I plan on trying the "Tex Mod" as detailed here when I get the time....


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## angio (Jul 10, 2015)

nordberg said:


> I've had exactly the same problem. Gaggia replaced the valve initially, but the problem came back within a couple of weeks.
> 
> I plan on trying the "Tex Mod" as detailed here when I get the time....


I've done this mod a couple of times and it's pretty straight forward. Don't forget the retaining nut; a suitable die, die holder and brass nut can bo bought for less than £15 - the thought of not having a retaining nut makes me go cold. How far through your hand or expensive grinder will the valve pin travel when fired out under 9 bar of pressure (you've done the 9bar mod, right?)? At least the wound will be mostly cauterised by the jet of steam that would follow it....


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## The resurrection (Mar 9, 2015)

[ not back-flushed the machine as I read it was not advisable on the more modern Classics (I got mine new in December 2014).

Any tips appreciated.

as far as I'm aware back flushing is no problem with your model and should do more good than harm please anyone correct me if I'm wrong. Had same issue with wand as you on a newish machine after a descale after a few weeks the drip stopped can only presume a small piece of scale found its way to the seat and cleared over time.


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